WASHINGTON — Recent research reveals that Russia is actively promoting false and misleading information online regarding the U.S. government’s handling of recent hurricanes, which is part of a broader strategy by the Kremlin to manipulate political conversations in the U.S., particularly as the presidential election approaches.
According to findings from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based organization studying disinformation and online extremism, Russian state media and various social media accounts have criticized the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. This misinformation takes advantage of genuine concerns about recovery efforts to portray American leaders as ineffective and corrupt.
Some of the disinformation includes fabricated images, such as an AI-generated photograph that falsely depicts catastrophic flooding at Disney World, an event that never occurred.
This tactic aligns with the Kremlin’s ongoing strategy of seizing on real debates and contentious issues in the U.S. to exploit them for its gains. Previous disinformation efforts have targeted debates surrounding immigration, race, crime, and the economy, portraying the United States negatively as corrupt and violent.
Officials from U.S. intelligence agencies and private tech companies have reported a significant uptick in Russian activities leading up to the November 5 election, indicating that Moscow is seeking to take advantage of this opportunity to disrupt its foremost adversary.
By exacerbating actual worries about disaster recovery, Russian disinformation campaigns can infiltrate American discussions, using divisive topics to erode trust in government institutions and sow discord among citizens.
Melanie Smith, the research director at ISD, stated, “These are not situations that foreign actors are creating. They’re simply pouring gasoline on fires that already exist.”
The disinformation content identified by ISD has included posts in English tailored for the American audience, along with Russian-language propaganda directed at domestic viewers. A substantial portion of this misinformation targeted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Biden administration, which includes Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running in the White House election against former President Donald Trump.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine serves as a primary motivator for the Kremlin’s dissemination of false narratives regarding hurricane recovery efforts. Analysts have observed that if Russia can succeed in swaying a significant number of Americans to oppose U.S. support for Ukraine, it could pave the way for a Russian victory.
Intelligence officials noted that some of Russia’s disinformation seems to aim at supporting Trump—who has often praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized NATO and Ukraine’s leadership. Russian-linked posts often demean Harris, suggesting she is neglecting the pleas of storm-affected individuals. One post from the state-operated media outlet RT even lauded Trump as a “mystical figure of historic proportions.”
Furthermore, intelligence officials reported that Russia produced a manipulated video as part of an effort to discredit Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The Russian government has dismissed allegations of meddling in the U.S. elections. The Russian Embassy has not responded to inquiries regarding the latest allegations made by researchers and intelligence sources.
The ISD research revealed that Russian agents have taken advantage of weak content moderation on U.S. social media platforms, particularly X, to disseminate their narratives widely. Following its acquisition and rebranding by Elon Musk, the platform formerly known as Twitter has relaxed its prior requirement for labeling content from authoritarian state media, which has led to a rise in foreign propaganda, hate speech, and extremist recruitment.
Frequently, misleading claims emerge from fake accounts and websites that imitate legitimate news sources or American personas, complicating efforts to trace their real origins. Consequently, unsuspecting Americans may unknowingly share and promote this misinformation.
In a July report, U.S. intelligence warned that “unwitting Americans” were furthering Russia’s agenda inadvertently.
Automated accounts reinforce the spread of this material. Researchers from the Israeli tech company Cyabra analyzed popular posts criticizing FEMA’s storm response on X, determining that a significant quantity could not be verified as genuine user accounts, with about a quarter of the interactions with popular posts being deemed fraudulent. These posts reached an audience of over half a billion users.
In light of the findings, a spokesperson for X referenced the platform’s features that enable users to add context to posts containing false claims but did not address questions regarding the site’s labeling practices.
According to researchers from Cyabra, “These false claims, which range from FEMA diverting funds to aid migrants to conspiracy theories about weather manipulation, undermine public trust in government as we approach election day, significantly affecting voter confidence.”
Additionally, certain politicians have contributed to the spread of Russian narratives. For instance, Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona participated in an interview with the Russian state media organization Sputnik News, which emphasized criticism of the hurricane response. He claimed the federal response was “nonexistent,” a statement that is easily refuted by various images and testimonies from FEMA workers and local residents in the worst-affected areas.
Gosar also repeated an inaccurate claim that “billions of FEMA disaster funds” were allocated to undocumented immigrants. In reality, funding for U.S. border and immigration programs is sourced from different budget lines than disaster recovery funds.
Gosar’s office did not return requests for comments as of Wednesday.
