The Biden administration has accused Russia of once again attempting to influence the US presidential election, with a series of government actions taken on Wednesday targeting disinformation campaigns якedly aimed at the November polls. According to the administration, Russian actors have been operating websites and social media accounts to spread propaganda favorable to Russian interests, even creating fake social media personas to comment on posts, making their efforts appear more credible.
Russian-Controlled Media and Covert Operations
In one of the alleged influence operations, the Russian-controlled media outlet RT is said to have funded a Tennessee-based company, which posted videos on YouTube that garnered millions of views. The US Department of Justice announced this information during a special task force meeting on election threats.
According to the Justice Department, in one of the charged actions, the Russian government directed a Russian company to conduct propaganda on multiple websites to decrease support for Ukraine, support Russian interests, and influence voters in the US presidential election. The US government has announced the continuous seizure of 32 internet domains associated with an influence campaign named Doppelganger, claiming they violated US anti-money laundering and trademark laws.
The influence campaign is reportedly commanded by members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, who create media brands or closely mimic existing ones to spread Russian government propaganda. They are also accused of creating fake social media personas of non-Russian citizens to post comments.
Russian government and its agents are actively accelerating covert efforts by the Kremlin to spread disinformation, said Matthew G. Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Justice Department, in a statement. This seizure action vividly illustrates a problem that the US government and private sector partners have been warning about for months: the Russian government and its agents are actively accelerating covert activities to spread false narratives and amplify disinformation targeting the US public.
Sanctions and Policy Actions
The Treasury Department has also sanctioned 10 individuals and two entities linked to the scheme. The US Department of State has announced a new policy that bans visas for individuals engaging in covert influence operations on behalf of Kremlin-supported media organizations.
In a separate lawsuit, the Justice Department has charged two employees of the Russian state-controlled media outlet RT with conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and commit money laundering. In a newly released indictment, the Justice Department alleges that RT provided nearly $10 million to a Tennessee-based online content creation company to publish videos on TikTok, X, and YouTube. Allegedly, just on YouTube, videos posted by this unnamed company since 2023 have garnered nearly 16 million views. According to the Justice Department, these videos covered various topics, including immigration and inflation, with most of the videos targeting the divisions that the Russian government and RT publicly claim to support.
A Pattern of Interference
This is not the first time the US has accused Russia of interfering in elections. After the 2016 election, law enforcement agencies charged Russian agents with crimes related to election interference, including computer hacking. In 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report that determined President Putin had condoned a campaign aimed at supporting Donald Trump’s bid for the White House in 2016.
The Biden administration used Wednesday’s announcement to warn malicious actors against interfering in US elections. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement while announcing the indictment against RT employees, saying, The Justice Department will not tolerate authoritarian regimes attempting to exploit our nation’s free exchange of ideas to surreptitiously advance their own propaganda. Our investigation into this matter is ongoing.
The latest accusations highlight the ongoing tensions between the US and Russia and the lengths to which the Russian government is willing to go to influence the political landscape of the United States. With the November election fast approaching, the US government is taking proactive steps to safeguard the integrity of its democratic process.
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