According to a recent report, a network of websites with pro-Iranian leanings has been discovered targeting specific groups of American voters, including minorities and veterans.
Politico revealed that researchers from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) identified at least 19 websites posing as news or analysis sites, spreading disinformation linked to the upcoming U.S. elections.
These findings, which were first shared with Politico, highlight the latest Iranian-linked efforts to interfere in the U.S. election process. The discovery has raised concerns about the extent of Iran's disinformation campaigns on American websites and their potential impact on voter perceptions.
The FDD researchers identified a network of at least 19 websites that were masquerading as legitimate news or analysis platforms. These sites were designed to spread disinformation and influence American voters, particularly targeting minority groups and veterans.
One such website, "Afro Majority," was found to be disseminating favorable content about Vice President Kamala Harris and the Black Lives Matter movement. Another site, "Not Our War," published posts critical of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, primarily aimed at U.S. veterans.
Five of the websites in this network had been previously identified by other researchers. The FDD's findings reveal that these sites are part of a larger, coordinated influence operation.
All the websites in the network were found to spread at least some pro-Iranian fake news or opinion pieces. For instance, some articles praised the Iranian government's response to recent protests on U.S. college campuses against the war in Gaza.
Many of these websites utilized artificial intelligence, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, to generate content for their pages. This use of AI technology demonstrates the sophistication of the operation and the challenges in identifying and combating such disinformation campaigns.
OpenAI had previously flagged several websites, including "Savannah Time" and "Nio Thinker," as part of an "Iranian influence operation." These sites, along with others like "Westland Sun," appeared to target voters in key swing states such as Georgia and Michigan.
Despite being exposed by organizations like Microsoft and OpenAI a month ago, many of these websites continue to operate. Most of the sites are hosted on servers outside of the United States, complicating efforts to shut them down. The FDD has called on the U.S. government to collaborate with international partners to take down these sites. The think tank's experts informed the Biden administration of their findings prior to publication but declined to specify which agencies were involved.
The discovery of this network comes in the wake of recent hacking incidents targeting U.S. political campaigns. The Trump campaign was hit by a hack and leak operation, which multiple U.S. agencies later attributed to the Iranian government. Biden and Harris' campaigns were also targeted in these attacks.
Additionally, Google Cloud's Mandiant recently published evidence of an Iranian counterintelligence operation using dozens of fake pro-Israeli websites. This operation aimed to identify potential dissidents both in Iran and abroad who might be supportive of Israel.
The discovery of this pro-Iranian website network targeting U.S. voters reveals the ongoing challenges in safeguarding the integrity of American elections. As foreign actors continue to refine their tactics, employing AI and sophisticated disinformation campaigns, the need for vigilance and cooperation among tech companies, researchers, and government agencies becomes increasingly crucial. The persistence of these websites, even after being exposed, underscores the complexity of addressing such threats in a global digital landscape.
