US acts against Russian efforts to influence presidential election

Moves include sanctions, indictments and seizing of fake news websites

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The United States on Sept 4 announced a broad effort to push back against Russian influence campaigns in the 2024 presidential election, as it tries to curb the Kremlin's use of staterun media and fake news sites to sway American voters.

The actions include sanctions, indictments and seizing of web domains that US officials say the Kremlin uses to spread propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than two years ago.

Attorney-General Merrick Garland detailed the actions taken by the Justice Department. They include the indictment of two Russian employees of RT, the stateowned broadcaster, who used a company in Tennessee to spread content, and the takedown of a Russian malign influence campaign known as Doppelganger.

"The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power engages in political activities or seeks to influence public discourse," Mr Garland said.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on ANO Dialog, a Russian non-profit organisation that helps run the Doppelganger network, as well as the editor-inchief of RT, Ms Margarita Simonyan, and her deputies.

The State Department has offered a US$10 million (S$13 million) reward for information pertaining to foreign interference in a US election. The department specifically said it was seeking information on a group known as Russian Angry Hackers Did It, or RaHDit.

The State Department also said it would designate five Russian state-funded news outlets, including RT, Ruptly and Sputnik, as foreign government missions and restrict the issuance of visas to people working for Kremlin-supported media institutions.

US officials have stepped up their warnings about Russian election influence efforts. US spy agencies have assessed that the Kremlin favours former president Donald Trump over Vice-President Kamala Harris in the November contest, seeing him as more sceptical of US support for Ukraine.