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Russian disinformation campaigns have been alleged in many countries.^[1]^[2] For example, in Africa, disinformation campaigns led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have been reported in several different countries.^[3]^[4] Russia, however, denies that it uses disinformation to influence public opinion.^[5]

Western claims of Russian disinformation

It is especially important to introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S.

Aleksandr Dugin, The Basics of Geopolitics, (1997), translation by John B. Dunlop^[6]

During the Cold War the Soviet Union allegedly used propaganda and disinformation as part of its "active measures...against the populations of Western nations"."^[7]^: 51 In the post-Soviet era, Russian disinformation has been described as a key tactic in the military doctrine of Russia.^[5]

The European Union and NATO both set up special units to analyze and debunk falsehoods.^[5] NATO founded a modest facility in Latvia to respond to disinformation.^[1] An agreement by heads of state and governments in March 2015 let the EU create the European External Action Service East Stratcom Task Force, which publishes weekly reports on its website "EU vs Disinfo."^[8] The website and its partners identified and debunked more than 3,500 pro-Kremlin disinformation cases between September 2015 and November 2017.^[8]

In 2016, the US set up the "Global Engagement Center" (GEC) as a division of the United States Department of State to oppose foreign propaganda efforts.^[9]^[10]

When explaining the 2016 annual report of the Swedish Security Service on disinformation, the representative Wilhelm Unge stated: "We mean everything from Internet trolls to propaganda and misinformation spread by media companies like RT and Sputnik."^[5] RT and Sputnik were created to focus on Western audiences and function by Western standards, and RT tends to focus on how problems are the fault of Western countries.^[11] Russia's television outlet RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and the Sputnik news agency are state-sponsored media.^[5]^[2]

Social media platforms and the internet

In the 2010s, as social media gained prominence, Russia then began to use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to spread disinformation. Russian web brigades and bots, typically operated by Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA), were commonly used to disseminate disinformation throughout these social media channels.^[12] As of late 2017, Facebook believed that as many as 126 million of its users had seen content from Russian disinformation campaigns on its platform.^[13] Twitter stated that it had found 36,000 Russian bots spreading tweets related to the 2016 U.S. elections.^[14] Elsewhere, Russia has used social media to destabilize former Soviet states such as Ukraine and Western nations such as France and Spain.^[15]

In 2020, the US State Department identified several "proxy sites" used by Russian state actors "to create and amplify false narratives." These sites include the Strategic Culture Foundation, the New Eastern Outlook, Crimea-based news agency NewsFront and SouthFront, a website targeted at "military enthusiasts, veterans, and conspiracy theorists."^[16]

Internet Research Agency (IRA)

Poster and text from Mueller Report about 2016 rallies organized by Russia's Internet Research Agency

