US accuses Russia’s RT of interference in 2024 election
Al Jazeera
US Justice Department says two employees of Russia’s RT secretly paid $10m to Tennessee-based media outlet.
The United States has announced a range of actions to combat Russian efforts to influence the 2024 presidential election, including the indictment of two state media employees accused of secretly funding a US media company to sow political divisions.
In an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, the US Justice Department alleged that two employees of Russia’s RT used shell companies and fake identities to pay $10m to a media outlet in Tennessee as part of a Moscow-directed influence operation.
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva face charges of conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
US Attorney General Merrick B Garland said the influence campaign had targeted US audiences with “hidden Russian government messaging”.
“The company never disclosed to the influencers – or to their millions of followers – its ties to RT and the Russian government. Instead, the defendants and the company claimed that the company was sponsored by a private investor. That private investor was a fictitious persona,” Garland said.
