The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday the seizure of 32 Internet domains used in a pro-Russian propaganda operation called Double as part of a broad set of activities.
Accusing a Russian government-run foreign influence criminal enterprise of violating US money laundering and criminal trademark laws, the agency accused the companies Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura) and ANO Dialog of working at the behest of Russia. Administration of the President.
That’s the goal saidconsists of “the covert dissemination of Russian government propaganda to reduce international support for Ukraine, strengthen pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in US and foreign elections, including the 2024 US presidential election.”
The sites taken down by the US government were filled with Russian government propaganda created by the Kremlin to reduce international support for Ukraine, strengthen pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the US and elsewhere.
The full list of domains impersonating legitimate news outlets such as Der Spiegel, Fox News, Le Monde and The Washington Post is as follows:
- tribunalukraine.info
- rrn.media
- ukrlm.info
- faz.ltd
- spiegel.agency
- lemonde.ltd
- leparisien.ltd
- rbk.media
- 50statesoflie.media
- meisterurian.io
- artichoc.io
- vip-news.org
- through the line.pres
- mypride.press
- truegate.us
- warfareinsider.us
- shadowwatch.us
- pravda-ua.com
- waronfakes.com
- holylandherald.com
- levinaigre.net
- grenzezank.com
- lexomnium.com
- uschina.online
- honeymoney.press
- sueddeutsche.co
- tagesspiegel.co
- build. work
- fox-news.top
- fox-news.in
- forward.pw, and
- washingtonpost.pm
Simultaneously with the confiscation of the domain of the Ministry of Finance sanctioned 10 individuals and two organizations for influencing and undermining trust in the electoral process.
Specifically, it alleged that executives at RT, Russia’s state-funded news media, secretly recruited unwilling individuals to participate in their election campaign. He is also said to have used a shell company to hide his involvement or that of the government.
“At Putin’s direction, Russian companies SDA, Structura and ANO Dialog used cybersquatting, fabricated influencers and fake profiles to covertly promote false narratives created by artificial intelligence on social media,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “These narratives targeted specific American demographics and regions in a targeted attempt to disrupt our elections.”
In a related development, the Justice Department also charged two RT employees with directing $9.7 million to further “covert” messaging and disinformation against the Russian government by distributing thousands of videos through the Tennessee-based content creation firm with the ultimate goal of sowing discord. among Americans.
Court documents allege that 31-year-old Konstantin Kalashnikov and 27-year-old Alena Afanasyeva, along with other RT employees, financed the company’s activities to publish English-language videos on TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube, which received millions of views. Kalashnikov and Afanasyev posed as third-party editors.
Since launching in November 2023, the company is estimated to have posted nearly 2,000 videos sharing commentary on immigration, inflation and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy. These clips have been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube alone.
“While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, most of them are aimed at the publicly stated goals of the Russian government and RT, which is to increase domestic discord in the United States,” the Department of Justice said. saidadding that the company “never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and operated by RT.”
The two Russian nationals were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
In addition, the State Department has founded a new policy to limit the issuance of visas to individuals who act on behalf of Kremlin-backed media outlets and use them as a front to engage in clandestine influence peddling.
He also designated Rossiya Segodnya and RIA subsidiaries Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly and Sputnik as foreign offices, requiring them to report to the Department all personnel working in the country and to disclose all real estate they own. own within the United States.
Taken together, the actions signal a broader push by the US government to end Russian-backed disinformation operations ahead of November’s general election.
This event is taking place against the background of revelations that have been dubbed a Chinese influence operation Spam stepped up its efforts to influence online discourse surrounding the US election by creating fake personas on social media platforms to push controversial narratives about sensitive social issues, capitalizing on a polarized news environment.
“These accounts have collected and disseminated content that denigrates Democratic and Republican candidates, casts doubt on the legitimacy of the US electoral process, and spreads controversial narratives about sensitive social issues, including gun control, homelessness, drug abuse, racial inequality, and Israel-Hamas . conflict”, “Graphics said.
