A covert operation sponsored by the Russian government to influence US and US-ally interests has been disrupted by the Justice Department.
This Influence Operation relied on influencers, AI-generated content, paid social media advertisements, and social media accounts to drive internet traffic to “cybersquatted” and other domains.
At least 30 domain names were used in this campaign that began in 2022, attempting to flood social media with pro-Russian propaganda. Many of these domain names were registered at GoDaddy using various accounts and were selected to look similar to reputable global news sites.
albayan.me
bild.llc
bild.work
bild.ws
faz.agency
faz.life
faz.ltd
gulfnews.ltd
lemonde.ltd
leparisien.ltd
milliyet.com.co
nd-aktuell.co
nd-aktuell.net
nd-aktuell.pro
obozrevatel.ltd
pravda-ua.com
rbk.media
spiegel.agency
spiegel.pro
spiegel.work
sueddeutsche.cc
sueddeutsche.co
sueddeutsche.ltd
sueddeutsche.me
tagesspiegel.co
tagesspiegel.ltd
washingtonpost.ltd
welt.ltd
welt.media
welt.ws
As alleged in an unsealed affidavit, the Russian companies Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura), and ANO Dialog, operating under the direction and control of the Russian Presidential Administration, and in particular First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko, used these domains, among others, to covertly spread Russian government propaganda.
The aim of the operators was to reduce international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election.
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