The United States has imposed sanctions on organizations from Russia and Iran for trying to interfere in the 2024 presidential elections. The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the groups attempted to “stoke sociopolitical tensions” and influence voters.
One group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, has ties to Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and built a server to host its own artificial intelligence tools “to avoid foreign web hosting services that would block its activity.” “. The organization then used these tools to “rapidly create disinformation” that it spread through dozens of online fake news outlets, while also providing money to US-based companies to maintain its ai server and operate a network of “at least 100 websites” used in their campaign.
Additionally, the Russian organization manipulated a video to “produce unfounded accusations about a 2024 vice presidential candidate.” In October, The United States accused Russia for creating a video attempting to smear Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Tim Walz.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned the Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for planning to interfere with the election “from at least 2023.” In the weeks before the election, the US Department of Justice accused Iranian nationals of carrying out a cyberattack against President-elect Donald Trump's campaign, while OpenAI reported banning ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation.
“The governments of Iran and Russia have attacked our electoral processes and institutions and have sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” Bradley Smith, Acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in the news release.
