The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted two Russians accused of working with the Kremlin on an illegal operation to spread propaganda and meddle in U.S. elections.
The DOJ announced Wednesday that Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva have been charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The announcement came as part of a meeting of the DOJ's Election Threats Task Force.
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Attorney General Merrick Garland said both Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are employees of the Russian state-controlled media outlet RT — formerly Russia Today — and engaged in a scheme to spread Russian propaganda in the U.S. and exploit American voters.
RT is a television station that for years could be easily found on American cable systems before it was closed in the U.S. in 2022. However, the DOJ claims Russia continued to use RT through a series of social media accounts to spread disinformation.
According to the indictment, the RT employees are accused of using fake personas and "foreign shell entities" to covertly pay a Tennessee-based content creation company nearly $10 million to share thousands of videos on social media that favor the Kremlin's agenda regarding things like the Ukraine war.
While the indictment does not name the Tennessee-based company, it's described as having six "heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues." It's an exact match for the company Tenet Media, an online firm that shares videos featuring conservative influencers Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, and others.
Both Pool and Rubin have claimed they are "victims" that were deceived by the Russian scheme, with Pool calling Putin a "scumbag" in a social media post after the DOJ announcement.
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In another action Wednesday, the DOJ said it was in the process of seizing 32 internet domains related to the alleged Russian scheme and indicting individuals accused of illegally operating in the U.S. on behalf of the Russian government.
This latest announcement comes a little less than two months after intelligence officials warned that Russia remains a "preeminent threat" in terms of foreign influence on U.S. elections, noting that they are beginning to see Russia target specific types of voters. In addition to Russia, U.S. officials are also watching Iran and China, which together make up the intelligence community’s “big three” in foreign election influence activity.
