Tag: election interference

Fact Check: Premier Smith claims Russian interference is happening in the referendum campaign. Is it?

Speaking to Focus Punjabi on OMNI TV, Premier Danielle Smith said, “There are various shares of information online that appear to be amplified by different bot farms that may have a link to Russia.”

The whiffs of foreign interference in the referendum have yet to turn into a smoking gun of any sort. That’s why the premier was careful to use the terms “may” and “appear” in her statement. The foreign interference bogeyman has been an effective tool for federalists to discredit an independence movement which has existed far longer than the internet has.

The source of the latest allegations is Cipher AI, which is a tool that scans foreign media sites. Cipher’s recent snapshots (roughly 150 flagged items over two-week windows in July and August 2026, about 80% linked to Russian content farms) document amplification of anti-government or pro-separation talking points.

That volume is modest against the total volume of Canadian social media discussion on energy policy, federal-provincial relations, and the referendum. Russian bot farms also plug Temu items and porn sites. It doesn’t mean they are being guided by foreign governments or have an agenda at play.

Identifying “foreign interference” requires more than detecting non-Canadian IP addresses, Russian-language origins, or content farms. Cipher flags “dubious claims” from foreign media or proxies and tracks amplification. Human reviewers then decide whether material qualifies as disinformation or coordinated influence. This step is subjective.

Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis reported that the RCMP found “no credible information” suggesting the separatist movement itself has been subject to foreign interference. CSIS sent a form letter to NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi saying they are watching the situation, but monitoring a risk is not the same as confirming that risk has materialized into significant interference capable of steering results.

The U.S. element cited in reports is largely public and open. Presidential rhetoric about Canada as a potential “51st state,” meetings between independence advocates and alleged U.S. officials (with no commitments reported), and commentary from Trump-aligned media figures. There is no coordinated campaign, and there haven’t been efforts to interfere in Alberta from south of the border.

There has been no indication of significant overseas foreign interference in Alberta’s referendum campaign.

Past reports involved a group in the Netherlands making money for themselves by creating pro-independence YouTube channels and a noodle merchant from Indonesia who made $14 from Facebook by placing pro-independence postings.

Albertans are capable of distinguishing messaging and determining how to vote. The ground game in the referendum is what’s moving the needle in the independence movement through public meetings and door-knocking campaigns.

Foreign interference is an insignificant factor in the campaign despite how hard federalists are trying to amplify that narrative.

Keep reading

NSA Blocked Reports Of China Interference In US Elections From Reaching Trump: Declassified Docs

Newly declassified intelligence emails reveal that decisions were made by National Security Agency (NSA) leadership to block reports of Chinese influence in American elections from reaching President Donald Trump.

Four pages of emails, all dated March 13, 2020, were released on Aug. 18 by the White House Government Transparency Task Force.

According to one email—written by an unidentified NSA employee following a meeting about intelligence reporting foreign efforts to target the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in the United States beginning in 2014—internal concerns were raised about the agency’s suppression of the reports.

“We did not know why we were here, trying to defend the election and identify threats to it, if we were unable to actually report what those threats were because of issues like this,” the NSA employee wrote.

According to another email, NSA analysts had proposed releasing the reports in 2018.

Task force officials are digging through files to determine why evidence of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to influence the elections was not passed on to the president, Congress, and some intelligence leaders, including then Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, now CIA director.

Certain aspects of the reports on the Chinese election influence were censored because “it was judged that some of the details regarding the 2016 election were ‘sensational’ and so required a limited distribution [redacted],” an NSA analyst wrote, noting that colleagues tried for 16 months to get the information published.

“People higher in the chain than us—including but not limited to people at ODNI [Office of the Director of National Intelligence]—time and again failed to make real decisions in a timely manner,” they said.

Intelligence officers were told in February 2020 that the office approved the report, and analysts prioritized its delivery, but the NSA deputy director blocked its release, according to the documents.

George Barnes served as NSA deputy director from 2017 to 2023.

“[The deputy director] explained that he was concerned that releasing the [redacted] at this time—in the current political climate, with an acting [director of national intelligence (DNI)] who had been tasked … to ‘clean house’ in the intelligence community, and with an administration that is suspicious of the [intelligence community] and aggressive in removing anyone who stand in their way—would damage NSA’s credibility,” the analyst wrote, referring to Trump appointee Richard Grenell, who became acting DNI on Feb. 20, 2020.

