Two suspected Iranian computer hackers have been charged in a broad campaign of election interference aimed at intimidating American voters during last year’s presidential race and undermining confidence that the results of the contest could be trusted.

The activities, prosecutors say, exploited not only computer vulnerabilities but also existing social divisions to sow discord and confusion among voters.

The Iranian cyber campaign included bogus emails that targeted Democratic and Republican voters with different messages, the distribution of a fabricated video that purported to show acts of election fraud and an unsuccessful effort the day after the election to gain access to an American media company’s network. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources, that Lee Enterprises was the target of the effort.

The overall effort attracted publicity in the run-up to the November 2020 election, when law enforcement and intelligence officials held an unusual evening news conference to accuse Iran of orchestrating an email campaign aimed at intimidating Democratic voters in battleground states so they would vote for Trump.

The indictment makes clear that even as much of the public concern about foreign interference in last year’s election centered on Russian efforts to disparage Trump’s challenger, Joe Biden, Iranian hackers were engaged in a wide-ranging influence campaign, too.

The indictment, filed in federal court in Manhattan and unsealed Nov. 18, said the defendants were experienced hackers who worked as contractors for a cybersecurity firm. They are not in custody and are believed to be in Iran still. Each faces a broad array of charges, including voter intimidation, transmission of interstate threats and computer crimes.

Court documents allege vast efforts to spread disinformation about the presidential contest and to intimidate and pressure voters.

As part of the  campaign, officials say, the hackers attempted to compromise voter websites in 11 states and downloaded voter information related to more than 100,000 people in one state.

In September and October 2020, prosecutors say, the hackers gained unauthorized access to the computer network of an American media company — which the Wall Street Journal identified as Lee, although prosecutors didn’t disclose it — that provided a content management system for dozens of publications.

Lee is the majority owner of the Town News platform, which says it supports more than 2,000 local media organizations. The Omaha World-Herald’s Omaha.com is among the news websites built on the platform.

The hackers tested the capability to modify and create content on the system, which the indictment says “would have provided them another vehicle for further disseminating false claims concerning the election.”

On Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election, hackers attempted to access the system through stolen credentials, but by then, the company had fixed the issue and the hackers’ log-in attempt failed, the indictment says.

The Daily Record contributed to this report.