[ad_1]
According to a senior National Security official, continued efforts by foreign intelligence services and global terrorist organizations to spread misinformation in the United States appear to be working, raising new concerns about a terrorist attack in the coming weeks.
The warning, though largely in line with the department’s latest counterterrorism bulletin, released in November, comes as the country prepares for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, along with the anniversary of the Jan. 6 violent attack on Capitol.
“The threat is volatileSaid John Cohen, senior official in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, in a virtual forum on Wednesday.
“We have made progress and continue to make progress every day“, Added Mr. Cohen. “But we still have a long way to go“.
The counterterrorism bulletin published in November warned that the US was facing “a significant threat” from local extremists for the remainder of 2021, extending into early 2022.
But Mr. Cohen told a forum hosted by the George Washington University Program on Extremism that the risks had become more unpredictable due to “a considerable level of activity by foreign intelligence agencies.” Many of them gain attention with the relentless disinformation campaigns he described as ongoing and highly sophisticated.
“What makes the environment more volatile, from my point of view, is that what is being advertised by these threatening actors is rapidly finding its way into the media environment where they are being reinforced by public figures, the media and the government.He said.
“Their objective can be political or evaluation-basedSaid Mr. Cohen. “But in the current environment, the wider these attitudes are shared and spread, the higher the likelihood that they will be consumed by an individual who will use it as an excuse for violence.
Other warnings
This is not the first time Mr Cohen has warned of the dangers of misinformation from foreign intelligence services and terrorist groups. This is not the only concern.
National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned on Tuesday of “serious and significant” consequences from the spread of misinformation.
“False stories pose a threat to our security“Mr. Mayorkas said during the Bloomberg Technology Forum. “We need our leaders to fight against him because their words matter so much. They can be very influential in public discourse.”
Former intelligence officials and analysts have told VOA that the basis of recent destabilizing efforts was laid before the 2020 election, with Russia in particular finding ways to gain lasting influence over the American and far-right audiences. on the extreme left.
“In general, the repetition of friendly reports to the Kremlin or Beijing by the mainstream media is the ultimate goal of those who run campaigns of malicious influence.“Bret Schafer, a digital disinformation associate with the Washington-based Alliance for the Security of Democracy, told VOA.
“It’s far more effective to have messages coming from well-known and trusted sources within a society than from outside, so influential figures and media have long been targeted by those seeking to influence American public opinion.“, He added.
Last July, social media giant Facebook announced that it had launched an Iranian campaign known as Tortoiseshell, which aimed to manipulate U.S. military personnel and defense contractors on social media.
And as of March 2020, senior State Department officials said Russia, China, and Iran were finding ways to reinforce each other’s disinformation campaigns about the origin and spread of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.
Best protection: informed citizens
Senior U.S. law enforcement officials have raised concerns, but last March, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau could not do more.
“At the end of the day, despite the level of FBI investigations we can not sufficiently isolate our country from this threatSaid Mr. Wray. “Our best defense is a well-informed public”.
Mr Cohen, a senior intelligence official in the Department of Homeland Security, said Wednesday that it was difficult to ensure that the American public could see what was behind the operations.
“Trying to educate the public on where to get information can be the target of misinformation, and is the biggest challenge we are currently facing.“, Said Mr. Cohen. “Part of the population will not believe what the government says“/ VOA
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
