Foreign government efforts to target the 2022 U.S. midterm elections appeared to grow compared with the 2018 elections, according to a declassified intelligence assessment released Monday, with a 바카라 게임 웹사이트�diverse and growing group of foreign actors바카라 게임 웹사이트� participating.

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There was no known order from any foreign leader to 바카라 게임 웹사이트�undertake a comprehensive, whole-of-government influence campaign바카라 게임 웹사이트� like the one Russia carried out in 2016, according to the report. But the assessment found that China, Russia, Iran and Cuba all tried to meddle in congressional elections in 2022.

The intelligence community assesses with high confidence that China 바카라 게임 웹사이트�tacitly approved efforts to try to influence a handful of midterm races involving members of both U.S. political parties바카라 게임 웹사이트� 바카라 게임 웹사이트� likely as part of a broad series of directives by Chinese Communist Party leaders since 2020 to 바카라 게임 웹사이트�intensify efforts to influence U.S. policy and public opinion in China바카라 게임 웹사이트�s favor.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

China intensified its efforts to heighten sociopolitical divisions, according to the assessment, but still focused more on efforts to support or undermine a small number of specific candidates based on whether Beijing perceived their policy positions to be in its favor. Party leaders 바카라 게임 웹사이트�repeatedly have instructed officials to focus on Congress because Beijing is convinced that Congress is a locus of anti-China activity,바카라 게임 웹사이트� according to the report.

Still, 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Beijing almost certainly viewed the U.S. midterm elections as an opportunity to portray the U.S. democratic model as chaotic, ineffective, and unrepresentative, and frequently directed [People바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Republic of China] messaging to highlight U.S. divisions on social issues, such as abortion and gun control.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

U.S. intelligence agencies바카라 게임 웹사이트� conclusion that China has been more active in election influence activities aligns with reports from tech firms. Suspected Chinese operatives have used images made by artificial intelligence to mimic American voters online and provoke discussion on divisive political issues, Microsoft analysts warned in September.

Chinese officials likely had freer rein to conduct influence operations because they believed they were under 바카라 게임 웹사이트�less scrutiny during the midterms바카라 게임 웹사이트� and that the risk of any U.S. retaliation was lower than in 2020, the U.S. intelligence report said.

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Russia, meanwhile, sought 바카라 게임 웹사이트�to denigrate the Democratic Party before the midterm elections and undermine confidence in the election, most likely to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine,바카라 게임 웹사이트� the intelligence community assessed, also with high confidence.

The intelligence community found that the Kremlin 바카라 게임 웹사이트�conducted extensive research and analysis of U.S. audiences,바카라 게임 웹사이트� identifying key demographics, narratives and platforms that it believed would be effective in amplifying Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s message. Among those targeted audiences were 바카라 게임 웹사이트�U.S. constituencies that they believed were more sympathetic to Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s emphasis on 바카라 게임 웹사이트�traditional values,바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트� according to the assessment, which describes the findings as some of the 바카라 게임 웹사이트�most explicit reporting to date on Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s U.S.-focused influence operations.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

The assessment also confirms that Russian military officials proposed delaying the Russian withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson until the day after the 2022 midterms 바카라 게임 웹사이트�to avoid giving a named U.S. political party a perceived win before the election.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

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Russian actors also generally sought to weaken confidence in Western democratic institutions, the assessment found, by 바카라 게임 웹사이트�[casting] aspersions on the integrity of the midterm elections, including by claiming that voting software was vulnerable, Americans expected cheating to undermine the midterm elections, and Democrats were stealing the elections.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

The assessment also detailed Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트�s influence activities during the midterms, finding that Tehran sought to exploit perceived social divisions and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions 바카라 게임 웹사이트� but that its efforts were limited by competing priorities, including the need to manage internal unrest.

Broadly, intelligence officials found, foreign actors shied away from technically challenging efforts to change literal votes and instead sought to influence U.S. elections by damaging the public perception of the integrity of their results.

The intelligence community also observed that other countries 바카라 게임 웹사이트� including Cuba 바카라 게임 웹사이트� engaged in more narrow efforts to support or undermine specific candidates, apparently predicated on the candidate바카라 게임 웹사이트�s willingness to advance policies that aligned with that country바카라 게임 웹사이트�s interest.

The assessment did not study the impact the influence campaigns may have had on the outcome of the 2022 elections.

CNN바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.