Timeline of the Internet Research Agency interference in United States elections from April 2014 to April 2019
2014 April: The IRA creates a department called the "translator project". The department's focus is on interfering in the U.S. election.^[17]^[18] May: The IRA begins its election interference campaign of "spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."^[17]^[18] 4–26 June: Aleksandra Krylova and Anna Bogacheva, two IRA employees, travel to the U.S. to collect intelligence. Maria Bovda, a third employee, is denied a visa.^[17] All three are indicted in February 2018 for their work on election interference.^[18] 11 September: The IRA spreads a hoax they created about a fictitious chemical plant fire in Centerville, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, purportedly started by ISIS. The hoax includes tweets and YouTube videos showing a chemical plant fire. Centerville is home to many chemical plants, but the plant named in the tweets does not exist. Initial tweets are sent directly to politicians, journalists, and Centerville residents.^[19] 21 September – 11 October: The Material Evidence art exhibition is displayed at the Art Beam gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. It portrays the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine in a pro-Russian light. It is promoted by Twitter accounts that also spread the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax.^[19] The exhibition is partly funded by the IRA.^[20] 13 December: The IRA uses Twitter to spread a hoax about an Ebola outbreak in Atlanta. Many of the Twitter accounts used in the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax also spread this hoax. The hoax includes a YouTube video of medical workers wearing hazmat suits.^[19] Using a different set of Twitter accounts, the IRA spreads a hoax about a purported police shooting of an unarmed black woman in Atlanta. The hoax includes a blurry video of the purported event.^[19] 2015 July onward: Thousands of fake Twitter accounts run by the IRA begin to praise Trump over his political opponents by a wide margin, according to a later analysis by The Wall Street Journal.^[21]^[22] 3 November:The IRA Instagram account "Stand For Freedom" attempts to organize a confederate rally in Houston, Texas, on 14 November. It is unclear if anyone showed up. The Mueller Report identifies this as the IRA's first attempt to organize a U.S. rally.^[23]^[24]^: 29 19 November: The IRA creates the @TEN_GOP Twitter account. Purporting to be the "Unofficial Twitter account of Tennessee Republicans," it peaks at over 100,000 followers.^[25] 2016 10 February: IRA instructs workers to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them)." ^[26] April: The IRA starts buying online ads on social media and other sites. The ads support Trump and attack Clinton.^[17]^[18] 4 April: A rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Cummings was a black woman who had recently died in police custody. The IRA's "Blacktivist" account on Facebook actively promotes the event, reaching out directly to local activists on Facebook Messenger asking them to circulate petitions and print posters for the event. Blacktivist supplies the petitions and poster artwork.^[27] 16 April: A rally protesting the death of Freddie Gray attracts large crowds in Baltimore. The IRA's Blacktivist Facebook group promotes and organizes the event, including reaching out to local activists.^[28] 19 April: The IRA purchases its first pro-Trump ad through its "Tea Party News" Instagram account. The Instagram ad asks users to upload photos with the hashtag #KIDS4TRU to "make a patriotic team of young Trump supporters."^[29] 23 April: A small group of white-power demonstrators hold a rally they call "Rock Stone Mountain" at Stone Mountain Park near Stone Mountain, Georgia. They are confronted by a large group of protesters, and some violent clashes ensue. The counterprotest was heavily promoted by IRA accounts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and the IRA website blackmatters.com. The IRA uses its Blacktivist account on Facebook to reach out, to no avail, to activist and academic Barbara Williams Emerson, the daughter of Hosea Williams, to help promote the protests. Afterward, RT blames anti-racist protesters for violence and promotes two videos shot at the event.^[27] 2 May: A second rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Like the 4 April rally, the event is heavily promoted by the IRA's Blacktivist Facebook account, including attempted outreach to local activists.^[27] 21 May: Two competing rallies are held in Houston to alternately protest against and defend the recently opened Library of Islamic Knowledge at the Islamic Da'wah Center. The "Stop Islamization of Texas" rally is organized by the Facebook group "Heart of Texas". The Facebook posting for the event encourages participants to bring guns. A spokesman for the group converses with the Houston Press via email but declines to give a name. The other rally, "Save Islamic Knowledge", is organized by the Facebook group "United Muslims of America" for the same time and location. Both Facebook groups are later revealed to be IRA accounts.^[30]^[31] 29 May: The IRA hires an American to pose in front of the White House holding a sign that says, "Happy 55th Birthday, Dear Boss." "Boss" is a reference to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.^[17]^[18] 1 June: The IRA plans a Manhattan rally called "March for Trump" and buys Facebook ads promoting the event.^[17]^[18] 4 June: The IRA email account [email protected] sends news releases about the "March for Trump" rally to New York City media outlets.^[17]^[18] 5 June: The IRA contacts a Trump campaign volunteer to provide signs for the "March for Trump" rally.^[17]^[18] 23 June: The IRA persona "Matt Skiber" contacts an American to recruit for the "March for Trump" rally.^[17]^[18] 24 June: The IRA group "United Muslims of America" buys Facebook ads for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally.^[17]^[18] 25 June: The IRA's "March for Trump" rally occurs.^[17]^[18] The IRA Facebook group LGBT United organizes a candlelight vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Orlando, Florida.^[32]^[33] July: The IRA's translator project grows to over 80 employees.^[17]^[18] Summer: IRA employees use the stolen identities of four Americans to open PayPal and bank accounts to act as conduits for funding their activities in the United States.^[17]^[18] '5 July: "United Muslims of America", an IRA group, orders posters with fake Clinton quotes promoting Sharia Law. The posters are ordered for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally they are organizing.^[17]^[18] 6–10 July: The IRA's "Don't Shoot" Facebook group and affiliated "Don't Shoot Us" website try to organize a protest outside the St. Paul, Minnesota, police headquarters on 10 July in response to the 6 July fatal police shooting of Philando Castile. Some local activists become suspicious of the event because St. Paul police were not involved in the shooting: Castile was shot by a St. Anthony police officer in nearby Falcon Heights. Local activists contact Don't Shoot. After being pressed on who they are and who supports them, Don't Shoot agrees to move the protest to the St. Anthony police headquarters. The concerned local activists investigate further and urge protesters not to participate after deciding Don't Shoot is a "total troll job." Don't Shoot organizers eventually relinquish control of the event to local organizers, who subsequently decline to accept any money from Don't Shoot.^[34]^[35] 9 July: The "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally occurs in Washington, D.C. The rally is organized by the IRA group "United Muslims of America."^[17]^[18] 10 July: A Black Lives Matter protest rally is held in Dallas. A "Blue Lives Matter" counterprotest is held across the street. The Blue Lives Matter protest is organized by the "Heart of Texas" Facebook group, controlled by the IRA.^[36]^[32]^[31] 12 July: An IRA group buys ads on Facebook for the "Down with Hillary" rally in New York City.^[17]^[18] 16 July: The IRA's Blacktivist group organizes a rally in Chicago to honor Sandra Bland on the first anniversary of her death. The rally is held in front of the Chicago Police Department's Homan Square building. Participants pass around petitions calling for a Civilian Police Accountability Council ordinance.^[37]^[38] 23 July: The IRA-organized "Down with Hillary" rally is held in New York City. The agency sends 30 news releases to media outlets using the email address [email protected].^[17]^[18] 2–3 August: The IRA's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts the real "Florida for Trump" Facebook account. The "T.W." persona contacts other grassroots groups.^[17]^[18] 4 August: The IRA's Facebook account "Stop AI" accuses Clinton of voter fraud during the Iowa Caucuses. They buy ads promoting the post.^[17]^[18] IRA groups buy ads for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. The 8,300 people who click on the ads are sent to the Agency's "Being Patriotic" Facebook page.^[17]^[18] 5 August: The IRA Twitter account @March_For_Trump hires an actress to play Hillary Clinton in prison garb and someone to build a cage to hold the actress. The actress and cage are to appear at the "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida on 20 August.^[17]^[18] 11 August: The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP claims that voter fraud is being investigated in North Carolina.^[17]^[18] 12–18 August: The IRA's persona "Josh Milton" communicates with Trump Campaign officials via email to request Trump/Pence signs and the phone numbers of campaign affiliates as part of an effort to organize pro-Trump campaign rallies in Florida.^[39]^[24]^: 35 15 August: A Trump campaign county chair contacts the IRA through their phony email accounts to suggest locations for rallies.^[17]^[18] 16 August: The IRA buys ads on Instagram for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies.^[17]^[18] 18 August: The IRA uses its [email protected] email account to contact a Trump campaign official in Florida. The email requests campaign support at the forthcoming "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. It is unknown whether the campaign official responded.^[17]^[18] The IRA pays the person they hired to build a cage for a "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.^[17]^[18] 19 August: A Trump supporter suggests to the IRA Twitter account "March for Trump" that it contact a Trump campaign official. The official is emailed by the agency's [email protected] account.^[17] The IRA's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts another Trump campaign official on Facebook.^[17]^[18] 20 August: 17 "Florida Goes Trump" rallies are held across Florida. The rallies are organized by Russian trolls from the IRA.^[18]^[40] 27 August: The IRA Facebook group "SecuredBorders" organizes a "Citizens before refugees" protest rally at the City Council Chambers in Twin Falls, Idaho. Only a small number of people show up for the three-hour event, most likely because it is Saturday and the Chambers are closed.^[41] 31 August: An American contacts the IRA's "Being Patriotic" account about a possible 11 September event in Miami.^[17]^[18] The IRA buys ads for a 11 September rally in New York City.^[17]^[18] 3 September: The IRA Facebook group "United Muslims of America" organizes a "Safe Space for Muslim Neighborhood" rally outside the White House, attracting at least 57 people.^[42] 9 September: The IRA sends money to its American groups to fund the 11 September rally in Miami, and to pay the actress who portrayed Clinton at the West Palm Beach, Florida, rally.^[17]^[18] 20–26 September: BlackMattersUS, an IRA website, recruits activists to participate in protests over the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. The IRA pays for expenses such as microphones and speakers.^[43] 22 September: The IRA buys ads on Facebook for "Miners for Trump" rallies in Pennsylvania.^[17]^[18] 2 October: "Miners for Trump" rallies are held across Pennsylvania. The IRA uses the same techniques to organize the rallies as they used for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies, including hiring a person to wear a Clinton mask and a prison uniform.^[17]^[18] 16 October: The IRA's Instagram account "Woke Blacks" makes a post aimed at suppressing black voter turnout.^[17]^[18] 19 October The IRA runs its most popular ad on Facebook. The ad is for the IRA's Back the Badge Facebook group and shows a badge with the words "Back the Badge" in front of police lights under the caption "Community of people who support our brave Police Officers."^[44] 22 October: A large rally is held in Charlotte, North Carolina, protesting the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The IRA website BlackMattersUS recruits unwitting local activists to organize the rally.^[45] BlackMattersUS provides an activist with a bank card to pay for rally expenses.^[43] 2 November: The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP alleges "#VoterFraud by counting tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hillary votes being reported in Broward County, Florida." Trump Jr. retweets it.^[17]^[18] 3 November: The IRA Instagram account "Blacktivist" suggests people vote for Stein instead of Clinton.^[17]^[18] 5 November: Anti-Clinton "Texit" rallies are held across Texas. The IRA's "Heart of Texas" Facebook group organizes the rallies around the theme of Texas seceding from the United States if Clinton is elected. The group contacts the Texas Nationalist Movement, a secessionist organization, to help with organizing efforts, but they decline to help. Small rallies are held in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and other cities. No one attends the Lubbock rally.^[46]^[47]^[48] 8 November: Hours after the polls close, the hashtag #Calexit is retweeted by thousands of IRA accounts.^[48] 11 November: A large banner is hung from the Arlington Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C., showing a photo of Obama with the words "Goodbye Murderer" at the bottom. The IRA Twitter account @LeroyLovesUSA takes credit and is an early promoter of the banner.^[49]^[50]^[51] 12 November: A Trump protest called "Trump is NOT my President" attracts 5,000–10,000 protestors in Manhattan who march from Union Square to Trump Tower. The protest is organized by the IRA using their BlackMattersUS Facebook account.^[17]^[18] 19 November: The IRA organizes the "Charlotte Against Trump" rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[17]^[18] 8 December: The IRA runs an ad on Craigslist to hire someone to walk around New York City dressed as Santa Claus while wearing a Trump mask.^[29]^[24]^: 32 2017 9 April: The Internet Research Agency(IRA)'s "United Muslims of America" Facebook group posts a meme complaining about the cost of the 6 April missile strike on Syria by the United States. The strike had been made in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government. The meme asserts the $93 million cost of the strike "could have founded [sic] Meals on Wheels until 2029."^[42] 3 June: The IRA's "United Muslims of America" Facebook group organizes the "Make peace, not war!" protest outside Trump Tower in New York City. It is unclear whether anyone attends this protest or instead attends the "March for Truth" affiliated protest held on the same day.^[42]^[52]^[53] Thousands of people participate in the "Protest Trump and ideology of hate at Trump Tower!" protest outside Trump Tower in New York City. The protest was organized by the "Resisters" group on Facebook, one of the "bad actor" groups identified by Facebook in July 2018 as possibly belonging to the IRA.^[54]^[55] 23 August: The Internet Research Agency's @TEN_GOP Twitter account is closed.^[25] 6 September: Facebook admits selling advertisements to Russian companies seeking to reach U.S. voters.^[56] Hundreds of accounts were reportedly tied to the Internet Research Agency.^[57]^[19] Facebook pledges full cooperation with Mueller's investigation, and begins to provide details on purchases from Russia, including identities of the people involved.^[58] 9 September: Thousand of people participate in the "We Stand with DREAMers! Support DACA!" rally in New York City.^[59] The rally was organized by the "Resisters" group on Facebook, one of the "bad actor" groups identified by Facebook in July 2018 as possibly belonging to the IRA.^[55] 9 September: Trump responds to a tweet from @10_gop, the "backup" account for the now-closed IRA account @TEN_GOP, saying, "THANK YOU for your support Miami! My team just shared photos from your TRUMP SIGN WAVING DAY, yesterday! I love you- and there is no question - TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The response is to an @10_gop tweet that simply reads "we love you Mr. President."^[39]^[24]^: 34 28 September: Twitter announces that it identified 201 non-bot accounts tied to the IRA.^[60] Democrats rebuke Twitter for its "frankly inadequate" response to Russian meddling.^[61] Mother Jones writes that "fake news on Twitter flooded swing states that helped Trump win."^[62] 23 October: The Daily Beast reports that Greenfloid LLC, a tiny web hosting company registered to Sergey Kashyrin and two others, hosted IRA propaganda websites DoNotShoot.Us, BlackMattersUS.com and others on servers in a Staten Island neighborhood. Greenfloid is listed as the North American subsidiary of ITL, a hosting company based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, registered to Dmitry Deineka. Deineka gave conflicting answers when questioned by The Daily Beast about the IRA websites.^[63] 1 November: Twitter tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that it has found 2,752 IRA accounts and 36,746 Russia-linked bot accounts involved in election-related retweets.^[60] 2018 16 February: Mueller indicts 13 Russian citizens, IRA/Glavset and two other Russian entities in a 37-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia.^[18] A 15 July Business Insider article revealed a new Russian intelligence-linked "news" site, USAReally,^[64] which follows in the footsteps of previous Russian IRA-backed troll farms, and appears to be an attempt to "test the waters" ahead of the mid-terms.^[65] 31 July: Facebook announces they have shut down eight pages, 17 profiles, and seven Instagram accounts related to "bad actors" identified recently with activity profiles similar to the IRA. The company says it doesn't have enough information to attribute the accounts, groups, and events to the IRA, but that a known IRA account was briefly an administrator of the "Resisters" group.^[66] The "Resisters" group was the first organizer on Facebook of the upcoming "No Unite The Right 2 - DC" protest scheduled in Washington, D.C., for 10 August. Some of the event's other organizers insist they started organizing before "Resisters" created the event's Facebook page.^[67] 25 September: The New York Times reports that the Moscow-based news website "USAReally.com" appears to be a continuation of the IRA's fake news propaganda efforts targeting Americans. The site, launched in May, has been banned from Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. A new Facebook page created by the site is being monitored by Facebook.^[68] 12 September: The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly 600 IRA Twitter accounts posted nearly 10,000 mostly conservative-targeted messages about health policy and Obamacare from 2014 through May 2018. Pro-ObamaCare messages peaked around the spring of 2016 when Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were fighting for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Anti-Obamacare messages peaked during the debates leading up to the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act in the spring of 2017.^[69] On 19 October, The US Justice Department charges 44-year old Russian accountant Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova of Saint Petersburg with conspiracy to defraud the United States by managing the finances of the social media troll operation, including the IRA, that attempted to interfere with the 2016 and 2018 US elections.^[70]^[71] 20 November: The Federal Agency of News (FAN) sues Facebook in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for violating its free speech rights by closing its account in April. The FAN is a sister organization to the IRA that operates from the same building in St. Petersburg. The FAN claims in its filing that it has no knowledge of the IRA, even though some current FAN employees were indicted by Mueller for their work with the IRA.^[72] 2019 12 April: The Washington Post reports that researchers at Clemson University found the IRA sent thousands of tweets during the 2016 election campaign in an attempt to drive Bernie Sanders supporters away from Hillary Clinton and towards Donald Trump.^[73]

