440700
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: for all you fans of RT "news"...
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DOJ announces new crackdown on Russian disinformation in 2024 election The seized sites were linked to a Russian campaign known as “Doppelganger,” one of the most prolific and public groups spreading disinformation linked to Moscow. Vladimir Putin is seen. The new details about the Russian efforts are likely to increase concerns about continuing interference by foreign governments as the U.S. presidential campaign enters its final stretch. | Kremlin pool photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev By Josh Gerstein, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Maggie Miller 09/04/2024 02:40 PM EDT The Justice Department has seized more than 30 web domains that it said were part of a broader, ongoing, surreptitious effort by the Russian government to influence the 2024 U.S. election and American public opinion, federal authorities announced Wednesday. The seized sites were linked to a Russian campaign known as “Doppelganger,” one of the most prolific and public groups spreading disinformation linked to Moscow in recent years. Experts recently saw evidence of the group spreading Russian disinformation related to the failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, and the Biden administration has worked to counter the group’s efforts in recent months. The legal actions, which also included the indictment of two Russian employees of the Kremlin-backed media outlet RT, underscored previous warnings this year by the Biden administration that foreign adversaries are looking to interfere in the upcoming vote. The new details about the Russian efforts are likely to increase concerns about continuing interference by foreign governments as the U.S. presidential campaign enters its final stretch. “The Justice Department’s message is clear: We have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic system of government,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference announcing the crackdown. |
440744
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: for all you fans of RT "news"...
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Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian operation, US says By ALAN SUDERMAN and ALI SWENSON, Associated Press Updated Sep 5, 2024 11:13 a.m. NEW YORK (AP) — They have millions of followers online. They have been major players in right-wing political discourse since Donald Trump was president. And they worked unknowingly for a company that was a front for a Russian influence operation, U.S. prosecutors say. An indictment filed Wednesday alleges a media company linked to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn out English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin's “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition" to Russian interests, like its war in Ukraine. In addition to marking the third straight presidential election in which U.S. authorities have unveiled politically charged details about Russia’s attempted interference in U.S. politics, an indictment indicates how Moscow may be attempting to capitalize on the skyrocketing popularity of right-wing podcasters, livestreamers and other content creators who have found successful careers on social media in the years since Trump was in office. The U.S. Justice Department doesn’t allege any wrongdoing by the influencers, some of whom it says were given false information about the source of the company's funding. Instead, it accuses two employees of RT, a Russian state media company, of funneling nearly $10 million to a Tennessee-based content creation company for Russia-friendly content. After the indictments were announced, both Pool and Johnson issued statements on social media, which Rubin retweeted, saying they were victims of the alleged crimes and had done nothing wrong. “We still do not know what is true as these are only allegations,” Pool said. “Putin is a scumbag.” In his post, Johnson wrote that he had been asked a year ago to provide content to a “media startup.” He said his lawyers negotiated a “standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated.” Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They are at large, and it was not immediately clear if they had lawyers. U.S. officials have previously warned of Russia’s use of unwitting Americans to further influence operations in the 2024 election, but Wednesday’s indictment is the most detailed description of those efforts to date. At a forum on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest jokingly that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election. Intelligence officials have said Moscow has a preference for Trump. Putin authorized influence operations to help Trump in the 2020 election, while his 2016 campaign benefited from hacking by Russian intelligence officers and a covert social media effort, according to U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials. With the decline of traditional media like newspapers and limits on direct advertising on social media platforms, influencers are increasingly playing a key role in politics and shaping public opinion. Both the Republican and Democratic parties invited scores of influencers to their respective national conventions this summer. But with little to no disclosure requirements about who is funding influencers' work, the public is largely in the dark about who is powering the messaging online. Though the indictment does not name the Tennessee-based company, the details match up exactly with Tenet Media, an online media company that boasts of hosting “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” Tenet’s website lists six influencers who provide content, including Pool, Johnson, Rubin, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen and Matt Christiansen. Tenet Media’s six main influencers have more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 7 million followers on X. Fueled by public outrage and online fandom, the influencers who make up the bench of talent at Tenet Media have amassed millions of loyal followers who agree with their staunch conservatism and brazen willingness to voice controversial opinions. Their channels also have created communities for conservative Americans who have lost trust in mainstream media sources through Trump’s 2020 loss and the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of them have faced criticism for spreading political misinformation. The indictment shows that some of the influencers were paid handsomely for their work. One unidentified influencer's contract included a $400,000 monthly fee, a $100,000 signing bonus and an additional performance bonus. Tenet Media’s shows in recent months have featured high-profile conservative guests, including Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake. The nearly 2,000 videos posted by the company have gotten more than 16 million views on YouTube alone, prosecutors said. Pool, a journalist-turned-YouTuber who first gained public attention for livestreaming the Occupy Wall Street protests, hosted Trump on his podcast earlier this year. Johnson is an outspoken Trump supporter and internet personality who was fired from BuzzFeed after the company found evidence he’d plagiarized other works. Rubin was previously part of the liberal news commentary show “The Young Turks” but has since identified as a libertarian. He boasts the largest YouTube following of Tenet’s influencer roster and hosts a show called “The Rubin Report.” Tenet Media President Liam Donovan is the husband of Lauren Chen, a Canadian influencer who has appeared as a guest in several Tenet Media videos. Chen is affiliated with the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and has hosted shows for the right-wing network Blaze Media. RT’s website also lists her as a contributor of several opinion articles from 2021 and 2022. ___ Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia. AP reporter Garance Burke contributed from San Francisco and researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York. |
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440705
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: for all you fans of RT "news"...
