Russian state media channel RT is attempting to push U.S. viewers toward voting for Donald Trump in the presidential election through a network of Western media personalities, Reuters reported on Sept. 6, citing a senior U.S. intelligence official.
American intelligence officials previously warned in July that Russia is planning information campaigns to sow division in U.S. society and undermine support for Ukraine in swing states during the upcoming presidential race.
According to the official quoted by Reuters, RT "has built and used networks of U.S. and other Western personalities to create and disseminate Russia-friendly narratives."
"These actors, among others, are supporting Moscow's efforts to influence voter preferences in favor of the former president (Trump) and diminish the prospects of the vice president (Kamala Harris)."
Reuters said that the official did not provide more details of how these personalities are trying to sway voters.
The U.S. announced on Sept. 4 a sweeping crackdown on supposed Russian election interference, seizing 32 internet domains linked to Kremlin propaganda campaigns and sanctioning several high-profile propagandists working for RT.
The U.S. Treasury Department designated 10 individuals and two entities as part of Russia's coordinated propaganda campaign, nicknamed "Doppelganger."
These individuals included RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Deputy Elizaveta Yuryevna Brodskaia, and Director of the RT English-Language Andrey Kiyashko.
The same day, the State Department designated RT, among other Russian state media, as a foreign mission under the U.S. Foreign Missions Act, requiring RT to notify the department of all personnel working in the U.S. and disclose all property held in the U.S.
RT has been banned from broadcasting in the U.K. and the EU since March 2022, when the Council of the EU announced the channel would be sanctioned due to disseminating "disinformation and information manipulation."
Kate Tsurkan
(Updated: )