Following the Snow Revolution protests against the outcomes of the 2011 Russian legislative election organized by several persons, including Alexei Navalny, who used Facebook, Twitter, and LiveJournal blogs to organize the events, Vyacheslav Volodin, who was Deputy Prime Minister at the time and later became first deputy First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia and was responsible for domestic policy, was tasked with countering these efforts and began to rein in the internet using Prisma (Russian: «Призма») which "actively tracks the social media activities that result in increased social tension, disorderly conduct, protest sentiments and extremis" by monitoring in real time the protesters discussions on blogs and social networks and perform social media tracking which later led to establishing the Internet Research Agency.^[74]^[75]

Twelve of the thirteen Russian nationals indicted by Robert Mueller for conspiracy meddling in the 2016 US Presidential Election were employees of the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia.^[76]^[77]^[78]^[a]^[b]^[c] In the runup to and during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) demonstrated evolved tactics for spreading disinformation. Probably to evade the detection mechanisms of social media platforms, the IRA co-opted activists working for a human-rights focused Ghanaian NGO to target black communities in the U.S.^[86] Russian campaigns have also evolved to become more cross-platform, with content spreading, not only on Facebook and Twitter, but also on Tumblr, Wordpress, and Medium.^[87] The IRA is also more emboldened, with evidence that they recruited U.S. journalists to write articles critical of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden.^[88]

Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI) or (RISS) or (RISY)

During both the 2016 and the 2020 elections, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI) or (RISS) or (RISY) (Russian: Российский институт стратегических исследований (РИСИ)) was integral to disinformation efforts from Putin and the Kremlin. During the 2016 elections, Leonid Reshetnikov headed RISI and during the 2020 elections Mikhail Fradkov headed RISI.^[89]^[90] During the 2016 presidential election, George Papadopoulos met several times with Panos Kammenos who had numerous close ties to Russian intelligence, Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin group tasked with interfering in the 2016 United States elections.^[91]^[92]^[93] Kammenos formed the Athens-based Institute of Geopolitical Studies which in November 2014 signed a "memorandum of understanding" with the former SVR officer Reshetnikov who headed RISI.^[94] In 2009, RISI, which had been an SVR operation, was placed under control of the Russian president with Reshetnikov regularly meeting with Putin and participated in Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections by developing plans of action: for example, with Russian intelligence assets and using a large disinformation campaign, Putin would support Republicans and the Trump campaign and disrupt Democrats and the Clinton campaign, and, if Trump were likely to lose the 2016 election, then Russia would shift its efforts to focus upon voter fraud in the United States in order to undermine the legitimacy of the United States electoral system and the elections.^[94]^[95] Kammenos' positions followed closely with the Kremlin's talking points.^[92]

Russia's numerous disinformation attacks including support for white supremist activities and attacks of Biden’s mental fitness were utilized by Donald Trump, senior Trump Administration officials, and his re-election campaign.^[96]^[97]^[98]^[99] Brian Murphy, who was acting chief of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security from March 2018 until August 2020, alleged that he was instructed to "to cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference in the United States, and instead start reporting on interference activities by China and Iran."^[98]^[99]^[100] Chad Wolf, who was acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, alleged that Robert O'Brien, who was President Trump's national security advisor, had the assessments of Russian interference suppressed.^[101] John Cohen, who was under secretary of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security during Barack Obama's presidency, stated "By blocking information from being released that describes threats facing the nation... undermines the ability of the public and state and local authorities to work with the federal government to counteract the threat."^[96]

Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman, Yuriy Lutsenko, John Solomon, Dmytro Firtash and his allies, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova were noted in a Fox News internal report Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration: a Full Timeline of Events, which was written by Fox News senior political affairs specialist Bryan S. Murphy and made public by Marcus DiPaola,^[d] as indispensable "in the collection and domestic publication of elements of this disinformation campaign" and numerous falsehoods.^[102]^[103]^[104]^[105]^[106]^[107]^[108] Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Lou Dobbs, and Pete Sessions, who is the son of William Sessions the former FBI director under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, were supportive of disinformation efforts.^[109] In September 2020, two supervisors and a quarter of the persons with Fox News Brain Room, which was established by Roger Ailes as a fact-checking and research unit, received layoffs allegedly ordered by Joe Dorrego and organized by Porter Berry and Stefanie Wheeler Choi in order to have Fox News support Trump's information campaign and that, according to a Brain Room employee, "the Brain Room, in their research, came up with facts that were not used in Fox reports or were in contradiction to what Fox aired. I have to imagine that kind of tension has always existed there, between the fact-checkers and what is often reported."^[107]

In March 2021, Christopher Wray, who was the Director of the FBI during most of Donald Trump's presidency, and the National Intelligence Council stated that numerous Russians, other individuals, proxies and entitites, including Rudy Giuliani, Fox News, the One America News Network (OANN), the documentary film The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder with guest host Michael Caputo which was created with support from Konstantin Kilimnik, Andrii Derkach, Andrii Telizhenko, Sergey Petrushin and Michael Caputo and which aired on 21 January 2020 only two weeks before the Senate's acquittal of Donald Trump after his first impeachment trial, supported anti Biden, anti Ukraine, pro Trump, pro Russia, pro Kremlin, and pro Putin disinformation efforts during the Trump presidency including Trump's two impeachment trials and his two presidential campaigns.^[110]^[111]^[112]^[113]^[114]^[115]^[116]^[117]^[118]

On 3 February 2022, John "Jack" Hanick, who helped established the Konstantin Malofeev owned Tsargrad TV in 2015, allegedly was working to establish similar networks in Greece and Bulgaria, and worked at Fox News as a founding producer and news director from 1996 to 2011, was arrested in London for violating sanctions against Malofeev whose Tsargrad TV was disseminating Russian disinformation.^[119]^[120]^[121]^[122]^[123]^[124]^[e] Hanick was the first person criminally indicted for violating United States sanctions during the War in Ukraine.^[126]

During the War in Ukraine, Russian state TV channel Russia-1 used Tucker Carlson's interview with the pro-Russia Retired Colonel Doug Macgregor to demoralize Ukraine.^[127]

Notes

^ The indicted individuals are Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly Aslanov, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Gleb Igorevitch Vasilchenko, and Vladimir Venkov.^[79] All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, 3 are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and 5 defendants are charged with aggravated identity theft. None of the defendants are in custody.^[80]
^ The Internet Research Agency's American Department was headed by Jeykhun Aslanov, an Azerbaijani who, in October 2017, was 27. Maria Bovda was the previous head of the American Department.^[81]^[82]^[83] Allegedly, others working in the Foreign Department included Katarina Aistova, Aistova’s second assistant Maxim Elfimov, and Agata Burdonova who is an excellent English speaker that moved to Bellevue, Washington on 7 December 2017, obtained a United States social security number and has her own YouTube channel.^[83]^[84]
^ In October 2018 Russian accountant Elena Khusyaynova was charged with interferеnce in the 2016 and 2018 US elections. She is alleged to have been working with the IRA. She was said to have managed a $16 million budget.^[85]
^ The briefing book Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration: a Full Timeline of Events by Bryan S. Murphy was first made public by Marcus J. DiPaola. DiPaola was employed by Fox News for three years and was a former freelance producer. DiPaola claims that after he provided information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January 2019, Fox News let him go under unusual circumstances.^[102]^[103]^[104]^[105]
^ Through Malofeev, Hanick is close to the pro Russia former Greek defense minister and prime minister Panos Kammenos and Vladimir Putin gives carte blanche to Tsargrad TV which according to Malofeev is the Russian equivalent to Fox News.^[125]

References

^ ^a ^b Anne Applebaum; Edward Lucas (6 May 2016), "The danger of Russian disinformation", The Washington Post, retrieved 9 December 2016
^ ^a ^b "Russian state-sponsored media and disinformation on Twitter". ZOiS Spotlight. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ "Russian Disinformation Is Taking Hold in Africa". CIGI. November 17, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2022. The Kremlin's effectiveness in seeding its preferred vaccine narratives among African audiences underscores its wider concerted effort to undermine and discredit Western powers by pushing or tapping into anti-Western sentiment across the continent.
^ "Leaked documents reveal Russian effort to exert influence in Africa". The Guardian. June 11, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2022. The mission to increase Russian influence on the continent is being led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman based in St Petersburg who is a close ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. One aim is to 'strong-arm' the US and the former colonial powers the UK and France out of the region. Another is to see off 'pro-western' uprisings, the documents say.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e MacFarquharaug, Neil (28 August 2016), "A Powerful Russian Weapon: The Spread of False Stories", The New York Times, p. A1, retrieved 9 December 2016, Moscow adamantly denies using disinformation to influence Western public opinion and tends to label accusations of either overt or covert threats as 'Russophobia.'
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[81] The indicted individuals are Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly Aslanov, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Gleb Igorevitch Vasilchenko, and Vladimir Venkov.^[79] All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, 3 are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and 5 defendants are charged with aggravated identity theft. None of the defendants are in custody.^[80]

[86] The Internet Research Agency's American Department was headed by Jeykhun Aslanov, an Azerbaijani who, in October 2017, was 27. Maria Bovda was the previous head of the American Department.^[81]^[82]^[83] Allegedly, others working in the Foreign Department included Katarina Aistova, Aistova’s second assistant Maxim Elfimov, and Agata Burdonova who is an excellent English speaker that moved to Bellevue, Washington on 7 December 2017, obtained a United States social security number and has her own YouTube channel.^[83]^[84]

[88] In October 2018 Russian accountant Elena Khusyaynova was charged with interferеnce in the 2016 and 2018 US elections. She is alleged to have been working with the IRA. She was said to have managed a $16 million budget.^[85]

[109] The briefing book Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration: a Full Timeline of Events by Bryan S. Murphy was first made public by Marcus J. DiPaola. DiPaola was employed by Fox News for three years and was a former freelance producer. DiPaola claims that after he provided information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January 2019, Fox News let him go under unusual circumstances.^[102]^[103]^[104]^[105]

