The Justice Department seized 32 websites and charged two Russian state media employees <\/b>Wednesday in a Kremlin-backed campaign to influence voters in the U.S. presidential election by exploiting societal and political divisions \u2014 and by criticizing the competency of the U.S. military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Russian government used the websites to spread propaganda<\/a> in an effort to bolster its interests, reduce international support for Ukraine and influence voters in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, as well as in other foreign elections, the Justice Department alleged in an affidavit. Russian actors tried to stir anti-military sentiments, among other tactics, the affidavit says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the websites were designed to mimic authentic news outlets, such as The Washington Post and Fox News, by publishing fake articles under copied logos and the names of real journalists, the Justice Department said. In other instances, the perpetrators created unique media brands to push propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of those brands was Warfareinsider, which describes itself as reporting on the \u201clatest military news,\u201d the Justice Department alleged. A summary of the site states, \u201cStay sharp to look at it from the different perspective.\u201d On Thursday, the web address led to a page with a large red banner reading, \u201cThis website has been seized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Department\u2019s actions follow months of warnings<\/a> from private technology companies and disinformation experts about the threats Russia and other countries pose to the November election. The affidavit released Wednesday included one exhibit from the cybersecurity company Recorded Future<\/a>, which published a report in December saying Russian campaigns \u201caimed to exploit societal and political divisions ahead of the 2024 U.S. election, fueling anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, criticizing U.S. military competence and amplifying political divisions around U.S. support for Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday the U.S. government \u201cwill be aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by the Russian government, or any other malign actor, to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t