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Editor's note: The article was edited to indicate the individuals designated by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The U.S. on Sept. 4 announced a sweeping crackdown on supposed Russian election interference, sanctioning high-profile propagandists like Margarita Simonyan and seizing 32 internet domains linked to Kremlin propaganda campaigns.
The announcement comes following U.S. intelligence warnings on July 9 that Moscow has plans to wage information campaigns against U.S. voters during the upcoming election.
The U.S. State, Justice, and Treasury departments have acted jointly against the Kremlin's propaganda machine, seizing web domains, issuing indictments, and imposing visa restrictions against participants in Russia's "malign influence" campaign.
Along with the domain seizures, the U.S. Treasury Department designated 10 individuals and two entities as part of Russia's coordinated propaganda campaign, nicknamed "Doppelganger." This included RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Elizaveta Brodskaia, and Director of the RT English-Language Andrey Kiyashko.
The Justice Department said that the campaign included funding an unnamed Tennessee-based company, which the U.S. media identified as Tenet Media, an outlet hosting prominent right-wing commentators like Benny Johnson or Tim Pool.
The U.S. State Department also introduced a new visa restriction policy, designated certain Russian media companies as foreign missions, and offered up to $10 million as a reward for those who provide information on Russian election meddling.
As part of the Doppelganger operation, the Russian firms Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura), and ANO Dialog were directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's First Deputy Chief of Staff, Sergey Kiriyenko, to covertly disseminate Kremlin propaganda with the intent to reduce support for Ukraine and influence the outcome of international elections, the DOJ alleged.
An internal planning document stated that the Russian government's goal is to "secure Russia's preferred outcome in the election," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The State Department designated the Russian state-run media conglomerate Rossiya Segodnya and its subsidiaries RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik, as foreign missions under the U.S. Foreign Missions Act. The designation requires the companies to notify the department of all personnel working in the U.S. and disclose all property held in the U.S.
"(W)e now know that RT, formerly known as Russia Today, has moved beyond being simply a media organization," the department's statement read.
"RT has contracted with a private company to pay unwitting Americans millions of dollars to carry the Kremlin’s message to influence the U.S. elections and undermine democracy."
The crackdown also included an indictment against two RT employees by the DOJ.
Russia has been accused of using social media disinformation, bot farms, and other means to back Donald Trump against his Democratic opponents – Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden – during the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Trump is running for president a third time, and will face off against Vice President Kamala Harris in November. U.S. intelligence officials said they "have not observed a shift in Russia's preferences for the presidential race from past elections."
The Doppelganger operation allegedly used tactics such as cybersquatting, fake influencers, and artificial accounts to promote AI-generated disinformation campaigns on social media.
Many Doppelganger sites imitated legitimate news outlets to bolster pro-Russian narratives while obfuscating their ties to the Russian government.
"Our actions today make clear that the Justice Department will be aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by the Russian government, or any other malign actor, to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy," Garland said.
Abbey Fenbert
