Russia promoting distrust in US vote-by-mail plans
Russia is actively trying to undermine voters' faith in the US electoral system and especially in voting by mail ahead of the November 3 election, according to a Department of Homeland Security analysis Thursday.
The internal DHS analysis, first reported by ABC News and then other US media, says that at least since March 2020, "Russian malign influence actors have been amplifying allegations of election integrity issues in new voting processes and vote-by-mail programs."
It says that through media and social networks, the Russians have encouraged Americans to fear voting fraud, large counting errors and ballot mishandling by the postal service.
President Donald Trump and many Republicans claim that vote-by-mail is likely to lead to widespread fraud and questionable vote counts.
Russian media and proxy websites are also promoting the idea that voting by mail -- being pushed mainly to limit the risk of Covid-19 spreading via in-person voting -- is being pressed by officials and policy makers to benefit specific candidates.
The online meddling activity took place during the party caucuses and primaries at the beginning of the year, but ramped up as the coronavirus began to spread and officials began promoting widespread voting by mail.
"We assess that Russia is likely to continue amplifying criticisms of vote-by-mail and shifting voting processes amidst the Covid-19 pandemic to undermine public trust in the electoral process," the unclassified report said.
Meanwhile, Trump has denied accusations that he made disparaging remarks about US soldiers who were captured or killed in battle.
According to The Atlantic magazine, Trump cancelled a visit to a US cemetery outside Paris in 2018 because he said it was "filled with losers". The allegations have since been corroborated by two senior military officials in a story by AP news agency.
But in a tweet, the president denounced the claims as "made up fake news".
However four sources told The Atlantic he rejected the idea of visiting because the rain would dishevel his hair, and he did not believe it important to honour America's war dead.
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