(BBC News) The US has charged and sanctioned Russian state media executives and restricted Kremlin-linked broadcasters as it accused Moscow of a widespread campaign to interfere with the presidential election.
The justice, state and treasury departments announced coordinated actions on Wednesday to “aggressively counter” the alleged operations.
Attorney General Merrick Garland accused state broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10 million to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”
RT boss Margarita Simonyan was one of 10 people sanctioned for alleged attempts to harm “public trust in our institutions.” RT denied involvement.
Garland said that Moscow wanted to secure a “preferred outcome” in the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that Russia’s program was aimed at “reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters here in the US.”
A Treasury official meanwhile said that RT and other Russian state media had engaged in a “nefarious campaign to covertly recruit unwittingly American influencers in support of their malign activity.”
The Biden administration’s response so far includes:
- Charging two Moscow-based managers of RT – Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27 — for paying content creators on US soil to “pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation” to US audiences;
- Sanctioning two entities and 10 people for “activities that aim to deteriorate public trust in our institutions”;
- Restricting visas for employees of Kremlin-backed media outlets;
- Seizing 32 internet domain names used to “covertly promote AI-generated false narratives” targeting specific US demographics and regions on social media;
- Designating Rossiya Segodnya and five of its subsidiaries (RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik) as “foreign missions”, requiring them to report information about their personnel to the US government;
- Offering a $10-million reward for information on hackers associated with the Russian group, Russian Angry Hackers Did It (RaHDit).
Much of the Kremlin’s disinformation effort is directed and funded by RT, Kirby said.
“RT is no longer just a propaganda arm of the Kremlin,” he said. “It’s being used to advance covert Russian influence actions.”
The state media outlet mocked the US government’s accusations, saying in a statement to the BBC that “2016 called and it wants its clichés back.”
“Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the US elections.”
The criminal indictments of Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva do not identify by name the Tennessee-based content creation company they used.