Fact check: What role did the FBI play in investigating election interference during the 2020 election?

1. Summary of the results

The FBI played multiple roles in investigating election interference during the 2020 election, though these activities reveal a complex and sometimes controversial picture:

Foreign Interference Investigations:

• The FBI investigated Iranian interference in the 2020 election, resulting in indictments of two Iranian nationals for their alleged involvement in a campaign to influence the presidential election ^[1]
• The FBI, along with other agencies, released statements about foreign adversaries conducting influence operations to undermine public confidence in U.S. elections, specifically identifying Russia as the most active threat using tactics like manufacturing videos and creating fake articles ^[2]
• The FBI also indicted three Iranian cyber actors for hacking campaigns targeting U.S. political campaigns, officials, and media members ^[3]

Domestic Security and Support:

• The FBI monitored domestic violent extremists who could promote narratives about the election process that might motivate violent action ^[4]
• The FBI provided election officials with threat briefings and technical assistance with election-related systems and responded to foreign and domestic cyber and physical threats ^[5]
• The FBI participated in the Election Threats Task Force, leading efforts to address violence against election workers and investigating cases involving threats to election workers ^[6]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal significant controversial aspects of the FBI's role that complicate the narrative:

Suppression of Intelligence:

• Records show that FBI Headquarters interfered with alleged Chinese election interference investigations to shield then-FBI Director Christopher Wray from political blowback, suggesting the FBI suppressed intelligence about Chinese interference ^[7]

"Prebunking" Operations:

• The FBI engaged in what critics call "prebunking" by coordinating with Big Tech companies to suppress allegations about Biden family influence peddling in advance of the 2020 election ^[8]
• The FBI had been meeting with social media companies, warning them of potential Russian "hack-and-leak" operations, which led these companies to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story when published by the New York Post ^[9]

Beneficiaries of Different Narratives:

• Democratic Party officials and Joe Biden's campaign would benefit from the FBI's suppression of stories about Biden family corruption and Chinese interference
• Christopher Wray and FBI leadership benefited from avoiding political criticism by suppressing Chinese interference intelligence
• Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter benefited by having FBI cover for their content moderation decisions
• Republican critics and conservative media benefit from exposing these suppression activities to argue the FBI was politically biased

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question appears neutral but omits the highly controversial aspects of the FBI's role during the 2020 election. A complete answer requires acknowledging that:

• The FBI's investigation activities included both legitimate foreign interference investigations and controversial domestic suppression operations ^{[7] [8] [9]}
• The FBI's role extended beyond traditional law enforcement to include coordination with private tech companies to influence information flow during the election ^{[8] [9]}
• There is evidence the FBI selectively suppressed some interference intelligence (Chinese) while actively investigating others (Iranian, Russian) ^{[7] [1] [2]}

The framing of the question as simply asking about the FBI's "role in investigating election interference" understates the complexity and controversy surrounding the FBI's actions, which included both investigating foreign threats and allegedly suppressing domestic information that could have influenced the election outcome.