Written by Andrea Shalal
(Reuters) – Influential groups linked to Russia and China and the Cuban government have released false claims in the wake of two deadly U.S. hurricanes, including false claims that the United States is denying applications for disaster relief. U.S. officials said on Monday that they are amplifying information about the United States.
The U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, shared his assessment following the declassification of certain U.S. intelligence information. A direct connection to the U.S. presidential election on November 5th has not been made clear.
The White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency say a significant spike in misinformation surrounding relief efforts after Hurricanes Milton and Helen has made it difficult for relief workers to do their jobs and led to increased criticism of the Biden administration. I spoke up about it.
Some of that misinformation was repeated by some Republicans and drew criticism from at least three congressional Republicans. But foreigners also played a role in spreading false claims, U.S. officials said.
U.S. officials said Russian hurricane-related misinformation posted on Telegram included an Oct. 10 image shared by state news agency RIA that was meant to show a flooded Disney World. He said it was likely generated by artificial intelligence.
The image was also shared by pro-Kremlin English-language accounts on anonymous social media platforms in the United States, officials said. Reuters reported this month that a fake image of Disney World that has been viewed nearly 500,000 times around the world was apparently generated by AI.
Russian influencers also used their social media accounts to post other “provocative” hurricanes, such as an Oct. 9 post claiming the U.S. government was denying disaster relief applications. It spread related content, U.S. officials said.
Influential figures with ties to China have also published divisive content related to the hurricanes, including through false social media posts claiming that U.S. spending on overseas conflicts is undermining aid to disaster victims. It was spread. ” The post included an image depicting the vice president (Kamala), presumably generated by AI. Harris) overlooked the flood damage next to a sign that said all U.S. money went to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan,” the official said.
Cuba also amplified posts suggesting that U.S. aid to Israel and Ukraine diverted resources from disaster relief efforts, and officials said many of the social media messages from Russia and China reflected the same theme. said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Rami Ayyoub and Nick Zieminski)