Microsoft president says election has become ‘Iran vs. Trump,’ and ‘Russia vs. Harris’

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said Wednesday that there are “real and serious” threats of foreign actors attempting to wield influence on the 2024 election as November quickly approaches.

“We know that there is a presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, but this has also become an election of Iran versus Trump and Russia versus Harris,” Smith said during his opening testimony for a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign election interference.

“And it is an election where Russia, Iran and China are united with a common interest in discrediting democracy in the eyes of our own voters and, even more so, in the eyes of the world,” he warned.

The hearing comes amid growing concerns over attempts by Russia, China, Iran and other actors to interfere with the election through disinformation and misinformation campaigns online. Smith testified alongside Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta, and Kent Walker, the president and chief legal officer for Google’s Alphabet.

Smith’s comment referred to the series of alleged efforts by Russia and Iran to disrupt the presidential elections of Trump and Harris. He pointed to Microsoft’s report this week that found Russian influence operations were behind a viral video falsely accusing Harris of a hit-and-run.

“The threats to our democracy from abroad are sophisticated and persistent. We must stand together as a tech community, as leaders and as a nation to protect the integrity of our elections,” Smith said.

He outlined two principles he believes the tech companies must adhere to. First, “to preserve the fundamental right to free expression that is enshrined in our Constitution,” and second, “to defend the American electorate from foreign nation-states who are seeking to deceive the American public.”

To do this, Smith argued, tech companies are obligated to put guardrails in place, especially around content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). He also called for “protection” and to inform candidates of the risks of AI.

“And we do that in part by providing them with technology. We’ve now worked across 23 countries this year. We’ve had more than 150 training sessions reaching more than 4,700 people. And we do it by responding immediately, in real time when incidents arise, as we do, to work with campaigns to help protect them,” he said.

Microsoft’s report on the viral hit-and-run video targeted at Harris follows a series of inference incidents being investigated by the federal government.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department seized more than 30 web domains used by Russia for covert campaigns and charged two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, alleging they led a covert influence campaign by partnering with conservative company Tenet Media to hire various right-wing influencers.

The FBI separately announced last month that Iran was behind a hacking of the Trump campaign, and the bureau stated it observed “increasingly aggressive Iranian activity” this election cycle.

Clegg offered a similar perspective, maintaining Meta is “committed to free expression” while recognizing foreign adversaries are working to “undermine the Democratic process.”

“While we are conscious that every election brings its own challenges and complexities, we are confident that our comprehensive approach puts us in a strong position to do our part to help protect the integrity of not only this year’s elections in the United States, but elections around the globe at all times,” Clegg said in his testimony.

His testimony came just days after Meta banned Russian state media — including RT — from its social media platforms, citing foreign interference activity.