U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Thursday that Russian cyber interference in American elections is "warfare," CNN reports.
Haley was discussing Russian online interference in the 2016 election in the form of the use of fake social media accounts and the spread of misinformation while speaking alongside former secretaries of state Madeline Albright and Condoleezza Rice at a panel hosted by the George W. Bush Institute in New York City.
"When a country can come interfere in another country's elections, that is warfare," she said, according to CNN. "It really is because you're making sure the democracy shifts from what the people want to giving out that misinformation. And we didn't just see it here. ... They are doing this everywhere and this is their new weapon of choice."Earlier this summer, Haley said Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials of such interference were merely an effort to "save face."
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During Thursday's panel, Haley said the U.S. needs to hold Russia accountable.
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Haley also said that both the public sector and the private sector, including Silicon Valley companies hosting fake Russian accounts on their platforms, "have to step up."