The United States launched on September 4 a wide attempt to counter Russian influence campaigns in the 2024 election, aiming to limit the Kremlin's use of state-run media and fake news sites to mislead American voters.
The moves include penalties, indictments, and the seizure of online domains that US officials claim the Kremlin uses to promote misinformation and disinformation about Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than two years ago.
The escalation of these efforts comes at a critical time, as the 2024 US presidential election looms on the horizon. Intelligence agencies have been working tirelessly to identify and neutralize potential threats to the integrity of the electoral process. This proactive approach reflects a growing awareness of the sophisticated tactics employed by foreign actors to sway public opinion and potentially influence voting outcomes.
Attorney General Merrick Garland provided details on the Justice Department's efforts. They include the indictment of two Russian employees of RT, the state-owned broadcaster, who utilized a Tennessee-based corporation to distribute content, as well as the dismantling of Doppelganger, a Russian malign influence campaign.
"The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power engages in political activities or seeks to influence public discourse," Mr. Garland said.
The Treasury Department sanctioned ANO Dialog, a Russian organization that operates the Doppelganger network, as well as RT's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, and her deputies.
The State Department has offered a $US10 million (S$13 million) reward for intelligence about foreign involvement in a US election. The department specifically requested information on a group known as Russian Angry Hackers Did It, or RaHDit.
The State Department also announced that five Russian state-funded news outlets, including RT, Ruptly, and Sputnik, would be designated as foreign government missions, and visas would be restricted to those working for Kremlin-backed media institutions.
Experts in cybersecurity and digital forensics have praised these measures, highlighting the importance of a multi-faceted approach to combating foreign interference. Dr. Emily Thornton, a leading researcher in digital disinformation at MIT, commented, "These actions demonstrate a comprehensive strategy that targets not just the digital infrastructure of these campaigns, but also the individuals and organizations behind them. It's a significant step forward in protecting the integrity of our democratic processes."
US officials have increased their warnings about Russian electoral interference operations. According to US intelligence agencies, the Kremlin prefers former President Donald Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election because he is more suspicious of US backing for Ukraine.
The United States was caught off guard in 2016 when its spy agencies discovered Russian efforts to influence the election on Trump's behalf and were slow to warn the public. In succeeding elections, US intelligence officials became more vocal about Russian, Chinese, and Iranian efforts to influence US elections.
Officials claim that combating electoral tampering has been more difficult this year. Some Americans, particularly Trump supporters, see claims that Russia is distributing disinformation as an attempt to undermine their beliefs.
Mr Garland stated that the accusations revealed on September 4 were not the end of the case: "The investigation is ongoing."
The Justice Department and FBI have also been looking into a few Americans accused of propagating fake Kremlin propaganda. However, officials have stated that they do not want to limit free expression. Americans who just regurgitate or circulate news from Russian state media are not being scrutinized, according to officials.
This delicate balance between national security and freedom of speech has sparked heated debates among legal scholars and civil liberties advocates. Professor Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University, cautioned, "While the threat of foreign interference is real and must be addressed, we must be vigilant in ensuring that these efforts do not inadvertently infringe upon the First Amendment rights of American citizens. The line between disinformation and protected speech can sometimes be blurry, and we must tread carefully."
Officials claim that RT used bots to spread disinformation, but they are also investigating how the Kremlin and its secret services influenced the election.
As the indictments became public, RT's deputy editor-in-chief, Anna Belkina, responded sarcastically on its website. "There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and RT's interference in American elections," the statement stated.
On September 4, indictments were issued charging two Russian RT workers, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They are accused of spending $10 million surreptitiously paying an unnamed Tennessee company to distribute roughly 2,000 English-language videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X.
Disinformation experts have long struggled to assess the success of Russian influence programs, but Justice Department officials say the films, the majority of which support the Russian government's goals, have received 16 million views on YouTube.
Mr Garland stated that the recordings were "often consistent with Russia's interest in amplifying US domestic divisions in order to weaken US opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine". He said that the Tennessee corporation had never declared its ties to the Russian government.
Following a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert venue in March, Afanasyeva instructed the company to focus on the false narrative that Ukraine was to blame.
The Justice Department declined to identify the firm, although the one in the indictment had the same tagline as Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company that releases videos and other content widely supporting Trump. The corporation and its most notable critics did not immediately reply to calls for comment.
The indictment does not directly accuse the company of wrongdoing, but it does state that it has ties to RT and that its founders allude to their sponsor as "the Russians".
Critics of the US actions argued the prosecutions created free speech concerns and suggested that the Biden administration was attempting to stifle pro-Russian comments.
Mr. Paul M. Barrett, deputy director of New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, stated that the government must tread carefully when distinguishing between foreign electoral intervention and First Amendment free speech safeguards.
The international community has been closely watching these developments, with many US allies expressing support for the measures. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement commending the US efforts, saying, "Protecting the integrity of democratic processes is crucial not just for the United States, but for all NATO allies. These actions send a strong message that attempts to undermine our democracies will not be tolerated." The European Union has also announced plans to bolster its own defenses against foreign interference, citing the US actions as a model for a coordinated approach.
The United States has previously taken measures against Russian organisations that it believes are attempting to influence American politics. In March, the Treasury Department imposed penalties on a Russian group that has helped develop fake news sites that propagate misinformation, and in July, it seized two internet domains related to RT and the Federal Security Service, the Soviet KGB's successor.
The Justice Department's action expands on that, stating that it was seizing 32 additional domains used to secretly promote Russian propaganda. According to the government declaration, the Doppelganger campaign is led by Mr Sergei Kiriyenko, a former prime minister who is currently Russian President Vladimir Putin's first deputy chief of staff.
Mr Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stated that the authorities has confiscated the fake news websites as of noon.
"When we learn that adversaries overseas are trying to hide who they are and where their propaganda is coming from, as part of campaigns to deliberately sow discord, we're going to continue to do everything we can to expose their hidden hand and disrupt their efforts," according to him.
According to Mr Garland, a Russian internal planning document stated that "the aim of the campaign is securing Russia's preferred outcome in the election". The document, created for the Social Design Agency, detailed plans to influence US voters without revealing that the content came from the Russian government.
It outlines a strategy for targeting voters in swing states (as indicated by The New York Times' polling), as well as conservative states like Alabama, Texas, and Kansas. According to the document, US people of Hispanic heritage, Jews, and video gamers would all be targeted.
According to the letter and the indictment, the purpose was to persuade Americans that the United States should focus on "addressing its domestic issues instead of wasting money in Ukraine".
The Justice Department conceals the names of the Russian candidates, but the paper states that "it makes sense for Russia to put a maximum effort" into ensuring that the Republican Party's position, and in particular the viewpoints of Trump's followers, "wins over US public opinion".
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