US seizes Russian websites used in bid to influence 2024 election

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4861766-biden-administration-condemns-russian-influence/

37 comments

  1. > The action also targeted two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, a Russian state media outlet with content available in English, charging the duo with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. …

    > … Deemed “Doppelganger,” the Russian effort employed a mix of creating sites with slightly different web addresses that mimic U.S. news outlets, including one appearing to be The Washington Post, and are plastered with pro-Russian narratives. It also created other media brands to funnel Russian content.

    Well, finally Wray and Garland seem to do something about crime in (almost) real time, instead of long after the fact.

  4. It’s notable that this is just one part of a multifaceted effort on the part of Russia to fuck with our elections. They’re all over social media. It’s pretty ham-handed work on Russia’s part too.

  7. >RT on Wednesday released a number of options they mulled in response to the indictment because they “couldn’t decide on one.”

    >“1. Ha! 2. Hahahaha! 3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” the company wrote.

    >“4. 2016 called and it wants its clichés back”

    Direct quote from the article.

    Russia not doing too hot if this is the official state media’s response. I don’t think they were expecting this to happen.

  8. Atty General Garland: “Russia’s preferences have not changed since the previous election”

    >Per court filings, Justice Dept is alleging Russian propagandists “deceived” social media influencers.
    Some of whom have millions of followers, including on this platform (twitter)

    Per Scott McFarland on twitter.

  9. I’ll take a wild guess here, but they were all Pro-Trump.

  10. # seizes Russian websites

    and when you’re putting them in the car, you know how you cover their heads so they don’t hit it on the car door frame? Yeah, don’t do that.

  11. Can they seize Russia’s presidential candidates as well?

    Donald Von Shitzinpants… Jill Stein… am I missing anyone?

  12. The Russians, amongst other actions, paid two online commentators to make pro-Russia content.

    The two commentators have the [same number of Youtube subscribers](https://x.com/emptywheel/status/1831401246311510225) as Tim Pool and Benny Johnson.

    And the [company](https://x.com/alanfeuer/status/1831397543483457960) that Pool/Johnson work for has the slogan as the one named in the indictment.

    Seems like Tim Pool and Benny Johnson might have been working for Putin.

    >KALASHNIKOV, AFANASYEVA, Founder-I , and Founder-2 also worked
    together to deceive two U.S. online commentators (“Commentator- I” and “Commentator-2” ), who
    respectively have over 2.4 million and 1.3 million YouTube subscribers. Founder-I and Founder-
    2 contracted with Commentator-I and Commentator-2 to produce videos, using Commentator-1 ‘ s
    and Commentator-2’s own names and leveraging their existing audiences, for license and
    publication by U.S. Company-I.

    [Indictment](https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/u.s._v._kalashnikov_and_afanasyeva_indictment_0.pdf)

  13. Bullcrap from The Hill again. What a right wing rag of propaganda.

    Trump had direct ties to Russia Today and the stories they posted. RT isn’t independent. No company in Russia is without direct pressure from Putin. He can and will seize any company that he needs, publicly or not.

    You have no rights in Russia. RT works for Putin. Trump is working with Putin to steal another election.

  18. I have an idea…we charge these clowns for treason and see who else wants to walk in their shoes afterwards.

  20. Waiting for the fine Republicans to say that blocking Russian influence is influencing the election and therefore Democrats are the bad guys here. Should be properly mind-bending.

  21. Tim Pool the baldy who always has to wear his emotional support beanie?

  22. Now turbocharge this effort and make it 100x as forceful.

  24. Benny (or Dave) and Tim can be bought for $5M and $100k/week (from indictment):

    >Commentator-1 said
    “it would need to be closer to 5 million yearly for him to be interested,” and that Commentator-2 said “it would take 100k per weekly episode to make it worth his while.”

  25. >Evidently written during the primaries, the [Russian planning] [documents](https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/exhibits_8a_and_8b.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery) stress the need to back Trump or any other Republican over a Democrat, tanking President Biden’s overall confidence rating, and increasing the percentage of Americans seeking an end to the war with Ukraine even if concessions included ceding territory to Russia.

    >The target audiences, they write, are Latinos, “American Jews,” and the “community of American gamers,” **a group they said include Reddit and 4chan users, describing them as “the ‘backbone’ of the right wing trends” online in the U.S.**

    This should surprise no one.

  26. If the maggats could read, they’d deny this anyway. There is no piercing that bubble.

  27. In light of this indictment, Tim Pool might need to address this little clip [here](https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkx8W_ydVrSgJe3dVjburIag8gsnGCn49pL).

    Banging on the desk about how Ukraine is the enemy of the United States and the biggest threat in the world, blaming the Ukraine for starting the conflict with Russia, saying we should apologize to Russia. After the clip he goes on to parrot the Russian talking point about Russia using nuke.

    His tweet is really cute and all, but his podcast probably caught what he was being paid to do in 4k.

  28. Let’s be real here – the only reason this Russian bullshit works is because we have an entire political party who desperately wants it to work. 

  29. The US needs to seize more. They are at it on an industrial scale, and have been for years. It is a full on information war and the Head of RT, Margarita Simonyan, is on record as saying the RT State TV station is just an extension of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

    >Referring to the Russo-Georgian War, she stated that it was “waging an information war, and with the entire Western world”.[16][73]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)

    Russian trolls target U.S. support for Ukraine, Kremlin documents show
    Washington Post
    https://archive.ph/MQBjt

    Swedish Television investigation. In English
    https://www.svt.se/special/how-pro-russian-disinformation-is-laundered/

    PUTIN’S ASYMMETRIC ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA AND EUROPE: IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY
    https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-115SPRT28110/html/CPRT-115SPRT28110.htm

    US House Foreign Affairs Committee

    RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION ATTACKS ON ELECTIONS: LESSONS FROM EUROPE

    https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-congress/house-event/LC64157/text?s=1&r=10

  30. I thought they were just counter-narrative grifters…never thought they’d be literal agents of a hostile nation.

  31. I wouldn’t be surprised if a whole lot more people are on Putins payroll. Probably the entire GQP

  32. If you leave your political system open to money that means it’s open to foreign money. We need to get money out of politics not only for our own sanity but for national security.

  34. RT on Wednesday released a number of options they mulled in response to the indictment because they “couldn’t decide on one.”

    “1. Ha! 2. Hahahaha! 3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” the company wrote.

    “4. 2016 called and it wants its clichés back”

    Garland briefly addressed the response saying, “I’m sure that was much funnier in the original Russian, but for us, it’s not funny. This is deadly serious, and we are going to treat it accordingly.”

    Lol 😂 I’m sure it’s funnier in the original Russian

  35. I’m happy with the way things are going with Harris now, but this obviously is part of why everyone so completely turned on Biden, right?

    I really hope them pushing so hard against Biden to the point he dropped out for Kamala bites them in the ass. Fucking hard.

  36. Ironic that they call Harris a communist, yet the communists are simping for Trump.

  37. Watched the briefing. Holy cow. They are really hammering out a warning of threatening election workers with violence or targeting them. 
    With the access of intel they possess, a warning such as this must be serious. 

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