For the first time in a decade, the next election could be less secure than the one preceding it

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · May 20, 2026 · 1173 words · By Scott Shackelford

Election Security Foreign Interference Government accountability

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What to know about Election Security

The author argues that the 2026 U.S. midterm elections are more vulnerable to cyber threats and foreign interference due to the apparent inactivity of the Election Security Group and the defunding of the EI-ISAC. The piece details the history of these security measures and expresses concern over the current lack of a coordinated federal defense strategy.

Propaganda risk 30%

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center88%

Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

With the 2026 midterms less than six months away, the Election Security Group would normally be busy helping prepare the nation’s election infrastructure.

Why it matters

The federal task force typically briefs Congress on upcoming threats and engages with state and local leaders to game out scenarios ranging from ransomware to critical infrastructure attacks on Election Day.

Common ground

Joshua Rudd, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Election Security story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that its scope expanded beyond Russia to include China, Iran, North Korea and nonstate actors?
How does this story connect Election Security with Foreign Interference over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/for-the-first-time-in-a-decade-the-next-election-cou…

analyticsAnalysis

30%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 90%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 80% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 60% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

verified Verified 1

schedule

Claim 1: “its scope expanded beyond Russia to include China, Iran, North Korea and nonstate actors.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “the Russian-backed Internet Research Agency began targeting the U.S. political system to sow divisions in 2014.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including a web search result and a reference to the Internet Research Agency's activities, confirm that the IRA began targeting the U.S. political system to sow divisions in 2014.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Internet Research Agency (IRA; Russian: Агентство интернет-исследований, romanized: Agentstvo internet-issledovaniy; 2013–2023), also known as Glavset (Russian: Главсеть, lit. 'Central Network'), …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Research_Agency

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Internet in the United States grew out of the ARPANET, a network sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense during the 1960s. The Internet in the United S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_the_United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “By the 2020 presidential election, the Russia Small Group had been renamed the Election Security Group”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided or found in the search results to support the claim that the Russia Small Group was renamed the Election Security Group by 2020.

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Claim 4: “Gen. Joshua Rudd, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command... told the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 28, 2026, that he didn’t know whether the group [Election Security Group] had been set up yet.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Gen. Joshua Rudd testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 28, 2026. One source specifically mentions he was questioned about the organizations he may inherit, and another confirms the date and committee.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The director of the National Security Agency (DIRNSA) is the highest-ranking official of the National Security Agency, which is a defense agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. The director of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_the_National_Secur…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Michael S. Rogers (born October 31, 1959) is a retired four-star admiral of the United States Navy. Rogers served as the second commander of the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) from April 201…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_S._Rogers

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, streng…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cyber_Command

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “The first Trump administration... created the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, in 2018.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources confirm that CISA was created in 2018 and signed into law by President Trump during his first administration.

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web search NEUTRAL — Trump’s decision to slash the CISA budget is especially odd given that the agency was established in November 2018 during his first term. At that time, Congress passed the Cybersecurity and Infrastruc…
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/techland/the-trump-white-h…

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web search NEUTRAL — Trump signing cybersecurity order creating CISA in 2018.Before it was subsumed by political commentary, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was a Trump accomplishment — signed …
https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/trump-2…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was created in 2018 by Congress and signed into law by President Trump as a separate agency within DHS. CISA fills the cyber mission of the …
https://enotrans.org/article/transportation-and-cybersecurit…

verified

Claim 6: “The Election Security Group has worked every federal election cycle since 2018”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general information about Oregon elections and CISA, but does not contain any mention of an 'Election Security Group' and its activity since 2018.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for cybersecuri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersecurity_and_Infrastructu…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Julia Janelle Letlow ( LET-loh; née Barnhill; born March 16, 1981) is an American politician and academic administrator serving as the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 5th congressional district si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Letlow

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, comparable to interior ministries abroad. Its missions involve anti-te…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Ho…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “In the final weeks of the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as critical”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as critical in the final weeks of the Obama administration.

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web search NEUTRAL — It left lasting damage in its wake, like lower trust in electoral processes and widened political divides. In the final weeks of the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security designate…
https://theconversation.com/for-the-first-time-in-a-decade-t…

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web search NEUTRAL — As part of the designation, the Department of Homeland Security offers to conduct election infrastructure cyber scans to probe for weaknesses, especially within voter registration websites.54 For stat…
https://mhlawreview.org/amicus-curiae/election-security-2020…

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web search NEUTRAL — With election infrastructure designated as critical, an attack that takes the system down would also qualify for a response of sanctions. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, who is the ranking Dem…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-likely-designate-election-infr…

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Claim 8: “the Trump administration’s 2025 decision to defund the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly mention the Trump administration's 2025 decision to defund the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican ticket of former president Donald Trump and Ohio junior senator JD Vance defeated the Democratic ticket of inc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidentia…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump's handling of United States government records, especially those containing classified information, during his tenure as the 45th U.S. president has come under scrutiny. A number of incid…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump's_disclosures_of_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report on the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump compiled by counterintelligence sp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steele_dossier

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 9: “the Russia Small Group took the Internet Research Agency offline during and immediately after the [2018] election.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided or found in the search results to support the claim that the Russia Small Group took the IRA offline during the 2018 election.

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Claim 10: “That same year [2018], the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command... partnered to launch what was initially called the Russia Small Group”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources confirm that the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command launched the 'Russia Small Group' in 2018, established by Gen. Paul Nakasone.

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web search NEUTRAL — United States Cyber Command is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace ca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cyber_Command

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web search NEUTRAL — The “Russia Small Group” — whose existence NSA Director Paul Nakasone announced in July of last year — will thwart Russian influence and cyberattacks.
https://cyberscoop.com/nsa-russia-small-group-cyber-command/

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web search NEUTRAL — NSA, U.S. Cyber Command, election security.The joint task force, originally dubbed the Russia Small Group, was established in 2018 by former Cyber Command and NSA chief Gen. Paul Nakasone to safeguard…
https://therecord.media/nsa-cyber-command-election-security-…

verified

Claim 11: “Russia’s GRU... homed in on the Democratic National Committee and probed all 50 state election systems. It breached Hillary Clinton’s campaign and compromised election systems in Illinois.”

VERIFIED

Wikipedia entries on 'Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections' and the GRU confirm the Russian government's efforts to sabotage Hillary Clinton's campaign and interfere in U.S. election systems.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidentia…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate, and commonly known by its previous abbreviation GRU, is the foreign…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRU_(Russian_Federation)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russian government conducted foreign electoral interference in the 2016 United States elections with the goals of sabotaging the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the presidential…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_20…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.