Several major media outlets have all published pieces within the final hours of the 2022 campaign claiming, with no evidence, that Russian hackers and bots will interfere with the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Fox News reports that The New York Times, Politico, and Reuters are among the outlets that have raised concerns about alleged “misinformation,” despite such platforms previously claiming that the 2020 presidential election, itself rife with fraud and corruption, was “the most secure in American history.”
On Sunday, the Times published an article claiming that researchers have “identified a series of Russian information operations” that have been “reactivated” following the 2020 election.
“It is part of what the group and other researchers have identified as a new, though more narrowly targeted, Russian effort ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections,” said Times reporter Steven Myers. “The goal, as before, is to stoke anger among conservative voters and to undermine trust in the American electoral system. This time, it also appears intended to undermine the Biden administration’s extensive military assistance to Ukraine.”
On Monday, Politico’s Eric Geller claimed in an article to have identified “6 election security threats to watch for on Election Day.”
“The midterms face a bevy of digital threats, from stolen Twitter accounts to hacked election websites, that could spark chaos, confusion and unrest that last long after the polls close,” Geller said, claiming with no proof that allegations of voter fraud in 2020 were “debunked.”
“Yet there are real risks that hackers could tunnel into voting equipment and other election infrastructure to try to undermine Tuesday’s vote,” Geller continued.
Reuters wrote that Sam Greene, a professor at King’s College in London, “thought the goal was to try to shape the agenda on Ukraine that Republicans will pursue after the vote.”
The sudden rise of last-minute claims of possible election interference appear to highlight Democrats’ concerns of a Republican wave on Tuesday, suggesting that the incumbent party is preparing “Russian interference” as an excuse for their coming losses. Democrats, who previously claimed there was no voter fraud in 2020 despite widespread allegations and plenty of evidence, are on track to lose the House of Representatives and, most likely, the U.S. Senate, as well as several governorships.