UPDATED: The Justice Department seized internet domains and unsealed criminal charges as part of an effort to call attention to the spread of Russian-backed disinformation in advance of the 2024 election.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that the 32 internet domains were used by the Russian government and government-sponsored actors as part of a “covert campaign to interfere in and influence the outcome of our country’s elections.”
The DOJ claims that members of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s inner circle directed Russian PR fims to promote disinformation.
“An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that a goal of the campaign is to secure Russia’s preferred outcome in the election,” Garland said. The government propaganda was created to reduce international support for Ukraine and bolster pro-Russian policies, he said.
The DOJ’s Lisa Monaco also said that Russian companies, including SDA, Structura and ANO Dialog fabricated influencers and created fake profiles to promote AI-generated false narratives on social media. The goal was to create false narratives that “targeted specific American demographics and regions in a calculated effort to subvert our election,” Monaco said.
The Justice Department also claims that the Russian-backed entities used “cybersquatting,” in which a domain in registered to mimic another better-known entity’s website. As an example, Washingtonpost.pm was registered to appear to be The Washington Post, with the content pushing out pro-Russian material, without disclosing its true source. Others mimicked Fox News and Forward. In another instance, the CNN logo was used to create a CNN California Facebook page, as well as one for the BBC, even though they were not associated with either network.
The DOJ also filed criminal charges against two Russian nationals who are employees of Russian-state backed RT. Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, also known as Lena, were charged with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering. They are accused of orchestrating the financing of a $10 million content operation in Tennessee to publish videos on major social media channels.
The indictment does not disclose the name of the company, but noted that it had “posted nearly 2,000 videos that have garnered more than 16 million views on YouTube alone.”
The indictment shows how the company tried to lure commentators with lucrative contracts, negotiated by one of its founders, identified as “founder-1.” According to the indictment, one commentator’s contract provided for a monthly payout of $400,000 plus a $100,000 signing bonus and an additional performance bonus to host four weekly videos livestreamed by the company. Another commentator’s contract provided $100,000 payments per video. The indictment alleges that “founder-1” and another company individual, identified as “founder-2,” worked with the two Russians but concealed the true source of funding from the commentators. Instead, they created a fictional persona, Eduard Grigoriann, as the financier, according to the indictment.
The Tennessean reported that the company was Tenet Media, a network of commentators that includes figures on the right including Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and Tim Pool.
In a post on X, Pool wrote that his podcast was licensed by Tenet. “Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims,” he wrote. “I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed.”
Johnson wrote on X, “A year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated. We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme. My lawyers will handle anyone who states or suggests otherwise.”
Tenet Media did not respond to a request for comment.
The government claimed that the two Russian suspects used faked personas to edit content and help direct its operations. In one instance, Afanasyeva asked one of the founders of the company to blame Ukraine and the United States for the attack on a Moscow music venue last March, the DOJ said. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are still at large.
The DOJ included in its affidavit internal strategy notes and other documents that outlined the disinformation campaign, known as Doppelganger.