[130] Through Malofeev, Hanick is close to the pro Russia former Greek defense minister and prime minister Panos Kammenos and Vladimir Putin gives carte blanche to Tsargrad TV which according to Malofeev is the Russian equivalent to Fox News.^[125]

[WaPo2016-1] Anne Applebaum; Edward Lucas (6 May 2016), "The danger of Russian disinformation", The Washington Post, retrieved 9 December 2016

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@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 [[File:MinersForTrump.png|thumb|Poster and text from Mueller Report about 2016 rallies organized by Russia's Internet Research Agency]]
 {{main|Internet Research Agency}}
+{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" width="85%"
-Twelve of the thirteen Russian nationals indicted by [[Robert Mueller]] for conspiracy meddling in the 2016 US Presidential Election were employees of the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia.<ref name="CNN20180217">{{cite news |title=Mueller indicts 13 Russian nationals over 2016 election interference |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/16/politics/mueller-russia-indictments-election-interference/index.html |access-date=March 3, 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=February 17, 2018 |quote=According to the indictment, Prigozhin controlled Concord Catering, a group that funded the Internet Research Agency. By around September 2016, the indictment says, the Internet Research Agency's monthly budget for the project that included the US election interference operation exceeded 73 million Russian rubles, or over $1.25 million.}}</ref><ref name="CNN2017IRA">{{cite news |title=Exclusive: Putin’s ‘chef,’ the man behind the troll factory |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/17/politics/russian-oligarch-putin-chef-troll-factory/index.html |access-date=March 3, 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=October 17, 2017 |quote=The Internet Research Agency was based at 55 Savushkina Street in St. Petersburg before it officially ceased operations on December 28, 2016. But investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, who works for the business media group RBC, says its work continues.}}</ref><ref name="chen20150602">{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Adrian |author-link=Adrian Chen |date=2 June 2015 |title=The Agency: From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid 'trolls' has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet – and in real-life American communities |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html |access-date=3 June 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+|-
-In the runup to and during the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 U.S. presidential election]], Russia's [[Internet Research Agency]] (IRA) demonstrated evolved tactics for spreading disinformation. Probably to evade the detection mechanisms of social media platforms, the IRA co-opted activists working for a human-rights focused Ghanaian NGO to target black communities in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|title=IRA in Ghana: Double Deceit|url=https://graphika.com/reports/ira-in-ghana-double-deceit/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=graphika.com|language=en}}</ref> Russian campaigns have also evolved to become more cross-platform, with content spreading, not only on Facebook and Twitter, but also on Tumblr, Wordpress, and Medium.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Timberg|first=Craig|title=Facebook removes Russian networks tied to intelligence services that interfered in the U.S. in 2016|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/24/facebook-removes-russian-networks-tied-intelligence-services-that-interfered-us-2016/|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The IRA is also more emboldened, with evidence that they recruited U.S. journalists to write articles critical of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Dwoskin|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Timberg|first2=Craig|title=Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/01/facebook-disinformation-takedown/|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
+! Timeline of the Internet Research Agency interference in United States elections from April 2014 to April 2019
+|-
+|
+===2014===
+* '''April''': The IRA creates a department called the "translator project". The department's focus is on interfering in the U.S. election.<ref name="TrollsTimelineWapo20180206">{{cite news|title=Timeline: How Russian trolls allegedly tried to throw the 2016 election to Trump|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/02/16/timeline-how-russian-trolls-allegedly-tried-to-throw-the-2016-election-to-trump/|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=16 February 2018|access-date=25 March 2018|last=Bump|first=Philip}}</ref><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''May''': The IRA begins its election interference campaign of "spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''4–26 June''': Aleksandra Krylova and [[Anna Bogacheva]], two IRA employees, travel to the U.S. to collect intelligence. Maria Bovda, a third employee, is denied a visa.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /> All three are indicted in February 2018 for their work on election interference.<ref name="13RussiansInictment">{{cite court|litigants=United States of America vs. Internet Research Agency LLC, et al |url=https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download|court=[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]]|date=16 February 2018|access-date=25 March 2018|quote=Indictment}}</ref>
+* '''11 September''': The IRA spreads [[Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax|a hoax they created]] about a fictitious chemical plant fire in [[Centerville, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana]], purportedly started by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]]. The hoax includes [[Twitter|tweets]] and YouTube videos showing a chemical plant fire. Centerville is home to many chemical plants, but the plant named in the tweets does not exist. Initial tweets are sent directly to politicians, journalists, and Centerville residents.<ref name=TheAgencyNYT20150602>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html |title=The Agency |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=2 June 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=6 September 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+* '''21 September – 11 October''': The [[Material Evidence]] art exhibition is displayed at the Art Beam gallery in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea neighborhood]] of New York City. It portrays the conflicts in [[Syrian Civil War|Syria]] and [[Ukraine#Civil unrest and Russian intervention|Ukraine]] in a pro-Russian light. It is promoted by Twitter accounts that also spread the [[Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax|September 11 chemical plant fire hoax]].<ref name=TheAgencyNYT20150602 /> The exhibition is partly funded by the IRA.<ref>{{cite web| title=Emails Link Kremlin Troll Farm to Bizarre New York Photography Exhibit|url=http://gawker.com/emails-link-kremlin-troll-farm-to-bizarre-new-york-phot-1725347179|website=[[Gawker]]|date=20 August 2015|access-date=10 April 2018|archive-date=18 February 2018|last=Cush|first=Andy|via=[[Internet Archive]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218091033/http://gawker.com/emails-link-kremlin-troll-farm-to-bizarre-new-york-phot-1725347179}}</ref>
+* '''13 December''':
+** The IRA uses Twitter to spread a hoax about an [[Ebola]] outbreak in Atlanta. Many of the Twitter accounts used in the [[Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax|September 11 chemical plant fire hoax]] also spread this hoax. The hoax includes a YouTube video of medical workers wearing hazmat suits.<ref name=TheAgencyNYT20150602 />
+** Using a different set of Twitter accounts, the IRA spreads a hoax about a purported police shooting of an unarmed black woman in Atlanta. The hoax includes a blurry video of the purported event.<ref name=TheAgencyNYT20150602 />
+===2015===
+* '''July onward''': Thousands of fake [[Twitter]] accounts run by the IRA begin to praise Trump over his political opponents by a wide margin, according to a later analysis by ''The Wall Street Journal''.<ref name=wsj-20170611>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-twitter-support-for-trump-began-right-after-he-started-campaign-1509964380 |title=Russian Twitter Support for Trump Began Right After He Started Campaign |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |last1=Maremont |first1=Mark |last2=Barry |first2=Rob |date=6 November 2017 |access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/russian-twitter-support-trump-started-earlier-once-thought-703400 |title=Russia Was Helping Trump Just Days After He Entered the 2016 Primary |work=Newsweek |date=6 November 2017|last=Kwong|first=Jessica}}</ref>
+* '''3 November''':The IRA Instagram account "Stand For Freedom" attempts to organize a confederate rally in Houston, Texas, on 14 November. It is unclear if anyone showed up. The Mueller Report identifies this as the IRA's first attempt to organize a U.S. rally.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Planned-Houston-rally-was-earliest-evidence-13780488.php |title=Houston Confederate rally 'earliest evidence' of Russian interference, says Mueller report |last=Jordan |first=Jay R. |date=19 April 2019 |website=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="MUELLER-REPORT-VOL-I">{{Cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf |title=Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election |last=Mueller |first=Robert S. |authorlink=Robert Mueller |work=[[Justice.gov]] |date=March 2019 |access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref>{{rp|29}}
+* '''19 November''': The IRA creates the @TEN_GOP Twitter account. Purporting to be the "Unofficial Twitter account of Tennessee Republicans," it peaks at over 100,000 followers.<ref name=CampaignRussianPropogandaDailyBeast20171018>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-campaign-staffers-pushed-russian-propaganda-days-before-the-election |title=Trump Campaign Staffers Pushed Russian Propaganda Days Before the Election |last3=Ackerman |first4=Betsy|last4=Woodruff|first1=Ben|last1=Collins|first2=Kevin|last2=Poulsen |first3=Spencer|date=18 October 2017|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref>
+===2016===
+* '''10 February''': IRA instructs workers to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them)." <ref name=SubvertTime>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/20/us/politics/russia-trump-election-timeline.html |title=A Timeline Showing the Full Scale of Russia's Unprecedented Interference in the 2016 Election, and Its Aftermath |first1=Karen |last1=Yourish |first2=Larry |last2=Buchanan |first3=Derek |last3=Watkins |date=20 September 2018 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=20 September 2018}}</ref>
+* '''April''': The IRA starts buying online ads on [[social media]] and other sites. The ads support Trump and attack Clinton.<ref name="TrollsTimelineWapo20180206"/><ref name="13RussiansInictment"/>
+* '''4 April''': A rally is held in [[Buffalo, New York]], protesting the death of India Cummings. Cummings was a black woman who had recently died in police custody. The IRA's "Blacktivist" account on Facebook actively promotes the event, reaching out directly to local activists on Facebook Messenger asking them to circulate petitions and print posters for the event. Blacktivist supplies the petitions and poster artwork.<ref name=LeakedIRADocumentsDailyBeast20180301>{{cite news |title=Leaked: Secret Documents From Russia's Election Trolls |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-secret-documents-from-russias-election-trolls-leak/ |accessdate=29 March 2018 |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=1 March 2018|last1=Ackerman|first1=Spencer|last2=Resnick|first2=Gideon|last3=Collins|first3=Ben}}</ref>
