Russian disinformation explained

Russian disinformation campaigns have occurred in many countries.[1] [2] [3] For example, disinformation campaigns led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have been reported in several African countries.[4] [5] Russia, however, denies that it uses disinformation to influence public opinion.

Often Russian campaigns aim to disrupt domestic politics within Europe and the United States in an attempt to weaken the West due to its long-standing commitment to fight back against "Western imperialism" and shift the balance of world power to Russia and her allies. According to the Voice of America, Russia seeks to promote American isolationism, border security concerns and racial tensions within the United States through its disinformation campaigns.[6]

Background

See main article: Propaganda in Russia.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used propaganda and disinformation as "active measures...against the populations of Western nations".[7] During the administration of Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, "disinformation" was discussed in the Russian media and by Russian politicians in relation to the disinformation of the Soviet era, and to differentiate Boris Yeltsin's new Russia from its Soviet predecessor.[8]

In the post-Yeltsin era, Russian disinformation has been described as a key tactic in the military doctrine of Russia. Its use has increased since 2000 under Vladimir Putin, particularly after the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. This style of disinformation propaganda has been described as a "firehose of falsehood" by observers due to its high number of channels and willingness to disseminate outright falsehoods, to the point of inconsistency. It differs from Soviet-era disinformation tactics in its use of the internet, claimed amateur journalism, and social media.[9]

Debunking Russian disinformation

The European Union and NATO both set up special units to analyze and debunk falsehoods. NATO founded a modest facility in Latvia to respond to disinformation. An agreement by heads of state and governments in March 2015 let the EU create the European External Action Service East Stratcom Task Force, which publishes weekly reports on its website "EU vs Disinfo."[10] The website and its partners identified and debunked more than 3,500 pro-Kremlin disinformation cases between September 2015 and November 2017.

In 2016, the US government established the Global Engagement Center (GEC) as an agency within the United States Department of State to counter foreign propaganda efforts.[11]

When explaining the 2016 annual report of the Swedish Security Service on disinformation, spokesman Wilhelm Unge stated: "We mean everything from Internet trolls to propaganda and misinformation spread by media companies like RT and Sputnik." RT and Sputnik were created to focus on Western audiences and function by Western standards, and RT tends to focus on how problems are the fault of Western countries.[12] Russia's television outlet RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and the Sputnik news agency are state-sponsored media.[3]

Research has tested methods to debunk the effects of Russian disinformation, particularly in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine. One study examined how inoculation can empower individuals of Russian descent living in the West against pro-Kremlin disinformation.[13] The study found that having a Russian identity and being exposed to Russian media is correlated with a heightened susceptibility to disinformation. However, inoculation was shown to improve participants' ability to recognize and perceive disinformation as less credible, heighten perceptions of Russia's responsibility for the war, and strengthen solidarity with Ukraine.

Social media platforms and the internet

As social media gained prominence in the 2010s, Russia began to use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube to spread disinformation. Russian web brigades and bots, typically operated by Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA), were commonly used to disseminate disinformation throughout these social media channels.[14] In late 2017 Facebook estimated that as many as 126 million of its users had seen content from Russian disinformation campaigns on its platform.[15] Twitter stated that it had found 36,000 Russian bots spreading tweets related to the 2016 United States elections.[16] Russia has used social media to destabilize former Soviet states such as Ukraine and Western nations such as France and Spain.[17] It has been suggested that since 2019, Russian-sponsored troll accounts and bots have formed and taken over prominent left-wing and right-wing subreddits on Reddit, such as the antiwar, greenandpleasant, and aboringdystopia subreddits, "suggest[ing] a Russian-led attempt to antagonize and influence Americans online, which is still ongoing."[18]

Social media companies have moved to limit Russian disinformation on their platforms. In October 2019, Facebook moved to take down accounts connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin used to interfere with African political affairs.[19] Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council at the time, said Russia's aim is to make its presence felt in the same way it did during the Cold War, but with a much smaller investment using disinformation campaigns.[19]

In 2020, the US State Department identified several "proxy sites" used by Russian state actors "to create and amplify false narratives." These sites include the Strategic Culture Foundation, New Eastern Outlook, Crimea-based news agency NewsFront and SouthFront, a website targeted at "military enthusiasts, veterans, and conspiracy theorists."[20]

Internet Research Agency

See main article: Internet Research Agency.

