Microsoft President Brad Smith has issued a strong warning about the increasing threat of foreign interference in the final days leading up to the U.S. presidential election. Speaking before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, Smith highlighted that the risk of meddling will peak 48 hours before the election.
“The most perilous moment will come, I think, 48 hours before the election,” Smith said, pointing to lessons learned from the Slovakian election, where a fake audio clip of a leading candidate surfaced online in the critical days just before voting.
The warning underscores a broader concern about the use of misinformation and manipulated content to influence voters. Smith, alongside executives from major tech companies such as Google and Meta, testified that foreign actors have already begun spreading false narratives using sophisticated technologies like artificial intelligence.
Earlier that day, Microsoft identified a manipulated video enhanced by AI that falsely portrayed Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at a recent rally. The video, created by a Russian group, showcased how adversarial nations, including Russia, China, and Iran, are deploying these tactics to distort information about key political figures like Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The testimony also revealed how AI is being harnessed to improve cyberattacks and spread disinformation more efficiently. Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.’s president Kent Walker, described how foreign actors are using AI to create fake websites, misleading news articles, and bot-generated social media posts.
As these tech executives shared their findings, the U.S. government has renewed its efforts to work with social media companies to curb the spread of false information. A recent Supreme Court ruling has cleared the way for the Biden administration to communicate freely with tech platforms about election misinformation, after a temporary halt due to legal challenges. The ruling is seen as a crucial step in maintaining election integrity.
However, concerns remain about the readiness of social media platforms to combat these threats. During the hearing, Senator Mark Warner expressed frustration that Elon Musk’s platform, X (formerly Twitter), declined to send a representative to testify, highlighting ongoing gaps in cooperation between government and some tech companies.
As the election approaches, the tech industry and government officials face increasing pressure to address the sophisticated methods being used to manipulate public opinion. The coming days will prove critical in the fight to protect the integrity of the U.S. democratic process from foreign interference.
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