The analyst said the deputy director was concerned that releasing the information could be viewed as political in nature because of the two-year delay.

“I lacked the courage to point out that we, [redacted], had processed the information in a timely manner, and the delay in releasing it was due in part to decisions and inaction on the part of people in the room,” the analyst wrote.

According to the analyst, the deputy director also sought to keep the NSA’s reputation separate from the CIA, FBI, and ODNI—agencies he perceived “had been tarred as hosting or being part of the ‘deep state.’”

The analyst said the deputy director thought publishing the report would “destroy that trust.”

“He felt the questioning of NSA that would ensue would have ramifications on the credibility of NSA reporting overall and would result in morale problems among the broader NSA workforce, a la when the [redacted],” the analyst wrote.

Other elements of the gathered intelligence were excluded from reporting because it would have been impossible to conceal the identity of members of Congress, the analyst said. Such cases require special approval, as dictated by the “Gates Procedures,” established by Robert Gates, former director of Central Intelligence, in 1992.

Keep reading

US Intel Chiefs Back Trump’s Claim China Interfered In American Elections

A fact sheet released July 30 by the White House Government Transparency Task Force says China and its proxies bought, stole, or hacked voter data belonging to as many as 220 million Americans, including some information that was not publicly available.

The fact sheet pairs that finding with the intelligence community’s official definition of election interference, which includes a foreign power’s targeting of voter data.

It notes that, for a foreign country’s actions to amount to “election interference,” they do not have to change the actual results.

“That definition includes a foreign power’s targeting of voter registration infrastructure or data,” the task force states, citing declassified documents produced by the U.S. intelligence community.

The fact sheet was approved by the heads of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Department of Homeland Security, according to the White House.

Representatives from those agencies—as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation—also coordinated with the White House before Trump’s July 16 address and “approved the factual statements” drawn from intelligence documents used in the speech, the task force states.

Election Interference Defined

In his speech, Trump said China has long been meddling in U.S. elections, including that it was “working to influence” the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which President Joe Biden was ultimately declared the winner.

Trump did not explicitly claim that China managed to change the 2020 result, and neither did the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies.

The spy chiefs did say in the fact sheet that voter-registration data is itself part of election infrastructure and could be manipulated in ways that affect election results, for instance by preventing groups of voters from casting their ballots.

“Adversaries could alter data to potentially prevent individual voters or groups of voters from voting, causing delays on election day or forcing voters to use provisional ballots,” the task force states, citing intelligence community documents.

Keep reading

Democrats Don’t Want You to See This Video of Biden on Election Interference

Donald Trump delivered a speech Thursday night that set off an absolute partisan meltdown. Democrats didn’t wait for Trump to finish his remarks on foreign interference in U.S. elections to start attacking it. They didn’t even wait for him to start. They spent the hours before the speech aired trying to debunk whatever he was about to say, and once he actually said it, they rushed to microphones and social media to call him unhinged, dishonest, and dangerous.

It’s a funny thing about that panic. Democrats have spent a quarter-century questioning American election results whenever it suited them. They disputed the 2000 election for years. They disputed the 2004 election. They spent Trump’s entire first term insisting Russia hacked the 2016 election and that he colluded with Vladimir Putin to steal it from Hillary Clinton. Nobody called that an attack on democracy. Every election they have lost since 2000 has been questioned in some capacity.

So when Trump raises the possibility that foreign powers meddled in 2020, the outrage from the left isn’t really about protecting democracy; it’s about protecting a result Democrats can’t afford to have questioned.

Trump’s speech laid out a case that China had compromised voting machines, bribed American journalists, and run a fake ballot scheme designed to inflate Joe Biden’s vote total in 2020. It certainly puts that 81 million votes thing into perspective, doesn’t it? China and Iran had worked overtime to keep him out of the White House. Worse yet, Trump said the intelligence community had evidence that meddling was coming, then evidence that it happened, and buried it.

Despite documented irregularities in the battleground states in 2020, Democrats treat any Republican who questions that election as an enemy of democracy. They give themselves a pass for disputing Bush’s win in 2000 and Trump’s win in 2016 because they lost, so obviously the election was stolen.

In the end, if the elections they won were actually as secure as they claim, a few questions wouldn’t send them into hysterics.

Keep reading

Declassified Intelligence Records: China ‘Compromised’ at Least 18 State Voter Rolls

On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump’s White House published declassified documents related to election integrity and China’s encroachment into American elections.

