Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 23 October 2024

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

U.S. officials say Russia smeared Tim Walz, might stoke post-vote violence

U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday said Russians seeking to disrupt the U.S. elections created a faked video and other material smearing Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz with abuse allegations and are considering fomenting violence during and after the vote.

The officials said the Russian videos were part of the most active attempt by another country to tilt the 2024 election. They added that Russian government agencies and contractors are considering trying to instigate physical violence in the fraught period after voters cast their ballots.

Analyst Comments

The Soufan Center has recently highlighted the fact that With the U.S. presidential election weeks away, the risk of political violence remains high, the environment in the United States is extremely volatile. While White supremacist and militia groups have particularly increased their disinformation campaigns and further mobilized in recent weeks, potential election-related violence is not limited to far-right violent extremists. There is an increased risk of both reciprocal radicalization – whereas far-right extremist activity fuels others across the ideological spectrum – and attempted plots by Islamic State.

FB-ISAO members who are interested in a series of public-private sector coordination calls related to the threat for civil unrest after the U.S. presidential election should have received additional details, but can reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Also see:

• Election Security Update as of Late October 2024
• Foreign Threats to US Elections After Voting Ends in 2024
• Foreign influence operations will expand before election and linger afterward, US agencies say
• U.S. officials say Russia smeared Tim Walz, might stoke post-vote violence
• CISA and USPIS Election Mail Security Resources
• The Rising Threat of Anti-Government Domestic Terrorism: What the Data Tells Us.

Study: Online hatred of Jews spiked 36.6% in 11 months after Oct. 7 attacks

The antisemitism watchdog group Cyberwell released a report on the evolutions of online hate both before and after the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The organization’s research suggests that in the 11 months after the atrocities committed by Hamas, the antisemitic content tracked by its technology rose 36.6% with an 86% spike in the first three weeks. Cyberwell explains that its monitoring programs flagged 135,556 posts that were likely antisemitic in the 11 months before Oct. 7; in the 11 months that followed, it captured 185,229.

Analyst Comments

CyberWell currently monitors Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube in both English and Arabic. Overall, in the 11 months prior to October 7, CyberWell’s monitoring technology flagged 135,556 posts as highly likely to be antisemitic. In the 11 months following October 7 this number jumped to 185,229 – an increase of 36.6%. The most poignant spike being an 86% increase in online antisemitism in the three weeks following October 7. 

As the U.S. election nears, we will continue to see more mis-dis-mal information (MDM) and hate speech. Organizations are encouraged to establish relationships with local and federal law enforcement, and report any potential hate speech to the appropriate authorities.