The seizure appears in court documents in which the Russian company Social Design Agency is accused of having run a campaign to convince the American public that the United States should not finance the Ukrainian war effort.
The Social Design Agency is already subject to financial sanctions for the alleged operation of fake news websites in Europe on behalf of Russian authorities.
The US Treasury Department says it is imposing sanctions on ten people and two businesses. Among these are the editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief of the state-owned Russian media group RT – formerly Russia Today.
US officials consider RT to have a key role in Russia’s propaganda operations.
– Uses PR firms to spread disinformation
– The US believes RT employees financed a scheme to influence American public opinion about Russia and the country’s war against Ukraine, says Justice Minister Merrick Garland. He says RT and its employees would use a company in the state of Tennessee to spread pro-Russian content.
According to the Justice Minister, the inner circle around Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Russian PR firms to promote disinformation as part of a program to influence this year’s US election.
– We will aggressively and ceaselessly work to counter and prevent attempts by the United States, China or other foreign actors to interfere in our elections, says Garland, who also accuses Iran of increasingly aggressive attempts to influence elections.
More charges
He says the US is also charging two RT employees with money laundering.
At the same time, the State Department in Washington says that Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today), Ria Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly and other channels are now classified as representatives of a foreign power.
Earlier in the day, several sources added CNN that both American and non-American voices are used to “whitewash” the Russian disinformation.
In July, the US Justice Department charged an RT employee with being involved in a scheme that used about 1,000 social media accounts to impersonate US citizens and spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine and other topics.
Last month, US authorities accused Iran of attempting to hack the campaign organizations of both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
– Nonsense and witch hunting
The Russian parliamentarian Marija Butina rejected earlier in the day the reported claims about Russia’s attempt to influence the election in the United States.
– The American allegations were and are pure nonsense and a witch hunt, Butina told CNN after sources had told the channel that the Biden administration was planning to make accusations of election influence.
Butina previously served 15 months in prison in the United States for acting as an unregistered Russian agent, but now sits in the national assembly in her home country, where she represents the ruling United Russia party.
– Russia believes that it does not matter who wins the election in the US – the only winner will be the US’s private military-industrial complex, she says.
Russian authorities have repeatedly said they are not interfering in the US election, but are watching closely.
#fight #Russian #influence #sanctions #domain #seizures
2024-09-04 21:16:07
