On September 4, the US government revealed legal action against Russian media outlet Russia Today (RT). The Department of Justice indicted two RT employees, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, charging the two with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a USD 10 million scheme to create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing.”
The Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it was taking action against 10 individuals and two entities “as part of a coordinated US government response to Moscow’s malign influence efforts targeting the 2024 US presidential election,” targeting Russia Today specifically.
The US government is claiming that “beginning in early 2024, executives at RT—Russia’s state-funded news media outlet—began an even more nefarious effort to covertly recruit unwitting American influencers in support of their malign influence campaign. RT used a front company to disguise its own involvement or the involvement of the Russian government in content meant to influence US audiences.”
The DOJ is accusing the RT employees of creating video content that “amplify domestic divisions in the United States,” and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray accuses the two of attempting to “trick Americans into unwittingly consuming foreign propaganda.” Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering and up to five years for violating FARA, however, it is unlikely that they will ever be extradited.
RT is no stranger to government attacks, having been banned in Europe at the onset of the Russia-Ukraine War.
