'Russian propaganda' is now 'part of our political discourse' thanks to 'the right': expert

07 September 2024

Foreign governments influencing American elections is now a fact of life that the U.S. government will have to contend with for the foreseeable future, according to various geopolitical experts.

Politico's Hailey Fuchs and Josh Gerstein reported that U.S. authorities are now having to fend off attempts by multiple foreign adversaries to spread misinformation ahead of major elections, and that this trend doesn't appear to be slowing anytime soon. This includes complex and well-funded influence schemes not just from Russia as was the case in 2016, but from China and Iran as well in the 2024 election cycle.

Now, as foreign meddling in American elections becomes a more widespread phenomenon, national security experts are torn about how to address it. The direct approach the U.S. took in 2016 when addressing the influence operation by Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime has its own risks according to some experts, who prefer a more subtle approach.

"That is the core of the debate: whether you are in fact carrying water for the adversaries by highlighting this activity," former Senate Select Committee on Intelligence staffer Emily Harding told Politico.

Still, leading authorities insist that any attempts by adversaries to spread mistrust ahead of elections will be resisted forcefully. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday that the DOJ would be "relentlessly aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by Russia and Iran — as well as China or any other foreign malign actor — to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy."

China was recently exposed by analytics group Graphika for conducting a social media influence campaign called "Spamouflage." This effort consisted of spreading divisive narratives surrounding issues like gun control, homelessness, drug abuse and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Iran was recently found to have been behind a number of websites attempting to spread narratives on social media beneficial to Democrats.

However, the biggest bombshell so far in the foreign influence sphere came to light after the DOJ unveiled an indictment that accused Russia of funneling $10 million to various far-right social media personalities. Recipients of Russian money provided by Tenet Media include podcasters Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin and Lauren Southern.

John E. Herbst, who was ambassador to Ukraine under former President George W. Bush, praised President Joe Biden's administration for its aggressive and loud response to foreign meddling. He noted that the “comprehensive use of American power” put “the Russians off kilter by putting this out publicly.”

Russian government-run network RT joked about the Biden administration's response to Russian interference in the 2024 election, saying: "Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the US elections." The broadcaster added: "Somewhere Secretary [Hillary] Clinton is sad that it’s not because of her."

"They do that because sadly, Russian propaganda themes have made it into part of our political discourse, especially on the right," Herbst told Politico.

Click here to read Politico's report in its entirety.

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