+* '''16 April''': A rally protesting the [[death of Freddie Gray]] attracts large crowds in Baltimore. The IRA's Blacktivist Facebook group promotes and organizes the event, including reaching out to local activists.<ref name="Levin">{{cite web|title=Did Russia fake black activism on Facebook to sow division in the US? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/30/blacktivist-facebook-account-russia-us-election|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 September 2017|access-date=2 April 2018|last=Levin|first=Sam}}</ref>
+* '''19 April''': The IRA purchases its first pro-Trump ad through its "Tea Party News" [[Instagram]] account. The Instagram ad asks users to upload photos with the hashtag #KIDS4TRU to "make a patriotic team of young Trump supporters."<ref name="HeresEverythingTheMuellerBuzzFeedNews-20190418">{{Cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/mueller-report-internet-research-agency-detailed-2016 |title=Here's Everything The Mueller Report Says About How Russian Trolls Used Social Media |last=Broderick |first=Ryan |date=18 April 2019 |website=[[BuzzFeed News]] |access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref>
+* '''23 April''': A small group of white-power demonstrators hold a rally they call "Rock Stone Mountain" at [[Stone Mountain]] Park near [[Stone Mountain, Georgia]]. They are confronted by a large group of protesters, and some violent clashes ensue. The counterprotest was heavily promoted by IRA accounts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and the IRA website blackmatters.com. The IRA uses its Blacktivist account on Facebook to reach out, to no avail, to activist and academic Barbara Williams Emerson, the daughter of [[Hosea Williams]], to help promote the protests. Afterward, [[RT (TV network)|RT]] blames anti-racist protesters for violence and promotes two videos shot at the event.<ref name=LeakedIRADocumentsDailyBeast20180301 />
+* '''2 May''': A second rally is held in [[Buffalo, New York]], protesting the death of India Cummings. Like the 4 April rally, the event is heavily promoted by the IRA's ''Blacktivist'' Facebook account, including attempted outreach to local activists.<ref name=LeakedIRADocumentsDailyBeast20180301 />
+* '''21 May''': Two competing rallies are held in Houston to alternately protest against and defend the recently opened Library of Islamic Knowledge at the [[Islam in Houston|Islamic Da'wah Center]]. The "Stop Islamization of Texas" rally is organized by the Facebook group "Heart of Texas". The Facebook posting for the event encourages participants to bring guns. A spokesman for the group converses with the [[Houston Press]] via email but declines to give a name. The other rally, "Save Islamic Knowledge", is organized by the Facebook group "United Muslims of America" for the same time and location. Both Facebook groups are later revealed to be IRA accounts.<ref name="Malisow">{{cite web|title=Hate Group Planning Islamic Library Protest Totally Doesn't Think They're a Hate Group|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/news/hate-group-planning-islamic-library-protest-totally-doesnt-think-theyre-a-hate-group-8393815|website=[[Houston Press]]|date=11 May 2016|access-date=30 March 2018|last=Malisow|first=Craig}}</ref><ref name=FacebookPhonyEventsWapo20180125>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/01/25/russians-got-tens-of-thousands-of-americans-to-rsvp-for-their-phony-political-events-on-facebook/?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar |title=Russians got tens of thousands of Americans to RSVP for their phony political events on Facebook |date=25 January 2018 |publisher=The Washington Post|last1=Timberg|first1=Craig|last2=Dwoskin|first2=Elizabeth}}</ref>
+* '''29 May''': The IRA hires an American to pose in front of the White House holding a sign that says, "Happy 55th Birthday, Dear Boss." "Boss" is a reference to Russian oligarch [[Yevgeny Prigozhin]].<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''1 June''': The IRA plans a [[Manhattan]] rally called "March for Trump" and buys Facebook ads promoting the event.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''4 June''': The IRA email account ''[email protected]'' sends news releases about the "March for Trump" rally to [[New York City]] media outlets.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''5 June''': The IRA contacts a [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016|Trump campaign]] volunteer to provide signs for the "March for Trump" rally.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''23 June''': The IRA persona "Matt Skiber" contacts an American to recruit for the "March for Trump" rally.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''24 June''': The IRA group "United Muslims of America" buys Facebook ads for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''25 June''':
+** The IRA's "March for Trump" rally occurs.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+** The IRA Facebook group LGBT United organizes a candlelight vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in [[Orlando, Florida]].<ref name=WhatRusiaReallyWantsNationalReview20171031 /><ref name=FacebookRussiaAdsNYT20171002>{{cite news|title=Facebook's Russia-Linked Ads Came in Many Disguises|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/technology/facebook-russia-ads-.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=2 October 2017|access-date=2 April 2018|last1=Isaac|first1=Mike|last2=Shane|first2=Scott}}</ref>
+* '''July''': The IRA's translator project grows to over 80 employees.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''Summer''': IRA employees use the stolen identities of four Americans to open [[PayPal]] and bank accounts to act as conduits for funding their activities in the United States.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''5 July'': "United Muslims of America", an IRA group, orders posters with fake Clinton quotes promoting [[Sharia Law]]. The posters are ordered for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally they are organizing.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''6–10 July''': The IRA's "Don't Shoot" Facebook group and affiliated "Don't Shoot Us" website try to organize a protest outside the [[St. Paul, Minnesota]], police headquarters on 10 July in response to the 6 July fatal police [[shooting of Philando Castile]]. Some local activists become suspicious of the event because St. Paul police were not involved in the shooting: Castile was shot by a [[St. Anthony, Minnesota|St. Anthony]] police officer in nearby [[Falcon Heights, Minnesota|Falcon Heights]]. Local activists contact Don't Shoot. After being pressed on who they are and who supports them, Don't Shoot agrees to move the protest to the [[St. Anthony, Minnesota|St. Anthony]] police headquarters. The concerned local activists investigate further and urge protesters not to participate after deciding Don't Shoot is a "total troll job." Don't Shoot organizers eventually relinquish control of the event to local organizers, who subsequently decline to accept any money from Don't Shoot.<ref>{{cite news|title=Did Russian hackers organize Castile protest? Activists say no| url=https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/minnesota/2017/11/01/did-russian-hackers-organize-castile-protest-activists-say-no/820782001/|work=[[St. Cloud Times]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=1 November 2017|access-date=2 April 2018| last=Furst|first=Randy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Exclusive: Even Pokémon Go used by extensive Russian-linked meddling effort|url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/12/media/dont-shoot-us-russia-pokemon-go/index.html|publisher=[[CNN]] |date=13 October 2017| access-date=2 April 2018|last1=O'Sullivan|first1=Donie|last2=Byers|first2=Dylan}}</ref>
+* '''9 July''': The "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally occurs in Washington, D.C. The rally is organized by the IRA group "United Muslims of America."<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''10 July''': A [[Black Lives Matter]] protest rally is held in Dallas. A "Blue Lives Matter" counterprotest is held across the street. The Blue Lives Matter protest is organized by the "Heart of Texas" Facebook group, controlled by the IRA.<ref name=RussiaOrganizeProtestsVanityFair20171020>{{cite web|title=How Russia Secretly Orchestrated Dozens of U.S. Protests|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/10/how-russia-secretly-orchestrated-dozens-of-us-protests|website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=30 October 2017|access-date=31 March 2018|last=Kosoff|first=Maya}}</ref><ref name=WhatRusiaReallyWantsNationalReview20171031>{{cite news|title=What Russia Really Wants: A Divided, Paralyzed America|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/what-russia-really-wants-divided-paralyzed-america/|work=[[National Review]]|date=31 October 2017|access-date=2 April 2018|last=Geraghty|first1=Jim}}</ref><ref name=FacebookPhonyEventsWapo20180125 />
+* '''12 July''': An IRA group buys ads on Facebook for the "Down with Hillary" rally in New York City.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''16 July''': The IRA's Blacktivist group organizes a rally in Chicago to honor [[Sandra Bland]] on the first anniversary of her death. The rally is held in front of the [[Chicago Police Department]]'s [[Homan Square]] building. Participants pass around petitions calling for a Civilian Police Accountability Council ordinance.<ref>{{cite news|title=Demonstrators Remember Sandra Bland, Demand Greater Police Accountability |url=http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/07/16/demonstrators-remember-sandra-bland-demand-greater-police-accountability/|publisher=[[CBS Chicago]]|date=16 July 2016|access-date=3 April 2018|last=Dahn|first=Andy}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|title=Google cache of "Rally in Memory of Sandra Bland" https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Y_RWmh-kKuUJ:https://www.facebook.com/events/1751718638376338/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us … |number=913812188170682368 |user=josh_emerson|first=Josh|last=Russell|date=29 September 2017|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>
+* '''23 July''': The IRA-organized "Down with Hillary" rally is held in New York City. The agency sends 30 news releases to media outlets using the email address ''[email protected]''.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''2–3 August''': The IRA's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts the real "Florida for Trump" Facebook account. The "T.W." persona contacts other grassroots groups.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''4 August''':
+** The IRA's Facebook account "Stop AI" accuses Clinton of voter fraud during the [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2016|Iowa Caucuses]]. They buy ads promoting the post.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+** IRA groups buy ads for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. The 8,300 people who click on the ads are sent to the Agency's "Being Patriotic" Facebook page.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''5 August''': The IRA Twitter account @March_For_Trump hires an actress to play Hillary Clinton in prison garb and someone to build a cage to hold the actress. The actress and cage are to appear at the "Florida Goes Trump" rally in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]] on 20 August.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''11 August''': The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP claims that voter fraud is being investigated in [[North Carolina]].<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''12–18 August''': The IRA's persona "Josh Milton" communicates with Trump Campaign officials via email to request Trump/Pence signs and the phone numbers of campaign affiliates as part of an effort to organize pro-Trump campaign rallies in Florida.<ref name="AllTheTimesTrumpBusinessInsider-20190418">{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-report-russia-trump-campaign-shared-russia-false-info-2019-4 |title=All the times Trump campaign figures shared false information sponsored by Russia that were included in the Mueller report |last=Panetta |first=Grace |date=18 April 2019 |website=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=22 April 2019}}</ref>{{r|MUELLER-REPORT-VOL-I|p=35}}