Following the Snow Revolution protests against the outcomes of the 2011 Russian legislative election organized by several persons, including Pussy Riot, Anton Nossik, and Alexei Navalny, who used Facebook, Twitter, and LiveJournal blogs to organize the events, Vyacheslav Volodin, who was Deputy Prime Minister at the time and later became First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia and was responsible for domestic policy, was tasked with countering these efforts and began to rein in the internet using Prisma (Russian: «Призма») which "actively tracks the social media activities that result in increased social tension, disorderly conduct, protest sentiments and extremis" by monitoring in real time from more than 60 million feeds about the protesters discussions on blogs and social networks and perform social media tracking which later led to establishing the Internet Research Agency.[21] [22] [23] Nossik claimed that the Twitter fueled events in 2009 in Moldova known as the Twitter Revolution and the events of Arab Spring, which Igor Sechin blamed Google for masterminding the revolution in Egypt, were not as devastating to Putin as the events of the Snow Revolution during 2011–2012.[23] Putin announced on 24 April 2014 that numerous laws would be enacted to restrict freedoms of expression on the internet through censorship and were signed into law by Putin on 5 May 2014 with enforcement beginning on 1 August 2014, according to Nossik.[23]

Twelve of the thirteen Russian nationals indicted by Robert Mueller for conspiracy meddling in the 2016 United States presidential election were employees of the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia.[24] [25] [26] In the runup to and during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) demonstrated evolved tactics for spreading disinformation. Probably to evade the detection mechanisms of social media platforms, the IRA co-opted activists working for a human-rights focused Ghanaian NGO to target black communities in the U.S.[27] Russian campaigns have also evolved to become more cross-platform, with content spreading, not only on Facebook and Twitter, but also on Tumblr, Wordpress, and Medium.[28] The IRA is also more emboldened, with evidence that they recruited U.S. journalists to write articles critical of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden.[29]

Russian Institute for Strategic Studies

See main article: Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. During both the 2016 and the 2020 US elections, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI, RISS or RISY; Russian: Российский институт стратегических исследований - РИСИ) was integral to disinformation efforts from Putin and the Kremlin. During the 2016 elections, Leonid Reshetnikov headed RISI, followed by Mikhail Fradkov during the 2020 elections.[30] [31] During the 2016 presidential election, George Papadopoulos met several times with Panos Kammenos who had numerous close ties to Russian intelligence, Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin group tasked with interfering in the 2016 United States elections.[32] [33] [34] Kammenos formed the Athens-based Institute of Geopolitical Studies which in November 2014 signed a "memorandum of understanding" with the former SVR officer Reshetnikov who headed RISI.[35] In 2009, RISI, which had been an SVR operation, was placed under control of the Russian president with Reshetnikov regularly meeting with Putin and participated in Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections by developing plans of action: for example, with Russian intelligence assets and using a large disinformation campaign, Putin would support Republicans and the Trump campaign and disrupt Democrats and the Clinton campaign, and, if Trump were likely to lose the 2016 election, then Russia would shift its efforts to focus upon voter fraud in the United States in order to undermine the legitimacy of the United States electoral system and the elections.[35] [36] Kammenos' positions followed closely with the Kremlin's talking points.[33]

Johan Backman supports RISI's interests in Northern Europe.[37]

Russia's numerous disinformation attacks including support for white supremacist activities and attacks of Biden's mental fitness were utilized by Donald Trump, senior Trump Administration officials, and his re-election campaign.[38] [39] [40] [41] Brian Murphy, who was acting chief of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security from March 2018 until August 2020, said that he was instructed "to cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference in the United States, and instead start reporting on interference activities by China and Iran."[40] [41] [42] Chad Wolf, who was acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said that Robert O'Brien, who was President Trump's national security advisor, had the assessments of Russian interference suppressed.[43] John Cohen, who was under secretary of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security during Barack Obama's presidency, stated "By blocking information from being released that describes threats facing the nation... undermines the ability of the public and state and local authorities to work with the federal government to counteract the threat."[38]

