U.S. Exposes Russian Disinformation Campaign Targeting 2024 Election
The U.S. Justice Department has unveiled a sophisticated Russian disinformation operation aimed at influencing the 2024 presidential election, unsealing indictments against two Russian nationals and imposing sanctions on several individuals and entities. The operation, orchestrated through the Russian state-controlled media outlet RT, involved funneling nearly $10 million to a U.S.-based company to create and disseminate pro-Russian propaganda across social media platforms. This covert campaign underscores Russia’s ongoing efforts to interfere in American democratic processes and manipulate public opinion.
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, are the central figures in the indictments, accused of managing the operation from Moscow using fake identities and shell companies. They allegedly directed the Tennessee-based company, believed to be Tenet Media, to produce almost 2,000 videos promoting pro-Russian narratives on issues such as immigration, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. These videos garnered approximately 16 million views on YouTube, exposing a significant swathe of the American public to covert Russian propaganda. The defendants face charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying potential prison sentences of five and 20 years, respectively.
The Justice Department’s investigation revealed that while the American employees of the Tennessee-based company were largely unaware of the Russian backing, two of the company’s founders were privy to the source of their funding. This highlights the deceptive nature of the operation and the lengths to which Russia went to conceal its involvement. The indictment also details how Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva directed the company’s content creation, often pushing narratives aligned with Russian geopolitical objectives. One example cited involves an email from Afanasyeva urging the company to blame Ukraine and the U.S. for a terrorist attack in Moscow, demonstrating the direct link between the Russian government’s propaganda goals and the content disseminated to American audiences.
The financial trail of the operation involved a complex web of shell companies in Turkey, Mauritius, and the United Arab Emirates, through which RT transferred nearly $10 million to the U.S.-based company. This intricate financial maneuvering further underscores the covert nature of the operation and the effort to obscure the source of the funding. The Treasury Department’s sanctions target not only Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva but also eight other individuals and two companies, including RT and its parent company, Rossiya Segodnya. These sanctions aim to disrupt the financial networks supporting Russia’s disinformation efforts and to hold accountable those involved in manipulating American public discourse.
Among the sanctioned individuals are several high-ranking RT officials, including deputy editors-in-chief Elizaveta Yuryevna Brodskaia and Anton Sergeyvich Anisimov, as well as director Andrey Vladimirovich Kiyashko. These individuals are accused of playing key roles in disseminating RT content in the U.S. and coordinating with Russian government officials. Brodskaia is alleged to report directly to President Putin, while Anisimov is accused of working with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), highlighting the direct involvement of the Russian government in these disinformation campaigns.
The sanctions also extend to ANO Dialog, a Moscow-based organization identified as a crucial player in Russia’s disinformation efforts. ANO Dialog is known for leveraging artificial intelligence, including deepfake technology, to create and spread disinformation. The organization has been linked to accounts like "Reliable Recent News" and "War on Fakes," which have been identified as sources of pro-Russian propaganda. Evidence suggests ANO Dialog coordinated with Russian government officials to create bot accounts on social media platforms to spread misinformation about U.S. voting locations, further highlighting the threat posed by Russia’s sophisticated disinformation tactics to the integrity of the U.S. electoral process. While RT responded to inquiries with sarcastic denials, the evidence presented by the Justice Department paints a clear picture of a calculated and well-funded operation to manipulate American public opinion. This latest revelation underscores the ongoing need for vigilance against foreign interference in U.S. elections and the importance of protecting the integrity of democratic processes.