U.S. accuses Russian media of election interference

The U.S. has charged and sanctioned Russian state media executives and imposed restrictions on Kremlin-linked broadcasters, accusing Moscow of orchestrating a widespread campaign to interfere with the presidential election.

The Departments of Justice, State, and Treasury announced coordinated actions on Wednesday to “aggressively counter” the alleged operations. Attorney General Merrick Garland accused the state broadcaster RT, formerly known as Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10 million to “create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”

RT’s chief, Margarita Simonyan, was among 10 individuals sanctioned for allegedly attempting to undermine “public trust in our institutions.” RT denied any involvement.

Garland stated that Moscow sought to secure a “preferred outcome” in the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby claimed Russia’s program aimed to “reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence U.S. voters.”

A Treasury official added that RT and other Russian state media had engaged in a “nefarious campaign to covertly recruit unwitting American influencers to support their malign activities.”

The Biden administration’s response includes:

• Charging two Moscow-based RT managers—Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27—for paying content creators in the U.S. to “pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation” to American audiences.
• Sanctioning two entities and 10 individuals, including Simonyan, RT’s editor-in-chief, for activities aimed at eroding public trust in U.S. institutions.
• Restricting visas for employees of Kremlin-backed media outlets.
• Seizing 32 internet domain names used to “covertly promote AI-generated false narratives” targeting specific U.S. demographics and regions on social media.
• Designating Rossiya Segodnya and five of its subsidiaries (RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik) as “foreign missions,” requiring them to report personnel information to the U.S. government.
• Offering a $10 million reward for information on hackers associated with the Russian group, Russian Angry Hackers Did It (RaHDit).

Much of the Kremlin’s disinformation effort is directed and funded by RT, according to Kirby. “RT is no longer just a propaganda arm of the Kremlin,” he said. “It’s being used to advance covert Russian influence operations.”

RT mocked the U.S. government’s accusations, telling the BBC that “2016 called and it wants its clichés back,” and sarcastically added, “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and RT’s interference in the U.S. elections.”

The criminal indictments of Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva do not name the Tennessee-based content creation company they used. However, the court filings describe “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues,” which matches the self-description found on the website of an outlet named Tenet Media.

Tenet posts thousands of English-language videos on social media and promotes well-known right-wing commentators Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, and Dave Rubin as its “talent.” The company has been contacted for comment.

U.S. officials warn that an increasing number of foreign adversaries have attempted to interfere with U.S. elections since Russia’s efforts in 2016. In June, a group of hackers linked to the Iranian government successfully breached Donald Trump’s campaign and leaked internal documents.

A month later, the Department of Justice announced the seizure of two domain names and the search of nearly 1,000 social media accounts operated by Russian actors to “create an AI-enhanced social media bot farm that spread disinformation.”

Researchers have also uncovered a growing Chinese influence operation aimed at infiltrating and swaying U.S. political conversations on social media. China’s President Xi Jinping pledged during a summit with President Joe Biden last November that his country would not interfere in the U.S. election.

Jen Easterly, Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said on Tuesday that the U.S. should “absolutely expect foreign adversaries” to try to “undermine American confidence in our democracy and sow partisan discord.” She added, “And that’s why it is up to all of us not to let our foreign adversaries be successful.”

Eight years ago, Russia conducted a sophisticated campaign that involved hacking the Democratic National Committee and leaking stolen documents to WikiLeaks to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Many Democrats argue that this operation contributed to Trump’s eventual victory in November. U.S. politicians and intelligence officials have since concluded that the operation was directly ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twelve Russian military intelligence officers were charged in 2018 with orchestrating the effort, and federal warrants were issued for their arrest.

Credit: BBC