WASHINGTON: The Biden administration announced wide-ranging actions Wednesday meant to call out Russian influence in the upcoming US presidential election, unsealing criminal charges against two employees of a Russian state-run media company and seizing Internet domains used by the Kremlin to spread disinformation.
The measures represented a US government effort at disrupting a persistent threat from Russia that American officials have long warned has the potential to sow discord and create confusion among voters. Washington has said that Russia remains the primary threat to elections even as the FBI investigates a hack by Iran of Donald Trump’s campaign and an attempt breach of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign.
One criminal case accuses two employees of RT, a Russian-state-funded media organization that was forced by the Justice Department to register as a foreign agent, of covertly funding a Tennessee-based content creation company to publish nearly 2,000 videos containing Russian propaganda. The defendants, who remain at large, used fake identities and the company was unaware it was being used by Russia.
In the other action, officials announced the seizure of 32 Internet domains that were used by the Kremlin to spread Russian propaganda and weaken global support for Ukraine.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the actions relate to Russia’s use of state media to enlist unwitting American influencers to spread propaganda and disinformation.
Intelligence agencies have previously charged that Russia was using disinformation to try to interfere in the election. The new steps show the depth of US concerns and signal legal actions against those suspected of being involved.
“Today’s announcement highlights the lengths some foreign governments go to undermine American democratic institutions,” the State Department said. “But these foreign governments should also know that we will not tolerate foreign malign actors intentionally interfering and undermining free and fair elections.”
In a speech last month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Russia remained the biggest threat to election integrity, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin and “his proxies are using increasingly sophisticated techniques in their interference operations. They’re targeting specific voter demographics and swing-state voters to in an effort to manipulate presidential and congressional election outcomes. They’re intent on co-opting unwitting Americans on social media to push narratives advancing Russian interests.”
Much of the concern around Russia centers on cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns designed to influence the November vote. The tactics include using state media like RT to advance anti-US messages and content, as well as networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims and inject them into American’s online conversations. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza.
In many cases, Americans may have no idea that the content they see online either originated or was amplified by the Kremlin.
“Russia is taking a whole of government approach to influence the election including the presidential race,” an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said this summer during a briefing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under rules worked out with that office.
Groups linked to the Kremlin are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms within Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while also covering their tracks, the officials said during the briefing with reporters.
Two such firms were the subject of new US sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.
The ultimate goal, however, is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origin. People are far more likely to trust and repost information that they believe is coming from a domestic source, officials said. Fake websites designed to mimic US news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.
Messages left with the Russian Embassy were not immediately returned.
US accuses Russia of using state media to spread disinformation before the November election
https://arab.news/6g83w
US accuses Russia of using state media to spread disinformation before the November election
- Much of the concern around Russia centers on cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns designed to influence the November vote
Hundreds rally in Paris for Iranian women’s rights
- The march in solidarity with the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement was attended by Benjamin Briere and Louis Arnaud, two Frenchmen who were arrested and arbitrarily detained in Iran
PARIS: Hundreds of people marched through Paris on Sunday in support of women’s rights and the opposition in Iran, two years after the death of Mahsa Amini sparked protests against the country’s religious authorities.
A 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Amini died in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.
The march, organized by around 20 human rights associations, took place as 34 women began a hunger strike in a Tehran prison to mark the two-year anniversary of her death.
Chirinne Ardakani, a Franco-Iranian lawyer and member of the “Iran Justice” collective, said that the “sacrifices” made by Iranians opposed to the regime were “not in vain.”
“Everything has changed in Iran,” Ardakani told AFP.
“We’ve gone from an absolutely patriarchal culture, where there was no question of women being able to reveal themselves in the street, to massive support for these women,” the lawyer and activist added.
The march in solidarity with the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement was attended by Benjamin Briere and Louis Arnaud, two Frenchmen who were arrested and arbitrarily detained in Iran.
Iran is accused of arresting Westerners without cause and using them as bargaining chips in state-to-state negotiations, with French diplomats describing these prisoners as “state hostages.”
Briere was eventually released in May 2023, while Arnaud was let go the month after.
“Yes, I was in prison, but it is an immense honor to have been able to live among you, freedom fighters, who shared my suffering,” Arnaud told the crowd, in his first public address since his release.
Three other French nationals are still being held in Iran.
After Amini died in custody on September 16, 2022, the women-led protests which erupted rattled Iran’s leadership that autumn and winter.
But the demonstrations were then crushed by the authorities, with rights group Amnesty International saying security forces used assault rifles and shotguns in the crackdown.
Human rights groups say at least 551 people were killed. Thousands more were arrested, according to the United Nations.
Russian bomb strikes Kharkiv apartment building, 41 injured, official says
- Zelensky said 3 other guided bombs had struck villages in Kharkiv region, where population centers have been a frequent target of Russian attacks near Russian border
KYIV: A Russian-guided bomb struck a multi-story apartment building on Sunday in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, triggering a fire and injuring at least 41 people, the region’s governor said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest attack underscored the need for Ukraine’s Western partners to provide weapons and air defense systems and permission to use weaponry on targets deep inside Russia to save lives.
Oleh Syniehubov, governor of Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, said on Telegram that rescue operations were proceeding, with 12 people in hospital, three in serious condition. He said residents could be trapped under rubble.
Syniehubov posted photos of heavy damage to the top four of five storys of the building, with smoke and fire billowing out of blown-out windows.
