As America prepares for its first presidential election since the Russian government’s unprecedented efforts to undermine the 2016 vote, experts say not much has changed in terms of Moscow’s ability to meddle.
What has changed, however, is a dramatically increased potential for domestic election interference, especially when it comes to disinformation. When coupled with the voting challenges posed by the pandemic, experts are warning of a perfect storm that could far outpace Russia’s impact in the last presidential cycle.
“What worries me the most [is] the interaction between disinformation campaigns and the legitimate administrative challenges that people are facing in running an election in the context of a COVID pandemic,” said Joshua Tucker, a professor of politics and codirector of the Center for Social Media and Politics at NYU.
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Source: COVID, domestic disinfo set to supercharge election interference