Russian state media outlet RT is using Western influencers to try to sway voters toward former President Donald Trump ahead of the November election, an unnamed US intelligence official said. Reuters.
The official said RT, formerly known as Russia Today, “built and used a network of US and other Western figures to create and broadcast Russia-friendly stories.”
“These actors, among others, are supporting Moscow’s efforts to sway voter preferences in favor of the former president and undermine the vice president’s prospects,” they added.
It follows Advertisement The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday that the U.S. has indicted two Russian nationals who were RT employees with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors said the operatives, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasieva, ran an operation from Moscow aimed at “influencing the American public by secretly planting and financing a company manufacturing materials on US soil.”
The indictment said that in at least the past year, RT “deposited nearly $10 million to secretly finance and direct a Tennessee-based online content creation company.”
The unnamed Tennessee-based company was later named by several media outlets as Tenet Media, a media firm founded by conservative couple Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan.
Some of the pro-Trump influencers whose content has been published by the company include: Dave Rubin And Benny JohnsonSaid he was unaware of any Russian involvement.
RT scoffed at Wednesday’s allegations, saying: “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the US election,” according to Reuters.
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that he was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the US election race.
“As I said before, the current president, Mr. Biden, was our guy, if I may say so. He withdrew from the race but asked his supporters to back Ms. Harris. This is what we are doing; We will support it,” Putin said, via Russia’s Tass news agency.
“At the end of the day, the choice is up to the American people and we will respect that,” he said.
Post A U.S. intelligence official says Russian state media is using Western influencers to sway U.S. voters toward Trump amid Putin’s claims that Russia is backing Harris. appeared first Business Insider.