Unsealed FBI Doc Exposes Terrifying Depth of Russian Disinfo Scheme
newrepublic.com
New court documents reveal that Russia is keeping a very, very long list of influencers to spread its propaganda.

New court documents reveal that Russia is keeping a very, very long list of influencers to spread its propaganda.

The Russian disinformation plot revealed in a Justice Department indictment this week may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to newly unsealed court documents.

On Wednesday, the DOJ announced it would seize 32 internet domains linked to a larger Kremlin scheme to promote disinformation and influence the 2024 election. The Russian campaign, known as Doppelganger, uses AI-generated content to create “fake news” boosted through social media with the aim of electing Donald Trump.

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Of particular note, the documents released Wednesday included an affidavit that noted a Russian company is keeping a list of more than 2,800 influencers world wide, about one-fifth of whom are based in the United States, to monitor and potentially groom to spread Russian propaganda. The affidavit does not mention the full list of influencers, but is still a terrifying indicator of how deep the Russian plot to interfere in U.S. politics really goes.

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
    28·
    3 months ago

    The business connection between USA and Russia is basically gone.

    Clearly not, or Russians wouldn’t be able to slide cash into the pockets of social media influencers so easily.

    • dragontamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      3 months ago

      Clearly not, or Russians wouldn’t be able to slide cash into the pockets of social media influencers so easily.

      They didn’t. They got caught by the FBI and now we have massive news articles proving Russian influence. They literally just got caught, despite their best efforts at hiding.

      Now comes the hard work at figuring out which of these 2800 influencers are fucking traitors… and which ones were just caught up in the mess. But someone in there had to have known that Russian money was part of this scheme.

        • dragontamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          3 months ago

          Yes. That is how crimes work. The crime happens and then the FBI looks at you afterwards.

          Are you… American? This crap is taught at grade school level.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
            22·
            3 months ago

            That is how crimes work.

            Which banks facilitied these illegal donations and what sanctions are they going to suffer?

            • dragontamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
              3·
              3 months ago

              Banks are required to have KYC (know your customer) rules and report things to the FBI. Which the FBI received the reports and have caught the criminals.

              I’m convinced you aren’t American at this point and don’t have any understanding of how crime or police work around here.

              • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
                21·
                3 months ago

                Banks are required to have KYC (know your customer) rules and report things to the FBI.

                So which bank is being penalized for doing business with a Russian client operating under US sanctions?

                I’m convinced you aren’t American

                Why stop there? Be convinced I’m not human at all.

                • dragontamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  2·
                  3 months ago

                  Because you obviously are asking stupid questions that Americans already know the answer for.

                  For all the bullshit Europeans chastised me as an American for having an American centered viewpoints, we are talking about an American Police dealing with American Crimes in an efficient manner. And then we have someone in this discussion who doesn’t even know the basics.

                  The least I expect of you is to at least pretend you have an American viewpoint of our police system and understand it (not necessarily agree with it). But if you want to ask dumb fucking questions all day imma call you out on your ignorance.

                  So which bank is being penalized for doing business with a Russian client operating under US sanctions?

                  The bank that obviously reported this suspicious behavior to the FBI and got these assholes caught.

                  What, are you pissed that these Russians got caught in this scheme or something? This is a celebration topic. We caught the bad guys and caught them quickly before the election.

                  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    21·
                    3 months ago

                    The bank that obviously reported this suspicious behavior to the FBI

                    And then continued to advance the money? That doesn’t pass the smell test and you know it.

                    This is just the HSBC drug money laundering scandal all over again, except these bankers aren’t even being fined for getting caught.

                    What, are you pissed that these Russians got caught in this scheme or something?

                    Are they actually caught? Which employees of RT were arrested?

                    Or is this just shutting down some Internet domains and allowing the next batch of crooks to do this again?