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This month, Pallas Advisors’ Board Member Sue Gordon published an article in The Washington Post and was a guest on “Face the Nation” discussing how United States’ adversaries and competitors are interfering with elections by creating division among U.S. citizens and highlighting what can be done to stop them.
Sue references the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia, China, and Iran are the three major actors taking the greatest effort in influencing U.S. elections. She explains each nation’s differing intentions: Russia seeks to undermine American democracy, China seeks to shape U.S. policy and exploit U.S. institutions, and Iran seeks to reduce its own economic pressure and U.S. presence in the Middle East.
“We — the government, business leaders, and most importantly, individual citizens — must be better educated about the threats we are facing. When we turn on ourselves rather than seek accountability, when we tear down our own institutions rather than insist on better performance, and when we turn real social issues into divisive rhetoric rather than work for change, we are doing exactly what our rivals hope,” writes Sue.
Sue recommends a few ways every individual can help in combating foreign interference in U.S. elections: avoid sending or forwarding messages with unknown origin, think critically about information received, and pay attention to cybersecurity across the board.