Russia Is Using Conservative US Influencers To Peddle Propaganda

*Published with the generous permission of Amee Vanderpool. Read more of her excellent work at Shero.

By Amee Vanderpool

Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference yesterday to announce that The Justice Department has siezed 32 internet domains used in Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns found to be in violation of US money laundering and criminal trademark laws. According to the unsealed affidavit for seizure, the operation, colloquially referred to as “Doppelganger,” used these domains, among others, to covertly spread Russian government propaganda by using deep fake content to develop Russian disinformation campaigns.

According to the Department of Justice the purpose for this campaign, which is assumed to be ongoing, is to reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the United States in the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election. As alleged in the affidavit, Russian companies Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura), and ANO Dialog, have been operating under the direction and control of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and in particular his First Deputy Chief of Staff, Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko.

Autonomous Non-Profit Organization (ANO Dialog) is a Russian nonprofit organization founded in 2019 by the Moscow city government that leverages AI technology in online Russian disinformation for use against election campaigns. According to the US Treasury Department, which has also leveraged sanctions in conjunction with the Justice Department, 10 prominent individuals are working in concert with the Kremlin to employ an array of tools to undermine the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.

Garland also announced charges against Russian nationals connected to the alleged scheme to influence US public with posts that include hidden Russian government messaging. According to court documents, RT, a Russian state media network previously called Russia Today, deployed nearly $10 million to finance and direct a Tennessee-based online content creation company that has posted nearly 2,000 videos in English focused on key domestic and foreign issues to "amplify divisions in the United States."

The Russian state-funded news outlet began broadcasting internationally in 2005 and registered as an agent of a foreign government in the United States in 2017. According to recently revealed documents RT executives began to covertly recruit unwitting American influencers this year across social media through a front company to disguise their own involvement or the involvement of the Russian government. 

Six of the 10 individuals who will now be sanctioned by the Treasury Department are central figures working for RT and are currently still at large. The 32-page DOJ indictment alleges that RT executives worked to deceive two YouTube commentators who have millions of subscribers, falsely claiming the company was sponsored by a fictional private investor.
While the Justice Department has been able to seize the internet domains which are named in the affidavit, RT and many of the influencers involved are still able to use their accounts on platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter). The indictment also alleges that some of the Russian propaganda included "cybersquatted" sites, that published disinformation meant to resemble legitimate news outlets, like the Washington Post and Fox News.

The Wednesday indictment alleges a media company linked to six well-known conservative influencers including, Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, was secretly funded by Russian state media employees to produce videos that were “often consistent” with Russia’s “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions.” The above-named personalities have millions of followers online, and contribute to right-wing political discourse that furthers the election of Donald Trump. While prosecutors claim that these influencers unknowingly helped a company that was a front for a Putin-backed Russian influence operation, all are still active across social media.

In all of the concern over foreign actors attempting to engage in disinformation to improperly influence the 2024 Presidential Election, it’s worth noting that the most prominent figure involved in the “Doppelgänger” missive has yet to be named. Elon Musk, the current owner of X, not only personally posts disinformation that aligns with the Russian propaganda agenda, he is responsible for failing to stop accounts on his site that have assisted Vladimir Putin in his covert goals. Because Twitter is a privately owned company, it is not subject to the same rules and regulations that the rest of the internet must abide, therefore Musk is able to promote his own personal and political agendas.

While this is the third straight presidential election in which US authorities have voiced concerns over Russia’s attempted interference in US politics, yesterday marks a turning point in that this is the first time an indictment with this level of detail has been released before an election. Until the American public at large learns how to discern accurate news from a fake Russian agenda, this response by the US government remains fairly innocuous.

In response to the allegations levied yesterday, Vladimir Putin has publicly stated today that he is endorsing Kamala Harris for president. Sadly, many US voters will think that this latest attempt at reverse psychology by the Kremlin will exonerate him from all of his attempts to sway our elections, even though we all know Putin is desperate for Trump to win the election. Even worse, some uneducated voters will buy that Putin actually means it, consequently casting their votes for Trump.