The United States has exposed and disrupted a large-scale Russian disinformation campaign led by Putin's office and people close to him.
This was reported by the press service of the US Department of Justice.
The Justice Department seized 32 duplicate domains of well-known publications that published ‘convenient’ news for Russian propaganda. The attackers imitated the websites of well-known individuals or companies (for example, washingtonpost.pm instead of washingtonpost.com) to publish disinformation on behalf of legitimate media outlets.
It is noted that this operation was carried out by Russian companies Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura) and ANO Dialog, which operate under the direction and control of the Russian presidential administration, and in particular the first deputy chief of staff of the presidential executive office, Sergei Kiriyenko.
"The Department of Justice is confiscating 32 Internet domains that the Russian government and Russian government-sponsored entities used to engage in a covert campaign to interfere with and influence the outcome of our country's elections," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, including Sergei Kiriyenko, ordered Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 US presidential election. An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that the goal of the campaign is to ensure the election outcome desired by Russia.
‘The sites we are seizing today were filled with Russian government propaganda that was created by the Kremlin to reduce international support for Ukraine, support pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the United States and other countries," the prosecutor added.
At Putin's direction, Russian companies SDA, Structura and ANO Dialog used cybersquatting, fake profiles of influencers, to covertly promote false narratives created by artificial intelligence on social media.
The FBI added that this is the third disruption of similar Russian operations in two months.