One of those documents, a disclosure from the United States intelligence community via the White House Task Force on Government Transparency, suggests that at least 18 states have had their voter rolls “compromised” by China.

The document posted by the White House only names 15 of the 18 states, as well as the District of Columbia. Those named in the document are:

  • Alaska
  • Arkansas
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Maryland
  • Michigan
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Rhode Island

In addition, the document states that the U.S. intelligence community has found that more than 200 million voter records have been compromised by China.

Keep reading

Failing German Chancellor Merz ‘Warns’ Trump Administration To STAY OUT of European Elections

Whine as he may, MAGA will help restore Europe’s greatness.

Like so many other Euro-Globalist ‘leaders’, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hops from summit to summit, splashing his face on the news cycle, as much is said and little gets done.

Back home, no joy awaits him, as polls show that Merz is now the most unpopular politician in Germany, with a personal rating that has sunk to a historic low of 13% favorability.

He even has to manage the efforts by his own party to replace him with a younger leader.

So, prodded by the MSM, he tries to find some solace by making repeated statements against the US Donald J. Trump administration – it’s a cheap way to score a few points with the leftists.

Today (15), he is issuing a warning – yes, you read it right – against Trump and the MAGA movement to stay out of European elections.

Merz is reportedly pushing back against a new, million-dollar funding scheme from the US to support ‘free speech and religious liberty’ in Europe.

The problem is that the warning is not going to fly, because this outreach to Europe is part of the deepest levels of foreign policy, as it can be read clearly in the 2025 National Security Strategy:

“We want to support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of Europe, while restoring Europe’s civilizational self-confidence and Western identity.”

There’s more:

“Protection of Core Rights and Liberties – The purpose of the American government is to secure the God-given natural rights of American citizens.

[…] In particular, the rights of free speech, freedom of religion and of conscience, and the right to choose and steer our common government are core rights that must never be infringed. Regarding countries that share, or say they share, these principles, the United States will advocate strongly that they be upheld in letter and spirit. We will oppose elite-driven, anti-democratic restrictions on core liberties in Europe, the Anglosphere, and the rest of the democratic world, especially among our allies.”

And finally: “We reject the disastrous “climate change” and “Net Zero” ideologies that have so greatly harmed Europe, threaten the United States, and subsidize our adversaries.”

Keep reading

Trump to Accuse China of Meddling in US Elections in Thursday Night’s Speech – Evidence Beijing Compromised US Voter Data – CIA Withheld Info: Report

President Trump to reveal China’s role meddling in US elections during Thursday’s speech, according to CBS News.

Trump will be delivering a speech on Thursday at 9 ET.

President Trump will be joined by CIA Director Ratcliffe, Acting DNI Bill Pulte, DHS Chief Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel.

The president will reportedly unveil evidence showing Beijing compromised US voter data and the CIA knew about it but didn’t share the information with him during his first term.

BREAKING via @CBSNews: Part of Trump’s speech Thursday night will touch on previously unreported Chinese meddling in U.S. elections, sources told me. Some evidence shows Beijing compromised U.S. voter data — and evidence the CIA knew about the action and didn’t share that…

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 15, 2026

CBS News reported:

Part of President Trump’s speech Thursday night is expected to touch on previously unreported alleged Chinese meddling in U.S. elections, according to sources familiar with the matter.

One component: Allegations that Beijing compromised U.S. voter data and evidence the CIA knew about the action and didn’t share that information with Mr. Trump during his first term.

The audience for the primetime speech is expected to include members of the president’s cabinet. Among those invited are the heads of CIA, FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security, as well as other agencies and staff. Some cabinet members will not be there due to scheduling conflicts.

Asked for comment on the contents of the president’s address, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening. The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in.”

A White House task force will be releasing classified intelligence documents related to the 2020 election, according to a leak to MS NOW.

According to MS NOW, Trump will speak about the newly declassified intelligence.

Keep reading

Wisconsin Board Targets Elon Musk, Says He May Have Violated Election Law by Offering $1 Million Checks to Americans Who Oppose Radical Judges

A Wisconsin board said Elon Musk may have violated an election law by offering $1 million to American who oppose radical judges during the state’s Supreme Court election.

As previously reported, Elon Musk promised to give away $1 million each day until the November 2024 election to those who sign his petition supporting the U.S. Constitution.

