September 04, 2024
Max Correa/USA TODAY NETWORK
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a wide-ranging investigation into Russian attempts to interfere in U.S. politics and the upcoming presidential election on Wednesday. One case filed in Philadelphia details how Russian-backed groups allegedly led an online propaganda campaign to influence public opinion.
Federal investigators in Philadelphia revealed Wednesday they have seized more than 30 internet domains allegedly tied to a Russian government-backed plot to meddle in U.S. politics and influence public opinion on issues including the war in Ukraine. The case is part of a wider Justice Department probe into Russia's alleged efforts to interfere in November's election, a concern that also loomed over each of the last two presidential races.
In an FBI affidavit, authorities claim the seized domains are part of a Russian propaganda campaign that uses a mix of AI-generated news stories, paid social media advertisements and hired influencers posing online as U.S. citizens to spread pro-Russian sentiments. The effort, known as "Doppelganger," allegedly has been orchestrated by a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Federal prosecutors did not immediately say why the case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which is based in Philadelphia.
The 32 internet domains seized by U.S. authorities are alleged to be in violation of U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark laws, prosecutors said. The propaganda allegedly was designed to conceal its origins in Russia, where planning documents contained in the affidavit detail the intentions of the groups involved.
In a practice known as cybersquatting, Russia's online strategy includes creating content that imitates legitimate news sources, authorities said. Russian-backed groups allegedly registered domain names like washingtonpost.pm to mimic the real washingtonpost.com. The dummy sites then published pro-Russian propaganda meant to appear as if it had been produced by a domestic news organization, prosecutors said.
To drive people to visit these sites, authorities said the Russian-backed groups used a combination of hired influencers and AI-generated accounts to promote the domains on social media platforms. The United States allegedly is among several foreign targets that include Germany, Mexico, Israel and other countries.
The Doppelganger case being investigated by Philadelphia's FBI field office was announced the same day the Justice Department unsealed an indictment in New York charging two employees of the Russian-controlled media outlet RT in a similar $10 million scheme. The employees are accused of funding and directing a U.S. company from abroad to spread thousands of pro-Russian videos intended for U.S. audiences.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The videos and content in both cases revolve around an array of hot-button issues in U.S. politics, from immigration and inflation to military and financial support for Ukraine's resistance against Russia's invasion.
In one planning document from the case out of Philadelphia, the Russian strategists allegedly wrote that they wanted "to increase the percentage of Americans who believe that the US 'has been doing way too much to support Ukraine'" and boost public polling in favor of pro-Russian positions.
The names of U.S. political candidates are redacted in the documents released Wednesday, but the goals outlined in the reports detail Russia's objectives and preferred outcome in November's election. One document mentions the need to sink the confidence rating of the sitting U.S. president and spread messages in support of his challenger. The documents all appear to have been written before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee slated to face Republican Donald Trump.
Congressional investigations following each of the last two presidential elections found evidence of Russian efforts to interfere in democratic elections in the United States and other countries around the world.
In 2018, the Justice Department indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking offenses stemming from an investigation conducted by former FBI Director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who also led the investigation into whether Trump's 2016 campaign had conspired with Russia to influence that election. Several Trump associates ultimately were charged, but Mueller concluded the Trump campaign did not conspire with Russia to sway the election. A federal probe of the Mueller investigation came to an end last year with a report harshly criticizing the FBI and the Justice Department for rushing into the investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia without vetting intelligence sources thoroughly enough at the outset.
The U.S. State Department warned embassies worldwide last year that Russia has aggressively sponsored propaganda campaigns meant to influence more than a dozen elections in recent years, including those in the United States.
“Protecting our democratic processes from foreign malign influence is paramount to ensure enduring public trust,” Jacqueline Romero, U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Wednesday. “As America’s adversaries continue to spew propaganda and disinformation towards the American electorate, we’ll use every tool at our disposal to expose and dismantle their insidious foreign influence campaigns.”