+* '''15 August''': A Trump campaign county chair contacts the IRA through their phony email accounts to suggest locations for rallies.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''16 August''': The IRA buys ads on Instagram for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''18 August''':
+** The IRA uses its [email protected] email account to contact a Trump campaign official in Florida. The email requests campaign support at the forthcoming "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. It is unknown whether the campaign official responded.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+** The IRA pays the person they hired to build a cage for a "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''19 August''':
+** A Trump supporter suggests to the IRA Twitter account "March for Trump" that it contact a Trump campaign official. The official is emailed by the agency's [email protected] account.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206/>
+** The IRA's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts another Trump campaign official on Facebook.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''20 August''': 17 "Florida Goes Trump" rallies are held across Florida. The rallies are organized by Russian trolls from the IRA.<ref name=13RussiansInictment /><ref name="Russians17TrumpRalliesDailyBeast20170920">{{cite web |title=Exclusive: Russians Appear to Use Facebook to Push Trump Rallies in 17 U.S. Cities |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/russians-appear-to-use-facebook-to-push-pro-trump-flash-mobs-in-florida |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=20 September 2017|access-date=15 March 2018 |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |last2=Resnick |first2=Gideon |last3=Poulsen |first3=Kevin |last4=Ackerman |first4=Spencer}}</ref>
+* '''27 August''': The IRA Facebook group "SecuredBorders" organizes a "Citizens before refugees" protest rally at the [[City Council]] Chambers in [[Twin Falls, Idaho]]. Only a small number of people show up for the three-hour event, most likely because it is Saturday and the Chambers are closed.<ref name=RussiaFacebookOrganizeDailyBeast20170912>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-russia-used-facebook-events-to-organize-anti-immigrant-rallies-on-us-soil |title=Exclusive: Russia Used Facebook Events to Organize Anti-Immigrant Rallies on U.S. Soil |last3=Ackerman |first2=Ben|last2=Collins|first1=Kevin|last1=Poulsen|first3=Spencer|date=12 September 2017|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>
+* '''31 August''':
+** An American contacts the IRA's "Being Patriotic" account about a possible 11 September event in Miami.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+** The IRA buys ads for a 11 September rally in New York City.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''3 September''': The IRA Facebook group "United Muslims of America" organizes a "Safe Space for Muslim Neighborhood" rally outside the White House, attracting at least 57 people.<ref name=RussiansImpersonatedMuslims20170927>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-russians-impersonated-real-american-muslims-to-stir-chaos-on-facebook-and-instagram |title=Exclusive: Russians Impersonated Real American Muslims to Stir Chaos on Facebook and Instagram |last3=Ackerman|first1=Ben|last1=Collins|first2=Kevin|last2=Poulsen|first3=Spencer|date=27 September 2017|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=28 September 2017}}</ref>
+* '''9 September''': The IRA sends money to its American groups to fund the 11 September rally in Miami, and to pay the actress who portrayed Clinton at the West Palm Beach, Florida, rally.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''20–26 September''': BlackMattersUS, an IRA website, recruits activists to participate in protests over the police [[shooting of Keith Lamont Scott]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]. The IRA pays for expenses such as microphones and speakers.<ref name=AmericansTrickedByRussiaBuzzFeedNews20171017/>
+* '''22 September''': The IRA buys ads on Facebook for "Miners for Trump" rallies in Pennsylvania.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''2 October''': "Miners for Trump" rallies are held across Pennsylvania. The IRA uses the same techniques to organize the rallies as they used for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies, including hiring a person to wear a Clinton mask and a prison uniform.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''16 October''': The IRA's Instagram account "Woke Blacks" makes a post aimed at suppressing black voter turnout.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''19 October''' The IRA runs its most popular ad on Facebook. The ad is for the IRA's Back the Badge Facebook group and shows a badge with the words "Back the Badge" in front of police lights under the caption "Community of people who support our brave Police Officers."<ref>{{cite web|title=Russians' Biggest Facebook Ad Promoted 'Blue Lives Matter'|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/russians-biggest-facebook-ad-promoted-blue-lives-matter|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=10 May 2018|access-date=5 January 2019|last=Ackerman|author-link=Spencer Ackerman}}</ref>
+* '''22 October''': A large rally is held in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], protesting the police [[shooting of Keith Lamont Scott]]. The IRA website BlackMattersUS recruits unwitting local activists to organize the rally.<ref>{{cite news|title=Charlotte shooting protest had hidden help – a Russian troll farm, news site says |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article179562956.html|work=[[The Charlotte Observer]]|date=19 October 2018| access-date=2 April 2018|last1=Henderson|first1=Bruce|last2=Harrison|first2=Steve}}</ref> BlackMattersUS provides an activist with a bank card to pay for rally expenses.<ref name=AmericansTrickedByRussiaBuzzFeedNews20171017>{{cite news| title=These Americans Were Tricked Into Working For Russia. They Say They Had No Idea. |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/rosalindadams/these-americans-were-tricked-into-working-for-russia-they|work=[[BuzzFeed News]]| date=17 October 2017|access-date=2 April 2018|last1=Adams|first1=Rosalind|last2=Brown|first2=Hayes}}</ref>
+* '''2 November''': The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP alleges "#VoterFraud by counting tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hillary votes being reported in Broward County, Florida." Trump Jr. retweets it.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''3 November''': The IRA Instagram account "Blacktivist" suggests people vote for Stein instead of Clinton.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''5 November''': Anti-Clinton "Texit" rallies are held across Texas. The IRA's "Heart of Texas" Facebook group organizes the rallies around the theme of [[Texas secession movements|Texas seceding]] from the United States if Clinton is elected. The group contacts the [[Texas Nationalist Movement]], a [[secessionist]] organization, to help with organizing efforts, but they decline to help. Small rallies are held in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and other cities. No one attends the Lubbock rally.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas secession movement: Russia-linked Facebook group asked us to participate in anti-Clinton rallies |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-facebook-group-ads-texas-secession-secede-trump-clinton-2017-9|website=[[Business Insider]]|date=14 September 2017|access-date=2 April 2018|last=Bertrand|first=Natasha}}</ref><ref name="everythinglubbock.com">{{cite web|title=Texit Rallies Kick Off Across the State Without Local Support|url=http://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/klbk-news/texit-rallies-kick-off-across-the-state-without-local-support/606499870|website=everythinglubbock.com|date=5 November 2016|type=video|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref><ref name=CaliforniaIndependenceBBC20171104>{{cite news|title='Russian trolls' promoted California independence|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41853131|website=[[BBC News]]|date=4 November 2017|access-date=2 April 2018|last1=Yates|first1=Will|last2=Wendling|first2=Mike}}</ref>
+* '''8 November''': Hours after the polls close, the [[hashtag]] #Calexit is retweeted by thousands of IRA accounts.<ref name="CaliforniaIndependenceBBC20171104" />
+* '''11 November''': A large banner is hung from the [[Arlington Memorial Bridge]] in Washington, D.C., showing a photo of Obama with the words "Goodbye Murderer" at the bottom. The IRA Twitter account @LeroyLovesUSA takes credit and is an early promoter of the banner.<ref name=Subvert>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/20/us/politics/russia-interference-election-trump-clinton.html |title=The Plot to Subvert an Election |author1=Scott Shane |author1-link=Scott Shane |author2=Mark Mazzetti |author2-link=Mark Mazzetti |date=20 September 2018 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=20 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|title=We hung out a huge banner right on the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Goodbye to murderer|number=796772863869075460|author=Leroy Barton|user=LeroyLovesUSA|date=11 November 2016||access-date=27 September 2018 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112145800/https://twitter.com/LeroyLovesUSA/status/796772863869075460}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Banner 'Goodbye, Murderer!' with Obama's Photo Hung Out in Washington (Photos)|url=https://archive.ph/kN33U|date=11 November 2016|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
+* '''12 November''': A Trump protest called "Trump is NOT my President" attracts 5,000–10,000 protestors in Manhattan who march from [[Union Square, Manhattan|Union Square]] to Trump Tower. The protest is organized by the IRA using their BlackMattersUS Facebook account.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''19 November''': The IRA organizes the "Charlotte Against Trump" rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
+* '''8 December''': The IRA runs an ad on [[Craigslist]] to hire someone to walk around New York City dressed as [[Santa Claus]] while wearing a Trump mask.<ref name="HeresEverythingTheMuellerBuzzFeedNews-20190418" />{{r|MUELLER-REPORT-VOL-I|p=32}}
+===2017===
+* '''9 April''': The Internet Research Agency(IRA)'s "United Muslims of America" [[Facebook]] group posts a meme complaining about the cost of the 6 April missile strike on [[Syria]] by the [[United States]]. The strike had been made in retaliation for a [[chemical weapons]] attack by the [[Syrian government]]. The meme asserts the $93 million cost of the strike "could have founded [sic] Meals on Wheels until 2029."<ref name=RussiansImpersonatedMuslims20170927 />
+* '''3 June''': The IRA's "United Muslims of America" [[Facebook]] group organizes the "Make peace, not war!" protest outside [[Trump Tower]] in [[New York City]]. It is unclear whether anyone attends this protest or instead attends the "March for Truth" affiliated protest held on the same day.<ref name=RussiansImpersonatedMuslims20170927 /><ref>{{cite web|title=Make peace, not war!|url=https://us.eventbu.com/new-york/make-peace-not-war/2992988|access-date=9 April 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410001620/https://us.eventbu.com/new-york/make-peace-not-war/2992988| archive-date=10 April 2018|website=eventbu|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Crowds rally at March for Truth in Washington and dozens of cities|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-march-for-truth-trump-protest-20170603-story.html|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=3 June 2017|access-date=9 April 2018| last1=Stein|first1=Peter| last2=Aratani|first2=Lori}}</ref>
+** Thousands of people participate in the "Protest Trump and ideology of hate at Trump Tower!" protest outside [[Trump Tower]] in New York City. The protest was organized by the "Resisters" group on Facebook, one of the "bad actor" groups identified by Facebook in July 2018 as possibly belonging to the IRA.<ref>{{cite web|title=President's Return to NYC|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170814/midtown/trump-tower-donald-trump-protests|website=[[DNAInfo]]|date=15 August 2017|access-date=2 August 2018|last1=Fractenberg|first1=Ben|last2=Hobbs|first2=Allegra|last3=Fisher|first3=Janon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803044442/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170814/midtown/trump-tower-donald-trump-protests/|archive-date=3 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ShadowyFacebbokAccountTheHill20180801 />
