Indictment Of Russian Propagandists Underscores The Ongoing Threat To U.S. Election Integrity Outlined In State Of Black America
Marc H. Morial
President and CEO
National Urban League
“The Russian government has long sought to sow discord and chaos in the United States through propaganda and foreign malign influence campaigns. As alleged, the covert operations by RT employees exploited our free and open press and targeted millions of Americans as unwitting victims of Russia’s psychological warfare.” – U.S. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen
When the company’s Russian funders ordered Tenet Media to promote a video of Tucker Carlson marveling over the high quality of Moscow’s supermarkets, a Tenet employee resisted.
“It just feels like overt shilling,” the employee complained to Tenet’s founder Lauren Chen, according to federal prosecutors.
But “overt shilling” was precisely what the Russians were paying Chen and her co-founder husband Liam Donovan to do. So they posted the video, along with nearly 2,000 others from right-wing pundits and influencers who were paid – some of them hundreds of thousands of dollars – to produce propaganda that would push U.S. voters toward Russia-friendly candidates like Donald Trump.
The National Urban League’s 2019 State of Black America report was the first to highlight the extent of Russian efforts to deceive, manipulate and exploit Black voters in the 2016 presidential election. Five months later, a Senate Intelligence Committee report confirmed our findings: Russian trolls targeted Black Americans more than any other group to dissuade them from voting.
This week’s indictment of Russian operatives Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva does not mention any effort to target Black voters or sow racial division. But the media personalities they paid have echoed racist talking points about diversity, equity, and inclusion. The indictment coincided with the opening of a trial on similar charges against four members of an organization promoting Black power.
Russia remains relentless in its efforts to disrupt American democracy, fanning the flames of racial resentment to sow division and chaos.
Vlatmir Putin fought hard in 2016 for election of Donald Trump and is desperate to reinstate him so he can implement his of Trump’s pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine policies. Trump praised Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea, saying Putin was “so smart” and that “he’s done an amazing job of taking the mantle.” Trump called Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine “genius,” “smart” and “savvy.” If reelected, he would pressure Ukrane to capitulate to Putin.
The National Urban League has called for a whole-of-government and whole-of nation response to combating disinformation campaigns. Social media companies must strongly enforce civic integrity policies and close loopholes that allow bad actors like the indicted Russian operatives to spread disinformation. We advocate legislation that increases transparency into how algorithms amplify harmful, sensationalized content, and that limits the amount of data companies can collect and use to target vulnerable communities.
Most of all, we need to remain vigilant. As one editor quoted in the indictment said, “'Anything that causes chaos is RT's line." Our line should be to expose it.
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