Internet Development Institute

In February 2024, an investigation published by a coalition of journals including VSquare, Delfi, Expressen and Paper Trail Media stated that the Internet Development Institute (Russian: Институт развития интернета, IRI) was funded the equivalent of about million from the Russian Federation budget to produce "patriotic mobile games, TV series, and movies". In 2024, the IRI was allocated the equivalent of million. The IRI was required to make every film premiering before the 2024 Russian presidential election evoke feelings in favour of one of four goals: either defending national/cultural/traditional values; showing a permanent trend of improvements in the quality of life in Russia; contemporary Russian heroes; or a fourth theme, "we are together" for Russian-occupied territories.[44]

The IRI created a 15-member editorial department in late 2022 to reduce the risk that the cultural works made by IRI could diverge from their "intended meaning". of the Center for East European Studies in Stockholm described this as following the pattern of political commissars, stating, "Everything we see in these documents is completely Soviet".[44]

Conservative media

Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman, Yuriy Lutsenko, John Solomon, Dmytro Firtash and his allies, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova were noted in a Fox News internal report Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration: a Full Timeline of Events, which was written by Fox News senior political affairs specialist Bryan S. Murphy and made public by Marcus DiPaola, as indispensable "in the collection and domestic publication of elements of this disinformation campaign" and numerous falsehoods.[45] [46] [47]

On 3 February 2022, John "Jack" Hanick, who helped established the Konstantin Malofeev owned Tsargrad TV in 2015, allegedly was working to establish similar networks in Greece and Bulgaria, and worked at Fox News as a founding producer and news director from 1996 to 2011, was arrested in London for violating sanctions against Malofeev.[48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] Hanick was the first person criminally indicted for violating United States sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War.[54]

During the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian state TV channel Russia-1 has used Tucker Carlson interviews on Fox News to support the Kremlin's objectives in Ukraine. Carlson's interview with the pro-Russia Retired Colonel Doug Macgregor was aired on Russia-1 to demoralize Ukraine.[55] Another interview by Carlson of Tulsi Gabbard, who often appears on Fox News as a guest, was shown on Russia-1 to support the Kremlin's position in which Gabbard said "President Biden could end this crisis and prevent a war with Russia by doing something very simple: guaranteeing that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO, because if Ukraine became a member of NATO, that would put U.S. and NATO troops directly on the doorstep of Russia, which — as Putin has laid out — would undermine their national security." Russia-1 removed parts of the interview before Gabbard said, "The reality is that it is highly, highly unlikely that Ukraine will ever become a member of NATO anyway."[56] Additionally, numerous clips of Carlson have appeared on RT, which was formerly known as Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya, that support the Kremlin's objectives.[56]

Against the United States and Europe

The Washington Post reported in April 2024 that the Russian foreign ministry was using disinformation to weaken Western countries, in particular the United States,[57] of which Russia objects its capitalist ideology[58] on the basis of its commitment to uphold the Marxist–Leninist ideology.[59] The document was said to be the first official confirmation of such policies and the Post noted Russian attempts to disrupt American and European domestic politics.[60] The Post said this was done to shift the balance of power to Russia and other Second World countries such as China, Iran and North Korea. The Guardian reported Russia was seeking to spread conspiracy theories among the American far right to undermine support for Ukraine.[61] Voice of America reported that Russian disinformation campaigns have focused on promoting American isolationism, tensions between various races as well as border security concerns.