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I recall someone on this board posting warnings about RT news articles when they've been reposted here. Some of us are not suprised by this news. |
440709
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: for all you fans of RT "news"...
| hmmm...wonder who that could be...could it be...SATAN? |
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440711
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: for all you fans of RT "news"...
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hmmm could be. little history trivia: Dana Carvey was raised in the same neighborhood as I grew up in, at about the same time period. I think we both knew that church lady lolol. |
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440701
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: for all you fans of RT "news"...
URL: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4861766-biden-administration-condemns-russian-influence/
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US seizes Russian websites used in bid to influence 2024 election by Rebecca Beitsch - 09/04/24 2:13 PM ET The Biden administration on Wednesday condemned Russian efforts to influence the 2024 U.S. election as the Justice Department announced it seized 32 web domains the country has used for its covert campaigns. The action also targeted two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, a Russian state media outlet with content available in English, charging the duo with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Collectively, the two actions are some of the strongest moves taken under the Biden White House to confront accelerating efforts by the Russian government the intelligence community has deemed “the predominant threat to U.S. elections.” Deemed “Doppelganger,” the Russian effort employed a mix of creating sites with slightly different web addresses that mimic U.S. news outlets, including one appearing to be The Washington Post, and are plastered with pro-Russian narratives. It also created other media brands to funnel Russian content. “As of noon today, we’ve seized those sites, rendered them inoperable, and made clear to the world what they are: Russian attempts to interfere in our elections and influence our society,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said as Justice Department officials convened an Election Threats Task Force meeting. “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,” Wray added. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday that “President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle” directed the influence campaign with the broader goals of drumming up support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “securing Russia’s preferred outcome in the election.” While neither officials nor the filings unsealed Wednesday named Russia’s preferred candidate, supporting exhibits included make clear support for former President Trump’s candidacy. A dual-language internal planning document titled “The Good Ol USA Project,” shared by the Justice Department, stresses embrace of ending the war in Ukraine in exchange for Russia securing territories and noting Trump’s stance of being less involved in world affairs. “It makes sense for Russia to put a maximum effort to ensure that the [Republican] point of view (first and foremost the opinion of [Trump] supporters) wins over the US public opinion,” the document states. The indictment brought against the two RT employees, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyev, alleges they led a $10 million scheme to push a Tennessee-based company and its two directors to conceal Russian involvement as they published content designed to “amplify domestic divisions” on topics like immigration and inflation. RT on Wednesday released a number of options they mulled in response to the indictment because they “couldn’t decide on one.” “1. Ha! 2. Hahahaha! 3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” the company wrote. “4. 2016 called and it wants its clichés back” Garland briefly addressed the response saying, “I’m sure that was much funnier in the original Russian, but for us, it’s not funny. This is deadly serious, and we are going to treat it accordingly.” In carrying out the influence campaign, the company contacted social media influencers unaware of the Russian connection, and some 2,000 videos pushed out by the effort garnered 16 million views on YouTube alone. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) identified Russian influence efforts as recently as July, writing in a report issued 100 days before the election that Moscow had already “directly and discreetly engaged Americans.” “Moscow continues to use a broad stable of influence actors and tactics and is working to better hide its hand, enhance its reach, and create content that resonates more with U.S. audiences. These actors are seeking to back a presidential candidate in addition to influencing congressional electoral outcomes, undermine public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbate sociopolitical divisions,” ODNI concluded. Intelligence agencies also assessed earlier this year that Iran was behind the hacking of Trump campaign emails, noting the country likewise attempted to breach Democratic campaigns. |
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