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Transcript/ScriptMIDTERMS - FOREIGN INTERFERENCE
HEADLINE: Voters Concerned about Election Integrity in U.S. Midterms
TEASER: Foreign influence, conspiracy theories and how ballots are counted among concerns for U.S. voters
PUBLISHED AT: 11/3/2022 at 7:10pm
BYLINE: Michelle Quinn
CONTRIBUTOR: Levi Stallings
DATELINE: PHOENIX, ARIZONA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Levi Stallings, Michelle Quinn
PRODUCER: Michelle Quinn
SCRIPT EDITORS: SKS, Holly Franko
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Zoom, VOA, AP, Recorded Future, Wayback Machine, @noraberka/Gab, @zlj517/Twitter, Maricopa County Election Department
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 3:30
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Government-issued Zoom account used. Thank you.))
((INTRO: ))
[[Fake social media accounts by foreign and domestic actors seek to rile up U.S. voters about issues such as the integrity of the U.S. voting system. They are among the many challenges in this year’s U.S. midterm elections. Michelle Quinn reports from Phoenix, Arizona.]]
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: Wayback Machine))
For most of 2022, senior intelligence analyst Brian Liston noted, it was quiet on fake U.S. social media accounts believed to be from Russia.
((end courtesy))
That changed in August as the U.S. midterm elections approached.
[[For Radio: Liston spoke to VOA over Zoom]]
((Brian Liston, Recorded Future)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “We saw these accounts beginning to spin up, talking about election fraud or that the election was going to be fraudulent, ballot stuffing or things like that. Democrats were going to try to steal the election.”
((NARRATOR))
Liston is among a network of researchers,
((End Zoom courtesy))
((Courtesy: Recorded Future))
…cyber security experts, government agencies and others that comb through social media, websites, state media and law enforcement announcements to track coordinated disinformation campaigns stemming from U.S. adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran.
((Courtesy: Recorded Future))
Fake news sites by organizations associated with these governments promote divisive stories about America, ((Courtesy: @noraberka/Gab))
…that are then promoted by fake social media personas pretending to be Americans.
((Courtesy: Recorded Future))
Russian operatives sow division that the voting system can’t be trusted,
((Courtesy: Recorded Future))
Liston said.
Chinese operatives highlight the volume of online anxiety about the integrity of the vote
((Courtesy: @zlj517/Twitter))
as evidence that American democracy is not working.
((Brian Liston, Recorded Future)) ((Courtesy: Zoom)) “As much as they talk about election denial and voter fraud, I remain concerned that maybe these accounts come Election Day would attempt to provoke some sort of violence or harassment of poll workers at polling stations and things like that. So [we are] monitoring for that kind of chatter.”
((NARRATOR))
In the southwestern state of Arizona, mathematician Dylan Murphy said he worries about the real-world consequences of online misinformation.
((Dylan Murphy, Arizona Voter))
“My concern is that foreign actors can spread disinformation and conspiracy theories through social media and kind of pit Americans against each other in a way they wouldn't be left to their own devices. …
((Mandatory courtesy: __8675309___)) [Note: Yes, the courtesy includes the number listed as well as the underscores on each side]
What is new is we're seeing more in-person direct action resulting from these conspiracy theories, such as ….
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…. people showing up to ballot drop boxes here in Arizona, armed.”
((NARRATOR))
Arizona was a big part of electoral challenges to the presidential election two years ago, with a Republican recount of results in Maricopa County ultimately confirming a Joe Biden win. Many Donald Trump supporters continue to say that election was stolen, among them Arizona Republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake.
Maricopa County elections officials say ballot tabulation machines are not connected to the internet
((Courtesy: Maricopa County Election Department))
They livestream voters delivering ballots to drop boxes and ballots being counted.
[[For Radio: Megan Gilbertson is with the Maricopa County Elections Department]
((Megan Gilbertson, Maricopa County Elections Department)) “In addition to physical security, we also have security over the ballots and over the process …
((Courtesy: Maricopa County Election Department))
….with bipartisan boards, political party observers and checks throughout the process to make sure
((end courtesy))
that each ballot is accounted for, and only valid ballots are counted.”
((NARRATOR))
Arizona voter Miriam Mitchell says there’s more than control of Congress at stake.
((Miriam Mitchell, Arizona Voter))
“Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, sometimes we don't win, and we felt that they should have won, but we still follow the democratic process. We hand over the torch like we’re supposed to. … That's the only thing that's great about America is our democratic process. And we need to hold on to that.”
((NARRATOR))
Early voting is under way in the Grand Canyon State.
((Michelle Quinn, VOA News, Phoenix, Arizona))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Embargo DateNovember 3, 2022 19:59 EDT
Byline
Michelle Quinn reports from Phoenix, Arizona.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
