Intelligence analysts at the Department of Homeland Security have issued a bulletin warning that Russian trolls, bots and “fake news” sites are amplifying President Trump’s false claim that mail-in voting in the US is rife with fraud, ABC News reports.

“Russian state media and proxy websites in mid-August 2020 criticized the integrity of expanded and universal vote-by-mail, claiming ineligible voters could receive ballots due to out-of-date voter rolls, leaving a vast amount of ballots unaccounted for and vulnerable to tampering.  These websites also alleged that vote-by-mail processes would overburden the U.S. Postal Service and local boards of election delaying vote tabulation and creating more opportunities for fraud and error.” the bulletin notes.

The analysts note “with high confidence” that “Russian malign influence actors” have targeted the absentee voting process “by spreading disinformation” since at least March, according to the ABC News story.

The Russian effort continues to try to undermine American confidence in the election process in order to help the Trump campaign, similar to how they acted in the 2016 election, as was echoed in the report from the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Trump has also sought to undermine faith in the US election process during his reelection campaign.  A number of Trump’s posts have been flagged by social media platforms for disseminating misinformation.

As he has repeatedly said in interviews and in speeches, Trump declared that he would not necessarily accept the results of the election, claiming that any outcome in which he doesn’t win signals that the voting was “rigged.”