Mapping Foreign Influence Operations Across U.S. Online Spaces
Nicholas Shen, former Elections Fellow at the Integrity Institute, currently leading Trust & Safety at Tools for Humanity, led the development of a retrospective analysis of online foreign influence and interference operations during the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections.
Since the 2016 Russian Internet Research Agency influence operation, foreign online influence campaigns have remained a significant threat to democratic processes around the world. In the years since, these operations have grown more adaptive by exploiting new technologies and relying on proven past tactics of manipulation, division, and disinformation.
This paper examines the persistent patterns and new innovations deployed by foreign actors during the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Presidential Election cycles. Although platforms are aware of many foreign influence strategies, many online tactics remain the same between 2020 and 2024, suggesting that not enough has been done to negate them. And in the same moment, the proliferation of generative AI and covert influence networks has expanded interference strategies. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of these progressing tactics is essential for mitigation and shaping larger policy changes for future elections.
