The USA accuses the Russian Federation of meddling in the elections and has imposed sanctions against Russian propagandists
The US Department of Justice has accused Russia of trying to interfere in the 2024 presidential election through a massive disinformation campaign led by Russia’s state-run RT channel. By data Associated Press, this interference is carried out through the dissemination of propaganda and disinformation aimed at undermining confidence in the US electoral system.
On September 4, the Biden administration will publicly condemn the Kremlin’s actions, and the Justice Department is preparing to take strong legal action in response to these efforts, sources told CNN. At the same time, the US Department of Finance will announce the introduction of new sanctions, but the details of their action have not yet been disclosed, according to NBC News.
One of the key targets of these sanctions will be the RT TV channel, which is accused of actively supporting Kremlin propaganda. The sanctions will also affect the Russian company Social Design Agency, which is suspected of cooperation with the Russian special services. According to CNN, the chief editor of RT Margarita Simonyan and her deputies are among those who will be sanctioned.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions against ten individuals and two organizations involved in propaganda activities in the United States. These sanctions were a response to Moscow’s attempts to manipulate election processes ahead of elections scheduled for November 2024.
Among the blacklisted persons, in addition to Simonyan, were her deputies Elizaveta Brodska, Anton Anisimov, Andriy Kiyashko, as well as other Russian propagandists: Olena Afanasyeva, Konstantin Kalashnikov, Oleksandr Nezhentsev, Anastasia Yermoshkina, and Oleksiy Harashchenko. Sanctions also affected public platforms “Dialog” and “Dialog Regions”, which have close ties to the FSB of Russia.
RT management, according to US intelligence, tried to recruit American influencers to support pro-Russian narratives using disinformation and deepfakes created using artificial intelligence.