+* '''23 August''': The Internet Research Agency's @TEN_GOP Twitter account is closed.<ref name=CampaignRussianPropogandaDailyBeast20171018 />
+* '''6 September''': Facebook admits selling advertisements to Russian companies seeking to reach U.S. voters.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/facebook-says-it-sold-political-ads-to-russian-company-during-2016-election/2017/09/06/32f01fd2-931e-11e7-89fa-bb822a46da5b_story.html |title=Russian firm tied to pro-Kremlin propaganda advertised on Facebook during election |last=Leonnig |first=Carol D. |date=6 September 2017 |work=Washington Post|access-date=6 December 2017 |last2=Hamburger |first2=Tom |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |last3=Helderman |first3=Rosalind S.}}</ref> Hundreds of accounts were reportedly tied to the Internet Research Agency.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/technology/facebook-russian-political-ads.html |title=Fake Russian Facebook Accounts Bought $100,000 in Political Ads |last=Goel |first=Vindu |date=6 September 2017 |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=6 September 2017 |last2=Shane |first2=Scott |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=TheAgencyNYT20150602/> Facebook pledges full cooperation with Mueller's investigation, and begins to provide details on purchases from Russia, including identities of the people involved.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/06/facebook-gave-special-counsel-robert-mueller-data-on-russian-ads-report-says.html |title=Facebook gave special counsel Robert Mueller data on Russian ads, report says |last=Castillo |first=Michelle |date=6 September 2017|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>
+* '''9 September''': Thousand of people participate in the "We Stand with DREAMers! Support DACA!"  rally in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thousands gather in Midtown to protest Trump's DACA decision|url=https://nypost.com/2017/09/09/thousands-gather-in-midtown-to-protest-trumps-daca-decision/|website=[[New York Post]]|date=9 September 2017|access-date=1 August 2018|last=Narizhnaya|first=Khristina}}</ref> The rally was organized by the "Resisters" group on Facebook, one of the "bad actor" groups identified by Facebook in July 2018 as possibly belonging to the IRA.<ref name=ShadowyFacebbokAccountTheHill20180801>{{cite web|title=Shadowy Facebook account led to real-life Trump protests|url=http://thehill.com/policy/technology/400010-shadowy-facebook-activities-led-to-real-life-trump-protests|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=1 August 2018|access-date=1 August 2018|last=Breland|first=Ali}}</ref>
+* '''9 September''': Trump responds to a tweet from @10_gop, the "backup" account for the now-closed IRA account @TEN_GOP, saying, "THANK YOU for your support Miami! My team just shared photos from your TRUMP SIGN WAVING DAY, yesterday! I love you- and there is no question - TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The response is to an @10_gop tweet that simply reads "we love you Mr. President."<ref name="AllTheTimesTrumpBusinessInsider-20190418"/><ref name="MUELLER-REPORT-VOL-I"/>{{rp|34}}
+* '''28 September''':
+** Twitter announces that it identified 201 non-[[Twitter bot|bot]] accounts tied to the IRA.<ref name=TwitterHasTurnedOverDailyBeast20171120>{{cite web|title=Twitter Has Turned Over Zero New Russian Troll Accounts to Congress|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/twitter-has-turned-over-zero-new-russian-troll-accounts-to-congress|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=20 November 2017|access-date=30 December 2018|last1=Ackerman|first1=Spencer|author-link1=Spencer Ackerman|last2=Collins|first2=Ben|last3=Woodruff|first3=Betsy}}</ref>
+** Democrats rebuke Twitter for its "frankly inadequate" response to Russian meddling.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/28/twitter-congress-russian-election-interference |title=Democrats rebuke Twitter for 'frankly inadequate' response to Russian meddling |last=Gambino |first=Lauren |date=28 September 2017 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref>
+** [[Mother Jones (magazine)|''Mother Jones'']] writes that "fake news on Twitter flooded [[swing states]] that helped Trump win."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/09/fake-news-including-from-russian-sources-saturated-battleground-states-trump-barely-won/ |title=Fake news on Twitter—including from Russia—flooded swing states that helped Trump win |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|access-date=29 September 2017 |language=en-US |date=28 September 2017|last=Clifton|first=Denise|quote=Millions of tweets were flying furiously in the final days leading up to the 2016 US presidential election.}}</ref>
+* '''23 October''': ''The Daily Beast'' reports that Greenfloid LLC, a tiny web hosting company registered to Sergey Kashyrin and two others, hosted IRA propaganda websites DoNotShoot.Us, BlackMattersUS.com and others on servers in a [[Staten Island]] neighborhood. Greenfloid is listed as the North American subsidiary of ITL, a hosting company based in [[Kharkiv, Ukraine]], registered to Dmitry Deineka. Deineka gave conflicting answers when questioned by ''The Daily Beast'' about the IRA websites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Exclusive: Russian Propaganda Traced Back to Staten Island, New York|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-propaganda-hosted-by-man-on-staten-island-new-york|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=23 October 2017|access-date=7 January 2019|last1=Zavadski|first1=Katie|last2=Ackerman|first2=Spencer|author-link2=Spencer Ackerman|last3=Collins|first3=Ben|last4=Poulsen|first4=Kevin|author-link4=Kevin Poulsen}}</ref>
+* '''1 November''': Twitter tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that it has found 2,752 IRA accounts and 36,746 Russia-linked bot accounts involved in election-related [[Twitter#Format|retweets]].<ref name=TwitterHasTurnedOverDailyBeast20171120 />
+===2018===
+* '''16 February''': Mueller indicts 13 Russian citizens, IRA/Glavset and two other Russian entities in a 37-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the [[District of Columbia]].<ref name=13RussiansInictment/>
+* A '''15 July''' Business Insider article revealed a new Russian intelligence-linked "news" site, USAReally,<ref>[[Kevin Roose|Roose, Kevin]], ''[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/technology/usareally-russian-news-site-propaganda.html?nl=top-stories&nlid=68634180ries&ref=cta Is a New Russian Meddling Tactic Hiding in Plain Sight?]'', New York Times, 25 September 2018</ref> which follows in the footsteps of previous Russian IRA-backed troll farms, and appears to be an attempt to "test the waters" ahead of the mid-terms.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Naira|last1=Davlashyan|first2=Angela|last2=Charlton|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-russian-bots-trolls-test-waters-ahead-of-us-midterms-2018-7|title=Russian bots, trolls test waters ahead of US midterms|work=Business Insider |date=15 July 2018|accessdate=13 August 2018|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>
+*'''31 July''': Facebook announces they have shut down eight pages, 17 profiles, and seven Instagram accounts related to "bad actors" identified recently with activity profiles similar to the IRA. The company says it doesn't have enough information to attribute the accounts, groups, and events to the IRA, but that a known IRA account was briefly an administrator of the "Resisters" group.<ref>{{cite web|title=Removing Bad Actors on Facebook|url=https://archive.ph/63OLK|date=31 July 2018|access-date=31 July 2018|last1=Gleicher|first1=Nathaniel|last2=Stamos|first2=Alex|author-link2=Alex Stamos}}</ref> The "Resisters" group was the first organizer on Facebook of the upcoming "No Unite The Right 2 - DC" protest scheduled in Washington, D.C., for 10 August. Some of the event's other organizers insist they started organizing before "Resisters" created the event's Facebook page.<ref>{{cite news|title=Facebook Identifies an Active Political Influence Campaign Using Fake Accounts|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/us/politics/facebook-political-campaign-midterms.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=31 July 2018|access-date=31 July 2018|last1=Fandos|first1=Nicholas|last2=Roose|first2=Kevin|last3=Savage|first3=Charlie|last4=Frenkel|first4=Sheera|author-link2=Kevin Roose|author-link3=Charlie Savage}}</ref>
+* '''25 September''': ''The New York Times'' reports that the Moscow-based news website "USAReally.com" appears to be a continuation of the IRA's fake news propaganda efforts targeting Americans. The site, launched in May, has been banned from Facebook, Twitter, and [[Reddit]]. A new Facebook page created by the site is being monitored by Facebook.<ref>{{cite news|title=Is a New Russian Meddling Tactic Hiding in Plain Sight?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/technology/usareally-russian-news-site-propaganda.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=25 September 2018|access-date=25 September 2018|last=Roose|first=Kevin|author-link=Kevin Roose}}</ref>
+* '''12 September''': ''The Wall Street Journal'' reports that nearly 600 IRA Twitter accounts posted nearly 10,000 mostly conservative-targeted messages about health policy and [[Obamacare]] from 2014 through May 2018. Pro-ObamaCare messages peaked around the spring of 2016 when Senator [[Bernie Sanders]] and Hillary Clinton were fighting for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.  Anti-Obamacare messages peaked during the debates leading up to the attempted repeal of the [[Affordable Care Act]] in the spring of 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nearly 600 Russian troll accounts tweeted about ObamaCare: report|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/406309-nearly-600-russian-troll-accounts-tweeted-about-obamacare-report|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=12 September 2018|access-date=19 September 2018|last=Weixel|first=Nathaniel}}</ref>
+*On '''19 October''', The US Justice Department charges 44-year old Russian accountant [[Elena Khusyaynova|Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova]] of [[Saint Petersburg]] with conspiracy to defraud the [[United States]] by managing the finances of the social media troll operation, including the IRA, that attempted to interfere with the 2016 and 2018 US elections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/elena-khusyaynova-charged-midterm-elections-russia-2018-10 |title=The DOJ has charged a Russian woman working for a close Putin ally with conspiring to interfere in the 2018 midterms |author=Sonam Sheth |publisher=Business Insider |date=19 October 2018 |accessdate=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/19/politics/elena-alekseevna-khusyaynova-russia-charged/index.html |title=Russian national charged with attempting to interfere in 2018 midterms |publisher=CNN |author=Katelyn Polantz |date=19 October 2018 |accessdate=21 October 2018}}</ref>
+* '''20 November''': The Federal Agency of News (FAN) sues Facebook in the [[U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California]] for violating its [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|free speech rights]] by closing its account in April. The FAN is a sister organization to the IRA that operates from the same building in St. Petersburg. The FAN claims in its filing that it has no knowledge of the IRA, even though some current FAN employees were indicted by Mueller for their work with the IRA.<ref name=RussianTrollsSueFacebookDailyBeast20181120>{{cite web|title=Russian Trolls Sue Facebook, Their Old Propaganda Machine|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-trolls-sue-facebook-their-old-propaganda-machine|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=20 November 2018|access-date=4 January 2019|last1=Ackerman|first1=Spencer|author-link1=Spencer Ackerman|last2=Poulsen|first2=Kevin|author-link2=Kevin Poulsen}}</ref>
