Russian 'disinformation operators' carry out sloppy impersonations of US officials

07 March 2024

When former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee in July 2019, he warned that the Kremlin would continue to interfere in U.S. politics — including elections. The Mueller Report concluded that the 2016 Trump campaign's interactions with Russians did not rise to the level of a full-fledged criminal conspiracy, but Russian election interference and disinformation campaigns, Mueller stressed, are quite real.

In a report published on March 7, the Daily Beast's Shannon Vavra describes Russian "disinformation operators" who have been impersonating U.S. officials online on websites like Clearstory.News and Miami Chron (which is designed to look like a Florida website but is actually designed and published in Russia).

A recent impersonation, according to Vavra, occurred after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In fake audio posted online, Russian "disinformation operators" pretended to be Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O'Brien.

Their impersonations, Vavra reports, were sloppy, as the agitators spoke with noticeable "Russian accents."

Yet some major politicians have, at times, been fooled by online Russian disinformation campaigns designed to spread lies about Vladimir Putin foes like Navalny or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) parroted a fake anti-Zelensky narrative peddled on YouTube and on a Russian disinformation site called DC Weekly, as the BBC reported," Vavra explains. "The story alleged that Zelensky had used American aid money to buy two yachts. The allegation was false, and the yachts hadn't even been sold."

According to Vavra, the "fake audio about the Russian opposition movement appears to be the first prong of the campaign that isn't explicitly about weakening western support for Ukraine" but "can provide clues about the broader remit of Russian disinformation operators now."

"The strategic goal is likely about elevating Putin and solidifying his grip on power, in part by making it look like the opposition is controlled by the U.S.," Vavra adds.

Shannon Vavra's full report for the Daily Beast is available at this link (subscription required).

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