United States Seizes 32 Pro-Russian Propaganda Domains in Significant Disinformation Crackdown
The Department of Justice of the United States (DoJ) disclosed on Wednesday the confiscation of 32 internet domains utilized by a pro-Russian propaganda operation known as Doppelganger as a component of a comprehensive series of measures.
Alleging the Russian government-guided foreign nefarious influence campaign of breaching U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark statutes, the bureau denounced firms Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura), and ANO Dialog for working in the interests of the Russian Presidential Administration.
The objective, as described, is to “clandestinely disseminate Russian government propaganda to diminish international backing for Ukraine, reinforce pro-Russian policies and interests, and sway voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election.”
The webpages disassembled by the U.S. government were replete with Russian government propaganda crafted by the Kremlin to diminish international assistance for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and sway voters in the U.S. and other nations.
The comprehensive catalogue of domains, which imitate legitimate news sources like Der Spiegel, Fox News, Le Monde, and The Washington Post, are detailed below –
- 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
- acrosstheline.press
- mypride.press
- truthgate.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
- bild.work
- fox-news.top
- fox-news.in
- forward.pw, and
- washingtonpost.pm
In tandem with the domain seizures, the Treasury Department sanctioned 10 individuals and two entities for participating in endeavors to influence and undermine faith in the electoral process.
Specifically, it asserted that executives at RT, Russia’s state-financed news media publication, covertly enlisted unwitting American influencers into its campaign endeavors. It’s also claimed to have employed a front company to mask its own involvement or that of the government.
“Under the directive of Putin, Russian firms SDA, Structura, and ANO Dialog employed cybersquatting, fabricated influencers, and counterfeit profiles to covertly propagate AI-generated misleading accounts on social media,” stated Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Those accounts targeted specific American demographics and regions in a methodical effort to undermine our election.”
Simultaneously, the DoJ revealed the indictment of two RT staff members for channeling $9.7 million to further “veiled” Russian government communications and disinformation by disseminating thousands of videos through a Tennessee-based content creation firm with a principal aim to sow discontent among Americans.
Judicial records allege that Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, along with other RT employees funded the operations of the firm to publish English-language videos across TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube, accumulating millions of views. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva posed as an external editing squad.
The estimated number of videos posted by the company since its inception in November 2023 is close to 2,000, sharing analysis related to immigration, inflation, and other topics connected to domestic and foreign policy. These videos have been viewed over 16 million times on YouTube alone.
“While the perspectives articulated in the videos are not uniform, a majority are aligned with the publicly stated objectives of the Government of Russia and RT — to magnify internal divisions in the United States,” the DoJ stated, adding the company “never revealed to its viewers that it received funding and instructions from RT.”
The two Russian individuals have been accused of conspiring to breach the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Moreover, the State Department has implemented a new policy to curtail visa allotment to persons acting on behalf of Kremlin-backed media entities and leveraging them as a guise to partake in covert influence operations.
It has also identified Rossiya Segodnya, and offspring RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik, as foreign missions, mandating them to inform the Department of all staff operating in the nation, as well as disclose all real estate they own within U.S. territories.
Collectively, these actions indicate a broader initiative by the U.S. government to crack down on Russian-backed disinformation operations leading up to the general election in November.
This development comes in the wake of reports that a Chinese influence scheme named Spamouflage has escalated its endeavors to influence online discussions surrounding the U.S. elections, generating fictitious identities across social media platforms to advance divisive narratives about sensitive societal matters by exploiting a polarized information milieu.
“These accounts have initiated and amplified content disparaging Democratic and Republican candidates, sowing skepticism in the authenticity of the U.S. electoral process, and spreading divisive narratives about sensitive social issues encompassing gun control, homelessness, substance abuse, racial disparity, and the Israel-Hamas conflict,” Graphika articulated.
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