The United States accused Russia on September 4 of attempting to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election through Kremlin-run media outlets and online platforms that are designed to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda, a Justice Department news release said on September 4.
The Kremlin has used media outlets such as RT, formerly Russia Today, and online platforms it backs to target U.S. voters with disinformation, the department said. RT, a major focus of the announcement, is seen as a key part of the Kremlin's propaganda efforts.
The department announced the seizure of 32 Internet domains that it said had been used in "Russian government-directed foreign malign-influence campaigns" that FBI Director Christopher Wray said operate at the direction of the Russian government, setting up websites "filled with Russian government propaganda" meant to deceive American users.
Russian companies under the control of the Russian presidential administration use the domains to covertly spread Russian government propaganda, which in addition to attempting to influence the presidential election also aims to reduce international support for Ukraine and bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, the Justice Department said.
"As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including [first deputy chief of staff] Sergei Kiriyenko, directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the news release. "An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that a goal of the campaign is to secure Russia’s preferred outcome in the election."
Garland did not specify the outcome preferred by the Kremlin, but Putin said earlier this year prior to President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic party nominee, that Biden was more "predictable" than former President Donald Trump. Putin also said the Kremlin is prepared to work with whomever wins the election.
The department also announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Garland said the two employees of RT were charged in a $10 million scheme "to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging."
The United States "will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country's free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts," Garland said, adding that the investigation into the matter remains ongoing. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are at large.
Russia described the move as a "witch-hunt" aimed at scaring the U.S. population, and said it will target U.S. media in response to Washington’s actions against RT.
"There will be a response to the actions of the United States authorities, which directly contradict their obligations in the areas of providing free access to information and media pluralism," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on September 5.
The U.S. Justice Department announcement came a month after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech that Russia was the primary threat to the U.S. election.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in the statement that the seizure of domains "illustrates vividly what the U.S. government and private sector partners have warned for months: the Russian government and its proxies are aggressively accelerating the Kremlin’s covert efforts to seed false stories and amplify disinformation directed at the American public.”
The Russian government has long sought to "sow discord and chaos in the United States through propaganda and foreign malign influence campaigns,” Olsen said, adding that the new accusations reveal that Russia is "willing to impersonate our free and open press in its egregious schemes."
The tactics include using RT to advance anti-U.S. messages and content and promote networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics such as immigration and crime. Americans who view the content may have no idea that it either originated or was amplified by the Kremlin.
In conjunction with the domain seizures, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the designation of 10 individuals and two entities for sanctions as part of the government's response to Russia’s malign influence efforts targeting the U.S. presidential election. Among the 10 individuals are Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of RT, and Yelizaveta Brodskaya deputy editor in chief of RT.
The sanctions announced by the Treasury Department complement the law enforcement actions announced by the Justice Department and the State Department’s designation of the Rossia Segodnya media group and five of its subsidiaries -- RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik -- as foreign missions.
As designated entities under the Foreign Mission Act, they will be required to notify the department of all personnel working in the United States and will be required to disclose all real property they hold within the United States, the State Department said in a news release.
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The State Department also announced steps to impose visa restrictions on people who act on behalf of Kremlin-supported media organizations, use those organizations as cover for covert activities, and are complicit in engaging in covert influence. Noting that visa applications are confidential, the State Department said it would not be disclosing the names of the people affected.
Moreover, the State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million relating to an organization known as RaHDit (Russian Angry Hackers Did It). The group engaged in election influence in other countries and is a threat to the 2024 U.S. election, particularly through cyber-enabled influence operations, the State Department said.
"Members of RaHDit disseminate and amplify propaganda and disinformation from the Kremlin-funded and -directed organization RT and RaHDit is associated with Russian intelligence services. RaHDit is led by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Aleksei Garashchenko," the department said.
By RFE/RL
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