DOJ Indicts Two Russians For Authoring MAGA Propaganda

Russian-made propaganda is again loose on screens all across the country but this time there is a ray of hope amidst instinctive terror. As if the upcoming election was not already fraught with tension and discord to the point that our very Constitution is threatened, a new DOJ indictment claims that two Russia Today employees tossed out almost $10 million to circulate said RussiaToday-made content, i.e., “propaganda” on the internet, all of it in support of Donald Trump.

It gets worse. The indicted Russians, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, worked directly with Trump-supporting right-wingers and MAGA were happy to oblige. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva promoted the effort through an American company, one unnamed in the indictment itself, TENET Media which then utilized well known Trump supporters. According to Yahoo News, right-wing influencers such as Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, pushed or utilized the Russian-created content.

Sooo, Russian created content working to manipulate an American presidential election?

Sure, we’ve been here before, both in 2016 and 2020. But as far as I can tell, no official American Trump-supporting influencers ever directly promoted known Russian media manipulation. The increasing intensity of the propaganda effort threatens our entire democratic nature. The Russians know it, we know it, the influencers know it, and the Justice Department damn sure knows it.

If there is one consolation it is that this was predictable enough that DOJ made quick, clean work, and before we go on, we should be thankful they did. Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference in which he stated:

“The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power engages in political activities or seeks to influence public discourse.”

Yes, thank you.

But the national nightmare gets worse. FBI Director Christopher Wray noted perhaps an even a greater reason for alarm. Not only are the Russians back, not only are they working with Americans, they are also getting better at it. As compiled by Yahoo News, the Director stated:

Russian operations have “meddled in our society” and elections “for decades,” he said, but recent efforts relying on social media — with AI-assisted disinformation campaigns — are just “more tools in the toolbox.”

AI? I’ve written this all-too many times. Artificial intelligence makes any enforcement effort infinitely harder and the impact that much more powerful because it can become nearly impossible to discern real quotes, real video, real companies, all while AI also deftly targets all too real voters.

In this case, Russia Today employees helped create and publish nearly 2,000 English-language videos on TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube. Indictment or not, the damage is done because the content created 16 million views. The popular vote will come down to far fewer than 16 million votes. Directly targeted swing states will likely come down to fewer than 10,000 votes. Right? Yes and that’s the problem.

Propaganda works. It has always worked. All one needs is the shameless will, a foreign power wanting in, and an American party to open the door, all of which is easily found here. Not only is Russia the motherland of propaganda, they are now a leader in AI and willing to exploit it – always to their own end. It is also welcomed by too many on the Right.

As everyone knows, there was a time when a campaign that found itself supported by a rogue state like Russia would be shocked, humiliated, and doing all it can to separate itself from the appearance of foreign influence. That is quite obviously not the case today, though it must be said, the Trump campaign itself is not directly linked to this effort. Always hedge. The campaign surely “knows,” the only question is how the campaign might respond.

But does it even matter? Never forget, Trump supporters hate liberals far more than they hate Russia. They are surely madder at DOJ than Russia. After all, Russia Today supports Trump. But every Trump-supporter ought to ask themselves if Putin is trying to make America great again.

No, the war criminal wants to make Russia great again, an effort that requires weakening United States. It seems as though Putin quickly sought to cover his tracks by voicing his support of Vice President Harris, as he happened to do just hours after the indictments came down. Nice try. RT surely wouldn’t go against Putin’s preferred candidate.

Of course, all foreign powers look out for their interests which is why it is against the law to meddle in American elections. It is also why DOJ works to stop it.

Law enforcement in these matters will only become increasingly difficult and thus we should be both grateful for the indictment while also increasingly worried.

If that even possible? Probably “nyet.”