The Telegraph reported that Russia and China were promoting pro-Palestinian influencers in order to manipulate British public opinion in favor of Russian and Chinese interests.[62]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Stukal . Denis . Sanovich . Sergey . Bonneau . Richard . Tucker . Joshua A. . February 2022 . Why Botter: How Pro-Government Bots Fight Opposition in Russia . . . . 116 . 1 . 843–857 . 10.1017/S0003055421001507 . free . 1537-5943 . 08009025 . 805068983 . 247038589 . 10 March 2022.
  2. Sultan . Oz . Spring 2019 . Tackling Disinformation, Online Terrorism, and Cyber Risks into the 2020s . The Cyber Defense Review . . . 4 . 1 . 43–60 . 2474-2120 . 26623066 . free.
  3. Web site: Russian state-sponsored media and disinformation on Twitter. ZOiS Spotlight. 16 September 2020.
  4. Web site: Russian Disinformation Is Taking Hold in Africa . . March 3, 2022 . November 17, 2021 . The Kremlin's effectiveness in seeding its preferred vaccine narratives among African audiences underscores its wider concerted effort to undermine and discredit Western powers by pushing or tapping into anti-Western sentiment across the continent..
  5. Web site: Leaked documents reveal Russian effort to exert influence in Africa . The Guardian . March 3, 2022 . June 11, 2019 . The mission to increase Russian influence on the continent is being led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman based in St Petersburg who is a close ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. One aim is to 'strong-arm' the US and the former colonial powers the UK and France out of the region. Another is to see off 'pro-western' uprisings, the documents say..
  6. Web site: 2024-04-11 . How Russia's disinformation campaign seeps into US views . 2024-05-13 . Voice of America . en.
  7. 11. McGeehan. Timothy P.. Countering Russian Disinformation . Parameters . 48 . 1 . 25 February 2022 . 2018 .
  8. Web site: Tolz . Vera . Hutchings . Stephen . Performing disinformation: a muddled history and its consequences . LSE blogs . 12 April 2022 . 8 October 2021.
  9. Paul . Christopher . Matthews . Miriam . The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model . Perspective . 11 July 2016 . RAND Corporation.
  10. Web site: EU vs Disinfo. EU vs Disinfo. European External Action Service East Stratcom Task Force. 3 December 2017. 6 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171206015254/https://euvsdisinfo.eu/.
  11. Web site: Global Engagement Center . United States Department of State. February 24, 2022.
  12. Web site: Moore. Cerwyn . March 2019 . Russia and Disinformation . Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats. 202895613.
  13. Ziemer . Carolin-Theresa . Schmid . Philipp . Betsch . Cornelia . Rothmund . Tobias . 2024-06-25 . Identity is key, but Inoculation helps – how to empower Germans of Russian descent against pro-Kremlin disinformation . advances.in/psychology . en . 2 . e628359 . 10.56296/aip00015 . 2976-937X.
  14. Ajir. Media. Vailliant. Bethany. 2018. Russian Information Warfare: Implications for Deterrence Theory. Strategic Studies Quarterly. 12. 3. 70–89. 26481910. 1936-1815.
  15. News: Ingram. David. 2017-10-30. Facebook says 126 million Americans may have seen Russia-linked political posts. en. Reuters. 2020-10-30.
  16. News: Russia Using Disinformation To 'Sow Discord In West,' Britain's Prime Minister Says. NPR. 2018-02-20.
  17. News: How Russia's Disinformation Campaign Could Extend Its Tentacles . NPR . 2018-02-20.
  18. Web site: Naylor . Aliide . Pro-Putin Disinformation Warriors Take War of Aggression to Reddit . CEPA . 12 December 2023 .
  19. Web site: 2019-10-31 . Facebook Moves to Curb Russian Interference in African Politics . 2024-02-15 . Voice of America . en.
  20. Web site: GEC Special Report: August 2020: Pillars of Russia's Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem . United States Department of State. ..this report draws on publicly available reporting to provide an overview of Russia's disinformation and propaganda ecosystem...[which] is the collection of official, proxy, and unattributed communication channels and platforms that Russia uses to create and amplify false narratives. . 2020 . March 8, 2022.
  21. News: Chen . Adrian . The Agency: From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid "trolls" has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities. . . 2 June 2015 . 24 March 2022 . 19 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191219110727/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html.
  22. News: ((Айдар Бурибаев (Buribaev, Aidar))) . ((Роман Баданин (Badanin, Roman))) . Как власти читают ваши блоги: расследование Forbes . How authorities read your blogs: Forbes investigation . ru . . 15 August 2012 . 24 March 2022 . 20 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210820142747/https://www.forbes.ru/sobytiya/vlast/92590-kak-vlasti-chitayut-vashi-blogi-rassledovanie-forbes.
  23. Russia's First Blogger Reacts to Putin's Internet Crackdown . . 15 May 2014 . 13 April 2022 . 13 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220413000758/https://newrepublic.com/article/117771/putins-internet-crackdown-russias-first-blogger-reacts.
