The Justice Department has convened a meeting to advance legal proceedings, including criminal investigations, sanctions and seizures of online sites, to combat Russian disinformation.
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a series of measures against Russia for carrying out a disinformation campaign to interfere in this year’s US presidential election. These actions include the seizure of 32 online sites, the application of sanctions against ten individuals and two entities, and the investigation of two executives of the Russian state channel, according to the Department of Justice statement.
The Justice Department’s election threat team, which includes US attorneys general and other senior figures such as the FBI director, met on Wednesday, as CNN previously reported, citing six sources familiar with the discussion. At the end of the meeting, Attorney General Merrick Garland classified the seized websites as “Kremlin propaganda.”
“An internal document prepared by the Kremlin states that the goal of the campaign is to ensure a preferable election result for Russia,” the statement reads. “The seized websites were aimed at reduce international support for Ukraine, promote pro-Russian policies and interests and Influencing American voters.“, added Guirnalda.
Officials detail that fake profiles, narratives created using artificial intelligence, and fake news were used, targeting specific groups of voters. In response, they highlighted the Department of Justice’s “aggressive” action against “malign actors” to protect democracy and the electoral process.
As CNN sources reported, one of the companies targeted by sanctions is the Social Design Agency, which was already sanctioned by the State Department this year for “supporting the Kremlin’s disinformation efforts.” The remaining sanctions target the companies ANO Dialog and Structura National Technology and Ten executives of RT, the Russian state media network.who has been registered as a foreign agent in the United States since 2017. Two RT employees are also targeted criminal investigation for having participated in a scheme embezzlement from a North American company, to finance this production of false online content.
Russia has spent more than $300 million trying to influence foreign politicians since 2014, the US says
This is not the first time that The United States accuses Russia of trying to interfere in its electionsBut this is “the most significant public response from the Biden administration,” the American channel notes. Two months before millions of Americans go to the polls, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency assured this week that “the electoral infrastructure has never been more secure.”
The US executive’s response to Russia comes during an election campaign marked by several security problems: last month, US federal agencies confirmed attempts to influence the elections through Iran-linked groups.
Hacking, fake websites and a possible plot to kill Trump: How Iran is influencing the US election
In addition, the Democratic campaign for the November 5 elections, led until June by Joe Biden and now by Kamala Harris, has been marked by criticism of the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, for his closeness to the Russian presidentVladimir Putin.
News updated at 19:46 with a statement from the Department of Justice
Source: Observadora
