According to the FBI, Russia has left its mark in many countries with fake news sites and pro-Russian influencer reports.
Washington/Moscow – An FBI report reveals blatant plans by the Russian government to manipulate the election results in the USA through fake news and fake news sites and also to influence politics in Europe. There is also talk of the AfD should be supported “by all means”.
This became known as part of an official indictment by the US authorities against several Russian citizens, which the US Department of Justice reported on Wednesday (September 4). In the process, over 30 websites were deactivated that had previously played out Russian propaganda as so-called “doppelgänger” sites and disguised it as content from established media. The affected news sites in Germany include Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bild.
FBI reveals Russia campaign: Kremlin links to IT company
The US newspaper Politico reports that the FBI reports base their allegations on an official document from the Russian IT company Social Design Agency, which describes the plans to influence the US election There is also a lot of information about dealing with states in Europe. According to official information, the company has close ties to the Kremlin and, according to FBI information, operates under the leadership of Vladimir Putin’s deputy office manager, Sergei Kiriyenko.
According to the documents from Russia, the fake pages, AI-generated content and propaganda campaigns by influencers, which are said to have been created under the influence of the Kremlin, aim to “elicit rational and emotional reactions from readers”, to stir up skepticism about supporting Ukraine, to discredit the USA and to get people to condemn the sanctions against Russia. This would promote distrust of politics and a division in society in the countries affected.
Russia’s influence in Germany: “More dependent” than France
As the news site T-Online reported, these plans also include massive influence in Germany, which, according to the authors of the paper, is “more dependent” on Russia than, for example, France. According to the FBI, Germany was Politico even as a particularly vulnerable target for the alleged plans, which also has to do with connections to local parties.
Quoted as T-Online from the 277-page document of the US investigative authority that ther
e was a plan on the Russian side to support the AfD “by all means”. Their tactic: to portray the party’s politicians as martyrs “who suffer for democracy and Germany’s national interests”.
The aim is “escalation of internal tensions”: FBI cites internal document from Russia
In general, the papers show that disinformation and manipulation campaigns were aimed not only at the United States but also at European countries, especially the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. In addition, according to Politico Attempts have been made to exert influence on people from politics, business and the media in these countries.
The document quoted by the newspaper states openly that the aim of the campaign is to “escalate internal tensions” and “destabilize the social situation” in the countries concerned. The aim is to advance the interests of the Russian Federation. (saka)
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