At a packed 2024 rally in Pennsylvania, Elon Musk wasted no time in following through on that promise, awarding a $1 million check to John Dreher, one of the attendees.

Elon Musk continued his giveaway in 2025 during Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election.

Musk’s America PAC awarded $1 million checks to three voters who signed a petition to protest the far-left “activist judges” in Wisconsin’s judicial race.

CBS News reported:

The Wisconsin Elections Commission found that billionaire Elon Musk may have violated the state’s election bribery law by offering $1 million checks to voters during a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that Musk’s political action committee spent heavily in.

The commission — which is made up of three Republicans and three Democrats — voted 5-1 last Thursday to refer two complaints filed by voters against Musk to the Brown County District Attorney’s office, commission Communications Director Emilee Miklas told CBS News.

A motion approved by the committee found “probable cause” that Musk violated a state law that makes it a crime to offer a person “anything of value” to induce them to vote.

It is unclear whether Brown County District Attorney David Lasee — the top prosecutor in the county that covers Green Bay — plans to pursue charges.

A Pennsylvania judge previously refused to block Elon Musk’s $1 million daily giveaway with no explanation.

Keep reading

President Trump Expected to Announce Foreign Interference in 2020 Election in Thursday Night Speech

President Trump is expected to announce foreign interference in the 2020 election during Thursday night’s speech.

Earlier Monday, President Trump said he will be delivering a speech this Thursday at 9 pm ET.

According to MS NOW, Trump will speak about the newly declassified intelligence.

A White House task force will be releasing classified intelligence documents related to the 2020 election, according to a leak to MS NOW.

Per MS NOW: “A new White House task force reviewing thousands of pages of classified intelligence and law enforcement documents for evidence of irregularities in U.S. elections is expected to begin releasing documents within weeks, two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter told MS NOW.”

Keep reading

Israel Debated: Why Palestine Is Rewriting the Rules of Domestic US Politics

A major showdown on the House floor seemed imminent. An amendment, advanced by the Rules Committee, was poised to force a rare and telling record vote on stripping Israel of $3.3 billion in annual US military aid.

Brought forward by Republican Representative Thomas Massie and drawing support from key progressive Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Greg Casar, the measure was set to put every lawmaker’s stance on unconditional foreign assistance under a public microscope.

However, the high-stakes vote never actually happened. On June 30, the entire legislative package collapsed under the weight of Washington’s internal political warfare. In a dramatic procedural twist, a coalition of Democrats and disgruntled conservative Republicans voted down the mandatory ‘rule’ required to even begin debating the underlying State Department spending bill.

But even if the vote on Massie’s amendment had occurred, the result would have been entirely predictable. It would have been defeated, as support for Israel on both sides of the congressional aisle remains structurally entrenched – even as the American public shifts against Israeli policy in historic numbers.

According to a watershed Gallup poll published on February 27, a plurality of Americans now sympathize more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, leading by a margin of 41 percent to 36 percent. This marked the first time since Gallup began tracking the metric over two decades ago that Israel did not hold the upper hand in public sympathy.

Yet the shift is part of a broader, undeniable trend. A nationwide survey published in late June 2026 by Quinnipiac University revealed that an unprecedented 48 percent of American voters now think the United States is “too supportive” of Israel – the highest percentage recorded since the pollster first began tracking the question in 2017.

This is precisely why Massie’s amendment carries such profound weight. It is significant not because US politicians have suddenly developed a collective moral conscience, but because recent election cycles represented the first time in modern American history where Palestine factored as a major, decisive variable in how citizens cast their ballots.

For years, conventional political analysts dismissed pro-Palestinian mobilization, claiming Americans only vote based on immediate socioeconomic interests and rigid party loyalties. That assessment has since proven faulty.

The political cost of Washington’s complicity became undeniable following the fallout of the 2024 presidential race, a reality later confirmed by those within the inner sanctums of power. In the post-election debates, senior administration insiders admitted that the handling of the Gaza genocide alienated core voter blocks.

The political cost of Washington’s complicity became undeniable after the 2024 presidential race. According to Axios, top Democratic strategists conducting the party’s post-election audit explicitly admitted to advocacy groups that internal party data proved the administration’s Gaza policy was a “net-negative” on the ballot.

This finding – disclosed during internal briefings by DNC autopsy author Paul Rivera – confirmed that the party’s unconditional backing of Israel directly fractured its base, and ultimately contributed to its loss of the elections.

Keep reading