The United States has discovered dozens of fake media outlets with Russian propaganda

The US Department of Justice blocked 32 domain names that posted links to Russian propaganda content. Most pretended to be prominent American and European media. This was reported by the press service of the US Department of Justice on Thursday, September 5.

During the investigation, the Ministry of Justice and the FBI learned that Internet trolls led by the Kremlin and employees of propaganda media such as Russia Today (RT) were conducting a massive campaign to interfere in US elections, discredit the Western countries supporting Ukraine, and manipulating public opinion in Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain through local politicians, businessmen, journalists and other influential people.

The Russian companies Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura) and ANO Dialog, operating under the leadership and administrative control of the head of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, used these domains , in particular:

In connection with the domain seizures, the US Department of the Treasury announced the designation of ten individuals and two organizations as part of a coordinated response to Russia’s efforts to maliciously influence the 2024 US presidential election.

It was established that the domains were purchased from American registrars by “persons abroad working under the direction and control of the Russian government.”

As part of the operation, fake websites masquerading as media outlets like The Washington Post or Fox News redirected unsuspecting users to Russian-made content, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

“The use of global influencers, paid social media advertising (in some cases created using artificial intelligence tools) and the creation of fake social media profiles posing as US citizens (or other ) to post comments on social media with links to domains registered by cybersquatters who attempted to trick users into believing they were being directed to a legitimate news media site, the statement said.

Attackers deliberately manipulate domains. Specifically, the Russians changed “washingtonpost.pm” to “washingtonpost.com” to publish Russian government messages presented as content from legitimate media outlets.

Other fake sites include clones of Reuters, Der Spiegel, Bild, Le Monde, etc.

At the same time, apart from fake websites, social media pages impersonating popular news outlets were also used to promote propaganda content.

Let’s remember that to spread Russian propaganda, the Kremlin uses the state legal defense fund Pravfond, which operates in 48 countries in Europe and the world.

In March, Czech authorities announced that they had uncovered a Russian influence operation carried out through the Voice of Europe. Financial transfers are made to both elected MEPs and MPs in national parliaments.