  24. News: Mueller indicts 13 Russian nationals over 2016 election interference . March 3, 2022 . CNN. February 17, 2018 . According to the indictment, Prigozhin controlled Concord Catering, a group that funded the Internet Research Agency. By around September 2016, the indictment says, the Internet Research Agency's monthly budget for the project that included the US election interference operation exceeded 73 million Russian rubles, or over $1.25 million..
  25. News: Exclusive: Putin's 'chef,' the man behind the troll factory . March 3, 2022 . CNN. October 17, 2017 . The Internet Research Agency was based at 55 Savushkina Street in St. Petersburg before it officially ceased operations on December 28, 2016. But investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, who works for the business media group RBC, says its work continues..
  26. News: Chen . Adrian . Adrian Chen . 2 June 2015 . The Agency: From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid 'trolls' has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet – and in real-life American communities . . 3 June 2015 . 0362-4331.
  27. Web site: IRA in Ghana: Double Deceit. 2020-10-30. graphika.com. en.
  28. News: Timberg. Craig. Facebook removes Russian networks tied to intelligence services that interfered in the U.S. in 2016. en-US. Washington Post. 2020-10-30. 0190-8286.
  29. News: Dwoskin. Elizabeth. Timberg. Craig. Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation. en-US. Washington Post. 2020-10-30. 0190-8286.
  30. News: Parker . Ned . Landay . Jonathan . Walcott . John . Putin-linked think tank drew up plan to sway 2016 US election - documents . 25 February 2022 . . 19 April 2017.
  31. News: ((Лагунина, Ирина (Lagunina, Irina))) . ((Маетная, Елизавета (Maternaya, Elizabeth))) . Трамп и тайные документы Кремля . Trump and secret documents of the Kremlin . ru . . 20 April 2017 . 25 February 2022.
  32. News: ((Κακαουνάκη, Μαριάννα (Kakaounaki, Marianna))) . Η λευκή επιταγή του Τραμπ και ο ομογενής σύμβουλος . The white check of Trump and the expatriate advisor . el . . 11 December 2016 . 25 February 2022 . September 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210922035622/https://www.kathimerini.gr/world/887392/i-leyki-epitagi-toy-tramp-kai-o-omogenis-symvoylos/.
  33. News: Stedman . Scott . Papadopoulos Met Numerous Times with Greek Leader with Substantial Ties to the Kremlin's 2016 US Interference Campaign . Medium (medium.com) . 4 November 2017 . 25 February 2022 . November 4, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171104235106/https://medium.com/@ScottMStedman/exclusive-papadopoulos-met-numerous-times-with-greek-leader-with-substantial-ties-to-the-kremlin-7ff3630eb1ef.
  34. News: Witte . Griff . For Trump adviser at center of Russia probe, a rapid rise and dramatic fall in his ancestral land . . 10 December 2017 . 25 February 2022 . December 11, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171211035817/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/for-trump-adviser-at-center-of-russia-probe-a-rapid-rise-and-dramatic-fall-in-his-ancestral-land/2017/12/10/91bb696a-d390-11e7-9ad9-ca0619edfa05_story.html.
  35. News: Coalson . Robert . New Greek Government Has Deep, Long-Standing Ties With Russian 'Fascist' Dugin . . 28 January 2015 . 25 February 2022.
  36. News: Parker . Ned . Landay . Jonathan . Walcott . John . Putin-linked think tank drew up plan to sway 2016 US election - documents . . 19 April 2017 . 25 February 2022 . 5 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171105025344/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-election-exclusive/putin-linked-think-tank-drew-up-plan-to-sway-2016-us-election-documents-idUSKBN17L2N3.
  37. News: Higgins . Andrew . Effort to Expose Russia's 'Troll Army' Draws Vicious Retaliation . . 30 May 2016 . 13 April 2022 . 13 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170613023615/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/world/europe/russia-finland-nato-trolls.html.
  38. News: Margolin . Josh . Bruggeman . Lucien . Steakin . Will . Karl . Jonathan . DHS withheld July intelligence bulletin calling out Russian attack on Biden's mental health: The Trump campaign has repeatedly engaged in a similar line of attack. . ABC News . 1 September 2020 . 4 March 2022 . 10 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200910052513/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-withheld-july-intelligence-bulletin-calling-russian-attack/story?id=72747130.
  39. News: Barr . Luke . Russia spreading disinformation about Biden's mental health: DHS: A previously planned release was withheld by DHS. . ABC News . 8 September 2020 . 4 March 2022 . 10 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200910052949/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/russia-spreading-disinformation-bidens-mental-health-dhs/story?id=72879355.
  40. Web site: Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections . National Intelligence Council (NIC) . 10 March 2021 . 4 March 2022 . 16 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210316181540/https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ICA-declass-16MAR21.pdf.
