Justice Department shuts down Russian-run websites for trying to influence elections
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Justice said it had seized 32 internet websites used by the Russian government in what the prosectuors said Wednesday was “a covert campaign to interfere in and influence the outcome of our country’s elections.”
The DOJ stated the Russian-run websites “covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim of reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election,” according to a news release.
The Justice Department released what it said was Russia’s internal documents and memos that were traced back to an organization operated by First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko.”
The documents stated that the Russians preferred a specific political party in the U.S. but the identification of the party was removed in the public document released by the DOJ.
The Russian internal document states: “We believe that supporters of the [U.S. Political Party B] are left-wing and far left globalists who advocate for perversion of traditional moral and religious values, while supporters of the [U.S. Political Party A] are normal people whose priority is to preserve traditions of the American way of life. It is important that [U.S. Political Party B] are also people of color and supporters of ‘affirmative action’ and ‘reverse discrimination’, i.e. the infringement of the rights of the white population of the United States while [U.S. Political Party A] are the victims of discrimination by people of color.”
The DOJ said that the Russians were violating copyright laws by mimicking legitimate media outlets and that payments for the Russian infrastructure violated federal money laundering laws.
“The Justice Department is seizing 32 internet domains that the Russian government and Russian government-sponsored actors have used to engage in a covert campaign to interfere in and influence the outcome of our country’s elections,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release. “As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including 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.”
In a related event, the DOJ stated it had charged two Russian nationals with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering for spreading Russian propaganda.
The DOJ said Kostiantyn Kalahnikov and Elena Afanasyeva were employees of RT, Russian’s state-controlled media outlet, and had been involved in a $10 million scheme to “create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”
The Russians had created English-language videos that mostly conformed to the goals of Russia. The videos were posted on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Twitter and YouTube.
Kalahnikov and Afanasyeva worked under fake names. The company they ran never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and directed by RT.
