Meta warns of troll networks from Russia, Iran ahead of US elections

Russia remains the top source of troll networks disrupted on Facebook and Instagram, with Iran close behind, according to a threat report by social media giant Meta.

The company’s latest quarterly review, released on Thursday, states it has disrupted 39 covert influence operations originating in Russia since 2017, followed by 30 from Iran and 11 from China.

Meta expects, between now and the United States elections in November, Russia-based operations to promote candidates “who oppose aid to Ukraine” and criticizing those advocating for aiding Ukraine’s defenses.

“This could take the shape of blaming economic hardships in the US on providing financial help to Ukraine, painting Ukraine’s government as unreliable, or amplifying voices expressing pro-Russia views on the war and its prospects,” the company warned.

One of the most significant challenges facing the company and other researchers when it comes to identifying these campaigns is Russia’s recruiting of “witting and unwitting people to create content and amplify their campaigns.”

Back in 2020, Reuters reported how a freelance journalist was, without their knowledge, hired by a group based in Russia to write about contentious political topics, including the COVID-19 pandemic and war crimes allegedly conducted by Western militaries.

Meta acknowledged that when this “coordination happens outside of our platform, it makes it challenging to identify such a link with foreign malicious campaigns so we can counter them.”

A range of activities can be covered by this sort of arms-length deceit, including leaking hacked materials online, as a state-sponsored group tracked variously as Iron Frontier, Calisto, Coldriver or Star Blizzard/Seaborgium has done.

Earlier this year, Recorded Future News uncovered ongoing work by these hackers — who the British government says works for the Russian intelligence services — to impersonate researchers and academics in a bid to gain access to their colleagues’ email accounts.

A report by The Citizen Lab on Wednesday warned that this sophisticated phishing campaign was ongoing, with the hackers targeting Western and Russian civil society groups.

On Thursday, Meta’s report encouraged “influential figures and the public at large to remain vigilant to avoid playing into the hands of deceptive operations attempting to manipulate public debate.”

Ahead of the presidential election in the U.S. this November, the FBI said this week it is investigating an alleged hack of presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, days after the campaign itself blamed Iran for a breach. The agency is also investigating attacks targeting the Biden-Harris campaign, according to media reports.

The breach has raised concerns on Capitol Hill — where many recall Russia’s digital assault in 2016 where hackers stole and leaked emails belonging to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and targeted voter registration databases in several states — about more potential foreign meddling ahead of November.

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