  41. News: Behrmann . Savannah . Acting DHS secretary: White supremacy is 'most persistent and lethal threat' internally to US . . 24 September 2020 . 4 March 2022 . 24 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200924133548/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/23/dhs-secretary-white-supremacy-poses-persistent-and-lethal-threat/3511913001/.
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  45. News: O'Neil . Luke . Fox News guests spread 'disinformation' – says leaked internal memo: Among those named in document are frequent guests Rudy Giuliani, John Solomon, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova . . 7 February 2020 . 4 March 2022.
  46. News: Falzone . Diana . Grove . Lloyd . Fox News Lobotomizes Its 'Brain Room,' Cuts Fact-Based Journalism: 'NOT INTERESTED IN FACTS.' Staffers said the recent layoffs gutting Fox News' fact-checking team were a victory for the network's right-wing opinion shows and further cemented its status as "state media." . . 28 September 2020 . 4 March 2022 . 17 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220217191524/https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-lobotomizes-its-brain-room-cuts-fact-based-journalism.
  47. News: Sisak . Michael R. . Balsamo . Michael . Tucker . Eric . Feds raid Giuliani's home, office, escalating criminal probe . . 28 April 2021 . 4 March 2022 . 15 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220215112443/https://apnews.com/article/rudy-giuliani-trump-investigation-warrant-7a413e1bbb819cb52cd402d64a982185.
  48. News: Dugan . Kevin T. . Ex–Fox News Director Indicted for Working With Russian Oligarch . New York (nymag.com) . 3 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220324232352/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/exfox-news-producer-indicted-for-work-with-russian-oligarch.html.
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  50. News: Lahut . Jake . Ex-Fox News director indicted for allegedly helping a Russian oligarch start pro-Putin Tsargrad TV network: report . . 4 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . 4 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220304211359/https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-director-indictment-russia-oligarch-tv-channel-tsargrad-2022-3.
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  52. News: Pagliery . Jose . Former Fox News Director Jack Hanick Indicted for Helping Russia: FOX HOLE. An American TV producer was arrested in London and now faces criminal charges for working with a sanctioned Russian billionaire. He used to work for Fox News. . . 3 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220324225248/https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-fox-news-producter-for-sean-hannity-jack-hanick-indicted-for-helping-russia.
  53. Dickinson . Tim . How a Former Fox News Director Landed in Jail for Pushing Putin Propaganda: He fell in love with Mother Russia — and an oligarch's gravy train. But a disregard for sanctions and lying to the FBI could land him in prison for years . . 7 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . 25 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220325004204/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jack-hanick-indictment-putin-russia-propaganda-fox-news-1317789/.
  54. News: Spocchia . Gino . Former Fox News director indicted for violating Crimea sanctions and helping Russian billionaire: Justice Department vows end to 'Russian aggression' with first Crimea-linked sanctions violation . . 8 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . 18 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220318211048/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/fox-news-crimea-russian-oligarch-b2028644.html.
  55. News: Reed . Brad . Russian state TV uses Tucker Carlson to "demoralize" Ukraine: Russian state TV uses clips of Tucker Carlson's favorite pro-Putin US colonel to 'demoralize' Ukraine . . 4 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . 24 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220324231629/https://www.salon.com/2022/03/04/russian-state-tv-uses-tucker-carlson-to-demoralize-ukraine_partner/.
  56. News: Mackey . Russian TV Uses Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard to Sell Putin's War: Fox News clips of Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard trashing Ukraine and the Biden administration were a mainstay of news coverage this week on Russian state television. . . 25 February 2022 . 25 March 2022.
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  61. News: Stone . Peter . 2023-03-16 . Russia disinformation looks to US far right to weaken Ukraine support . 2024-05-13 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  62. News: Turner . Camilla . Lisbona . Natalie . 2024-05-18 . Russia and China ‘manipulating UK public opinion by promoting pro-Palestinian influencers’ . 2024-06-04 . . en-GB . 0307-1235.

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