"Psychological warfare": Russian government spent $10 million on new US election influence campaign

Two Russian nationals were indicted in Manhattan federal court for acting in a “massive scheme” to push Russian interests to the American public leading up to the election, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. 

Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva are employees of RT, a state-controlled media company funded by the government of Russia. RT reportedly paid a Tennessee-based content company $10 million to “create and distribute to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging” on TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube," according to a DOJ statement.

The Tennessee company, which was not named by the DOJ, posted more than 2,000 videos featuring commentary on issues “such as immigration, inflation, and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy,” the indictment states. 

“The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. 

Both Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva operated under fake identities, posing as editors at the Tennessee company. 

They were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires foreign agents to publicly disclose the nature of their activities. They were also charged with conspiracy to commit money-laundering. 

“The Russian government has long sought to sow discord and chaos in the United States through propaganda and foreign malign influence campaigns,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement. “As alleged, the covert operations by RT employees exploited our free and open press and targeted millions of Americans as unwitting victims of Russia’s psychological warfare."

Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are both at-large. If convicted, they could face up to 25 years in prison.

News of the indictment comes the same day the DOJ announced it will seize 32 internet domains that the Russian government has used to influence U.S. elections and spread anti-Ukraine talking points, including websites that purported to be mainstream media outlets such as The Washington Post.