Conspiracy theories started circulating in the U.S. involving recent major hurricanes, calling into question both the severity and even the existence of the storms. In an appearance on ETV's "Välisilm," Prikk said that authorities cannot choose between dealing with storm damage and combating the spread of disinformation.

"Unfortunately, there's no such choice here – both must be addressed," he acknowledged. "Combating disinformation is, of course, an entirely new challenge for agencies that typically deal with disaster response, and they don't always handle it very well."

The ambassador noted that how disinformation campaigns will affect the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November remains to be seen. This time around, however, there has been a significant focus on sharing preventive info as well as exposing disinformation campaigns.

"But unfortunately, this kind of spreading of distorted and outright false information is definitely something that has come to stay, both in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world," he added.

In the course of the Republican campaign, claims have circulated that Haitian immigrants in the small Ohio city of Springfield are eating local people's cats and dogs, and that a Venezuelan gang has turned the Denver suburb of Aurora into a war zone and are threatening to take over the area.

"[Donald] Trump is a very skillful politician in that sense," Prikk acknowledged regarding the Republican presidential candidate. "He plays directly to the fears and desires of his voter base. He wouldn't be talking about these things if he didn't believe it would help mobilize his voters at least for the elections. His vice presidential candidate JD Vance has explicitly said, using the cats and dogs example, that sometimes you have to make up these kinds of stories to draw attention to an alleged actual problem."

The ambassador noted that the tragic thing about both cases – both Springfield, Ohio and Aurora, Colorado – is that their respective local mayors are themselves members of the Republican Party.

"And while conservative wing Republicans, among others, have in recent years strongly emphasized reversing federal overreach or the need to listen to local people, in this case, both of these mayors have said to stop pumping out this disinformation," he explained. "But unfortunately, they haven't been listened to."

Foreign policy not a major U.S. election issue

The Estonian ambassador in Washington said that both Republicans and Democrats are trying to push their own issues in their election campaigns, and added that foreign policy is not among key election issues.

"It's primarily migration, and, on a related note, people's everyday ability to cope, and their economic situation," he explained. "But also very much issues involving individual freedoms, and how the Supreme Court's ruling overturning abortion rights two years ago affects the rights people have been accustomed to."

According to Prikk, when Trump talks about foreign policy, he emphasizes that the U.S. has to be in a position of strength and leading role.

"When it comes to Trump, it's quite hard to believe that he has some sort of explicitly outlined plan for what he would do on one issue or another," he said.

Regarding Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, the Estonian diplomat noted that she hadn't shown a natural interest in foreign and security policy in her previous career. Even so, those who have worked with and advised Harris have said there are a couple of issues that interest her.

"What's most important for us is that, according to multiple sources, one key issue for her as a former prosecutor is how one situation or another aligns with international law," Prikk highlighted. "A central theme for her is that the U.S. observes and follows international law, and tries to support those who should be helped by international law."

The 2024 U.S. presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 5.

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