WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced criminal charges, seizures of internet domains and sanctions in connection with Russian disinformation efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the actions were related to Russia’s use of state media to enlist unwitting American influencers to spread propaganda and disinformation.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Below is the earlier AP story.
The Biden administration on Wednesday accused Russia of a far-reaching attempt to influence the US presidential election, including by spreading disinformation and enlisting unwitting American influencers to spread propaganda through Russian state media.
The US government’s measures include sanctions against leaders of RT, a state-run media organization forced by the Justice Department to register as a foreign agent, and visa restrictions.
Intelligence agencies have previously accused Russia of using disinformation to try to influence the election. But Attorney General Merrick Garland’s expected announcement is expected to show the depth of America’s concerns and announce legal action against those suspected of involvement.
Garland and other law enforcement leaders are expected to speak briefly at the opening of a meeting of the Justice Department’s election threats task force.
In a speech last month, According to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Russia is the biggest threat to the elections, even as Iran sounded the alarm this summer for hacking Donald Trump’s campaign and attempting to break into the then-campaigns of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and “his cronies are using increasingly sophisticated techniques in their meddling operations. They are targeting specific voter demographics and swing-state voters in an effort to manipulate the results of presidential and congressional elections,” she said. “They plan to co-opt unwitting Americans on social media to spread narratives that advance Russian interests.”
Much of the concern about Russia has centered on cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns designed to influence the November vote. The tactics include using state-owned media outlets like RT to spread anti-American messages and content, as well as networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims and inject them into Americans’ online conversations. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics, such as immigrationcrime or the war in Gaza.
In many cases, Americans have no idea that the content they see online originates from or is amplified by the Kremlin.
“Russia is taking a whole-of-government approach to influencing the election, including the presidential race,” an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said at a briefing this summer. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under rules set by that office.
Groups with ties to the Kremlin are increasingly hiring marketing and communications agencies in Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while covering their tracks, the officials said during the briefing with reporters.
Two such companies were the subject of new U.S. sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies fake websites and social media profiles created to spread disinformation about the Kremlin.
The ultimate goal, however, is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origins. People are much more likely to trust and repost information they believe comes from a domestic source, officials said. Fake websites designed to imitate American news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.
Messages left at the Russian embassy were not immediately answered.