Zelensky, in his nightly video address, said three other guided bombs had struck villages in Kharkiv region, where population centers have been a frequent target of Russian attacks near the Russian border.
Russia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the apartment building but has denied intentionally targeting civilians despite having killed thousands of them since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Zelensky called for rapid decisions on long-range strikes “in order to destroy Russian military aviation right where it is based. These are obvious, logical decisions.
“Every Russian strike of this nature, every instance of Russian terror, like today in Kharkiv...this proves that there must be long-range capability and it must be sufficient.”
He said appropriate decisions were expected in the first instance from the United States, France, Germany and Italy, “those whose decisiveness can help save lives.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles.
Trump safe after multiple shots fired near his Florida golf course
- Trump was injured in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe after multiple shots were fired near his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, according to two sources briefed on the incident.
The shots originated outside the fence line of the course, the sources said. Trump’s campaign had earlier said he was safe following gunshots in his vicinity but gave no details.
The Secret Service said it was investigating the incident, which occurred shortly before 2 p.m. (1800 GMT).
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., cited local law enforcement as saying an AK-47 automatic weapon had been discovered in bushes and a suspect has been apprehended, according to a post on X.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm his account.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump was injured in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13, just months ahead of what looks likely to be highly contested Nov. 5 election in which he will be pitted against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The first shooting of a US president or major party presidential candidate in more than four decades was a glaring security lapse that forced Kimberly Cheatle to resign as Secret Service director under bipartisan congressional pressure.
Trump was grazed in the right ear and one rallygoer was killed in the gunfire. The gunman, identified as a 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.
The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident and were “relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.
Vance defends pet-eating story, a claim Democrats call ‘dangerous’
- Trump amplified the claim during his debate Tuesday with Democrat Kamala Harris, provoking widespread mockery at home and abroad
WASHINGTON: The Republican vice presidential nominee defended Sunday his claim that immigrants are eating people’s pet animals in an Ohio town, a claim multiple officials say is “dangerous” and unfounded.
Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance had made the surprising claim earlier this month — saying Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio — were eating people’s pet cats and dogs. Vance is a US senator who represents Ohio.
Trump amplified the claim during his debate Tuesday with Democrat Kamala Harris, provoking widespread mockery at home and abroad — but also prompting a series of threats that forced some Springfield schools and hospitals to close.
“My constituents are telling me firsthand that they’re seeing these things,” an unapologetic Vance said on CNN.
Vance denied any responsibility for the recent spate of threats against Springfield, blaming them on “psychopaths” and “losers.”
Springfield’s mayor, a local sheriff and the state’s Republican governor have said they have no evidence to back up Vance’s claims.
“These discussions about Haitians eating dogs and cats and other things need to stop,” Governor Mike DeWine said on ABC.
“What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work (and)...they are very good workers.”
Thousands of Haitians have settled in Springfield in recent years, most of them under a federal program granting them temporary protected status.
Governor Josh Shapiro of the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, a Democrat once touted as a possible Harris running mate, on Sunday accused Vance of recklessly fanning the flames of rumor.
“When they go out and they lie about this stuff, they put their fellow Americans at risk,” he told CNN interviewer Dana Bash. “JD Vance should be ashamed of himself. ... This is dangerous stuff.”
Vance denied his remarks had any connection to the threats against Springfield.
“The violence is disgusting,” he said. “We condemn it.” But he repeatedly blamed the problems in places like Springfield on the border policies of the Biden-Harris administration.
Trump, like Vance, has doubled down on his attacks on migrants.
Campaigning Friday in California, Trump vowed there would be “large deportations” from Springfield if elected. He has promised to deport millions of undocumented migrants nationwide.
Harris, meantime, appeared Friday in Shapiro’s state of Pennsylvania, perhaps the most crucial of the swing states expected to decide the November election.
“I offer a new generation of leadership,” said the 59-year-old Democrat, underlining the contrast to Trump, who is 78.
Released Indian opposition leader Kejriwal to resign as Delhi chief minister
- Kejriwal is a fierce critic of Narendra Modi and a former anti-corruption crusader whose decade-old Aam Aadmi Party quickly rose to mainstream politics
NEW DELHI: Indian opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday he will resign as chief minister of the Delhi regional government, a day after he was released from prison on bail in a graft case. Kejriwal was granted bail on Friday by India’s Supreme Court and left prison on Saturday almost six months after being detained in relation to alleged irregularities in the capital city’s liquor policy.
Kejriwal is a fierce critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a former anti-corruption crusader whose decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) quickly rose to mainstream politics, although its clout is relatively small compared to older opposition parties.
AAP had expected that Kejriwal’s release from prison would allow him to campaign as a chief minister in regional elections next month in the northern state of Haryana, and in Delhi early next year.
Kejriwal, announcing his resignation as chief minister at a meeting with AAP workers, said he would only return to the post if people certify his honesty by voting for him in the upcoming Delhi election. He called on the Election Commission to bring forward the Delhi election to November, from February 2025.
“I demand elections be held in November with Maharashtra elections, I demand the elections be held immediately,” Kejriwal said.
He was first taken into custody in March by India’s financial crime-fighting agency, weeks before the country’s national elections, in relation to Delhi’s liquor policy.
Although he was granted bail in that case in July, he remained in detention due to his arrest the previous month by the federal police in another graft case related to the same policy.
Kejriwal, 55, and AAP deny the allegations and say the cases are “politically motivated.”
