Washington Accuses Moscow of Using State Media to Spread disinformation to Influence US Voters

Thu Sep 05 2024
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Monitoring Desk
Moscow
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WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has announced wide-ranging actions meant to call out Moscow influence in the next US presidential election, unsealing criminal charges against two employees of a Russian state-run media firm and seizing Internet domains used by the Kremlin to spread disinformation.

According to The Associated Press (AP), the steps represented a US effort at disrupting a persistent risk from Moscow that the US officials have long warned has the potential to spread disharmony and create misperception among voters. The US has said that Russia remains the main threat to polls even as the FBI investigates a hack by Iran Trump’s campaign and an attempt breach of the Biden-Harris campaign.

One case blames two employees of RT, a Russian-state-funded media outlet that was forced by the Justice Department to list as a foreign agent, of covertly funding a Tennessee-based content creation firm to publish about 2,000 footages containing Russian propaganda, the AP reported. In the other action, authorities announced the confiscation of 32 Internet domains that were used by Moscow to spread propaganda and weaken international support for Kyiv.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated the measures relate to Russia’s use of official media to enlist unwitting American influencers to spread disinformation and propaganda. The US authorities have earlier charged that Moscow was using disinformation to attempt to interfere in the polls. The new measures show the depth of Washington’s concerns and signal legal acts against suspects. According to media reports, Russian Embassy in the US did not issue any statement over the matter.

Earlier, CNN reported that the US plans to formally accuse Russia of a campaign to influence the 2024 presidential polls by leveraging online platforms to disseminate disinformation to voters.   Russian officials have rejected the allegations as unfounded. Maria Butina, a State Duma deputy, termed the accusations “pure rubbish” and asserted that Russia does not have a preference for either Trump or Kamala Harris in the upcoming polls. “The only winner of the US election is the US private military industrial complex,” Butina told Reuters.

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Afghanistan continues to pose multiple security threats to neighborly countries. Afghan interim government commonly known as the Taliban regime recently celebrated the third anniversary of their takeover of Kabul. Taliban’s speedy takeover and the quick meltdown of the Ashraf Ghani regime both are remembered as meaningful surprising events in the checkered history of Afghanistan. The subsequent withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan triggered numerous intriguing questions. The apparent hasty withdrawal of American forces though celebrated as a victory by the Taliban however it could not bring any stability to Afghanistan. Though withdrawal took place under Joe Biden’s watch, however, the grounds were prepared by the Trump administration prior to leaving the white house consequent to election defeat. The arrival of the Taliban in Kabul as an uncontested force on 15th Aug 2021 made the whole American campaign a shadowy affair stretched over almost two decades. Critiques are justified in questioning the outcome of such a lengthy military and political campaign orchestrated by the USA in Afghanistan. No satisfactory response has ever surfaced from the State Department and Pentagon sides about the quick meltdown of the Afghan National Army. It is obvious that the surprisingly expeditious winding up of the Ashraf Ghani regime further exposed the weaknesses of the whole American prescription applied to heal Afghanistan. The multiple damaging effects of the ill-conceived strategy on the war-torn society of Afghanistan are not too difficult to understand. Present-day Afghanistan is more polarized and unsettled under the Taliban’s unelected regime. The demolition of the political façade in August 2021 was not a sudden development but rather a much-expected outcome of the dubious Doha agreement. Analysts having fair insight into the Afghan dynamics were apprehensive about the American deal with the Taliban while Ashraf Ghani was very much present in the office of President. Simply put, the American direct agreement with the Taliban in Doha was actually the beginning of the end of Ashraf Ghani's regime. Bitterness in bilateral ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been constantly growing over the issue of cross-border terrorism. Against all the positive expectations of Islamabad, the interim Afghan government has not responded against the Khawarij which comprises the banned TTP and its numerous splinter groups. Ironically, the Taliban regime is providing all sorts of support to those Khawarij terrorists who are involved in attacks on Pakistani security forces, unarmed civilians and military installations. Facts and figures clearly reflect the alarming rise in cross-border terrorist attacks inside Pakistan after the arrival of the Taliban on Kabul’s throne. Pakistan has rightly questioned the liberty of action granted to the Khawarij terrorists on Afghan soil by the interim Taliban setup. These genuine security concerns have been conveyed to the Taliban regime through all available channels. Repeated engagements from the Pakistan side via diplomatic, political, religious and media channels, nothing positive could not gain any breakthrough in finishing the bloody cycle of terrorism. Growing security concerns gradually taking the shape of anger in Pakistan because huge losses to men and materials are crossing the limits of patience. Unwise rulers of Kabul are acting against the interests of a neighbor like Pakistan who always stood alongside Afghan brethren in hours of need. It seems that sympathizers of Khawarij (banned TTP) are now dominating the interim Afghan government and saner elements have lost their say in the decision-making process. Multiple reports released by the UN, EU and international watchdogs have revealed undeniable information about the active presence of global terrorist groups in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime is in denial mode and seems in a mood to continue with the present harmful policies. The loud arrogance of Taliban officials on the highly objectionable stance about cross-border terrorism is endangering regional peace. In a recent statement, the military chief of the interim Afghan government Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat has denied any presence of banned TTP elements in Afghanistan. This absurd denial is credible evidence of the Taliban’s contradicting stance about the presence of Khawarij (Banned TTP) on Afghan soil. How Qari Fasihullah Fitrat can ask for evidence of Khawarij’s existence while Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzadah urged Afghans through a fatwa to refrain from joining the terrorism spree of banned TTP against Pakistan last year. 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