+===2019===
+* '''12 April''': The ''Washington Post'' reports that researchers at [[Clemson University]] found the IRA sent thousands of tweets during the 2016 election campaign in an attempt to drive Bernie Sanders supporters away from Hillary Clinton and towards Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-russian-effort-to-target-sanders-supporters--and-help-elect-trump/2019/04/11/741d7308-5576-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html |title=Inside the Russian effort to target Sanders supporters — and help elect Trump |last=Kranish |first=Michael |authorlink= Michael Kranish |date=12 April 2019 |website=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref>
+|}
+Following the [[2011–2013 Russian protests|Snow Revolution protests against the outcomes of the 2011 Russian legislative election]] organized by several persons, including [[Alexei Navalny]], who used Facebook, Twitter, and LiveJournal blogs to organize the events, [[Vyacheslav Volodin]], who was Deputy Prime Minister at the time and later became first deputy First Deputy Chief of Staff of the [[Presidential Administration of Russia]] and was responsible for domestic policy, was tasked with countering these efforts and began to rein in the internet using ''Prisma'' ({{lang-ru|«Призма»}}) which "actively tracks the social media activities that result in increased social tension, disorderly conduct, protest sentiments and extremis" by monitoring in real time the protesters discussions on blogs and social networks and perform social media tracking which later led to establishing the [[Internet Research Agency]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Chen |first=Adrian |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html |title=The Agency: From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=2 June 2015 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219110727/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Бурибаев |first1=Айдар (Buribaev, Aidar) |last2=Баданин |first2=Роман (Badanin, Roman) |url=https://www.forbes.ru/sobytiya/vlast/92590-kak-vlasti-chitayut-vashi-blogi-rassledovanie-forbes |title=Как власти читают ваши блоги: расследование Forbes |trans-title=How authorities read your blogs: Forbes investigation |language=ru |work=[[Forbes]] |date=15 August 2012 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210820142747/https://www.forbes.ru/sobytiya/vlast/92590-kak-vlasti-chitayut-vashi-blogi-rassledovanie-forbes}}</ref>
+Twelve of the thirteen Russian nationals indicted by [[Robert Mueller]] for conspiracy meddling in the 2016 US Presidential Election were employees of the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia.<ref name="CNN20180217">{{cite news |title=Mueller indicts 13 Russian nationals over 2016 election interference |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/16/politics/mueller-russia-indictments-election-interference/index.html |access-date=March 3, 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=February 17, 2018 |quote=According to the indictment, Prigozhin controlled Concord Catering, a group that funded the Internet Research Agency. By around September 2016, the indictment says, the Internet Research Agency's monthly budget for the project that included the US election interference operation exceeded 73 million Russian rubles, or over $1.25 million.}}</ref><ref name="CNN2017IRA">{{cite news |title=Exclusive: Putin’s ‘chef,’ the man behind the troll factory |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/17/politics/russian-oligarch-putin-chef-troll-factory/index.html |access-date=March 3, 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=October 17, 2017 |quote=The Internet Research Agency was based at 55 Savushkina Street in St. Petersburg before it officially ceased operations on December 28, 2016. But investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, who works for the business media group RBC, says its work continues.}}</ref><ref name="chen20150602">{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Adrian |author-link=Adrian Chen |date=2 June 2015 |title=The Agency: From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid 'trolls' has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet – and in real-life American communities |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html |access-date=3 June 2015 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>{{efn|The indicted individuals are Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly Aslanov, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Gleb Igorevitch Vasilchenko, and Vladimir Venkov.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indictment in Mueller investigation, February 2018 |url=https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download |access-date=31 July 2018}}</ref> All of the defendants are charged with [[conspiracy to defraud the United States]], 3 are charged with conspiracy to commit [[wire fraud]] and [[bank fraud]], and 5 defendants are charged with aggravated [[identity theft]]. None of the defendants are in custody.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 February 2018 |title=Special counsel Mueller: Russians conducted 'information warfare' against US during election to help Donald Trump win |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/16/russians-indicted-in-special-counsel-robert-muellers-probe.html |access-date=31 July 2018 |publisher=Cnbc.com}}</ref>}}{{efn|The Internet Research Agency's ''American Department'' was headed by Jeykhun Aslanov, an Azerbaijani who, in October 2017, was 27. Maria Bovda was the previous head of the American Department.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 October 2017 |title=Американское блюдо фабрики Пригожина |language=ru |trans-title=American dish factory Prigogine |work=Rospres |url=https://www.rospres.com/government/22451/ |access-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220063053/https://www.rospres.com/government/22451/ |archive-date=20 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 2018 |title=Ольгинский тролль Агата Бурдонова вовремя предала Евгения Пригожина |language=ru |trans-title=The Olginsky troll Agatha Burdonova betrayed Evgeny Prigozhin in time |work=Rospres |url=https://www.rospres.com/specserv/23611 |access-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220051408/https://www.rospres.com/specserv/23611/ |archive-date=20 December 2019}}</ref><ref name=Dozhd24022018>{{Cite news |last=Котляр |first=Евгения (Kotlyar, Evgenia) |url=https://tvrain.ru/news/byvshij_menedzher_inostrannogo_otdela-458293/ |title=Бывший менеджер иностранного отдела "фабрики троллей" переехала жить в США: Бывший дежурный менеджер иностранного отдела "Агентства интернет-исследований" ("фабрика троллей") Агата Бурдонова переехала в США. Об этом она рассказала на своей странице во "ВКонтакте". |trans-title=Former manager of the foreign department of the "troll factory" moved to the USA: Former duty manager of the foreign department of the Internet Research Agency ("troll factory") Agata Burdonova moved to the United States. She spoke about this on her page on VKontakte. |language=ru |work=[[Dozhd]] |date=24 February 2018 |access-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220054410/https://tvrain.ru/news/byvshij_menedzher_inostrannogo_otdela-458293/ |archive-date=20 December 2019}}</ref> Allegedly, others working in the ''Foreign Department'' included Katarina Aistova, Aistova’s second assistant Maxim Elfimov, and Agata Burdonova who is an excellent English speaker that moved to [[Bellevue, Washington]] on 7 December 2017, obtained a United States social security number and has her own YouTube channel.<ref name=Dozhd24022018/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd_Gwwg-6Ao |title=Agata Burdonova YouTube channel |work=[[YouTube]] |access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref>}}{{efn|In October 2018 Russian accountant [[Elena Khusyaynova]] was charged with interferеnce in the 2016 and 2018 US elections. She is alleged to have been working with the IRA. She was said to have managed a $16 million budget.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2018/images/10/19/khusyaynova.complaint.pdf |title=Crimial Complaint against Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova |work=[[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia|Eastern District of Virginia]] |via=[[CNN]] |date=28 September 2018 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220325010344/http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2018/images/10/19/khusyaynova.complaint.pdf}}</ref>}} In the runup to and during the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 U.S. presidential election]], Russia's [[Internet Research Agency]] (IRA) demonstrated evolved tactics for spreading disinformation. Probably to evade the detection mechanisms of social media platforms, the IRA co-opted activists working for a human-rights focused Ghanaian NGO to target black communities in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|title=IRA in Ghana: Double Deceit|url=https://graphika.com/reports/ira-in-ghana-double-deceit/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=graphika.com|language=en}}</ref> Russian campaigns have also evolved to become more cross-platform, with content spreading, not only on Facebook and Twitter, but also on Tumblr, Wordpress, and Medium.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Timberg|first=Craig|title=Facebook removes Russian networks tied to intelligence services that interfered in the U.S. in 2016|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/24/facebook-removes-russian-networks-tied-intelligence-services-that-interfered-us-2016/|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The IRA is also more emboldened, with evidence that they recruited U.S. journalists to write articles critical of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Dwoskin|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Timberg|first2=Craig|title=Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/01/facebook-disinformation-takedown/|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
 == Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI) or (RISS) or (RISY) ==
@@ Line 46: / Line 158: @@
 In March 2021, [[Christopher A. Wray|Christopher Wray]], who was the [[Director of the FBI]] during most of Donald Trump's [[Presidency of Donald Trump|presidency]], and the [[National Intelligence Council]] stated that numerous Russians, other individuals, proxies and entitites, including [[Rudy Giuliani]], [[Fox News]], the [[One America News Network]] (OANN), the documentary film ''[[The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder|The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder with guest host Michael Caputo]]'' which was created with support from [[Konstantin Kilimnik]], [[Andrii Derkach]], Andrii Telizhenko, [[Sergey Petrushin]] and [[Michael Caputo]] and which aired on 21 January 2020 only two weeks before the Senate's acquittal of [[Donald Trump]] after his [[First impeachment of Donald Trump|first impeachment trial]], supported anti Biden, anti Ukraine, pro Trump, pro Russia, pro Kremlin, and pro Putin disinformation efforts during the Trump presidency including Trump's two impeachment trials and his two presidential campaigns.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vicens |first1=AJ |last2=Friedman |first2=Dan |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/russia-worked-to-boost-trump-in-2020-with-help-from-giuliani-fox-news-and-oann/ |title=Russia Worked to Boost Trump in 2020—With Help From Giuliani, Fox News, and OANN: A US intelligence report also reveals Iranian meddling and Chinese consideration of similar efforts. |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=16 March 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stedman |first1=Scott |last2=Bernardini |first2=Matt |url=https://forensicnews.net/giuliani-probe-expands-ukrainian-ally-artemenko-under-criminal-investigation/ |title=Giuliani Probe Expands, Ukrainian Ally Under Criminal Investigation: Former Ukrainian politician Andrii Artemenko received a secret payment in 2019 from a television station owned by Putin's closest ally in Ukraine. The FBI is now investigating the Giuliani ally. |work=Forensic News |date=30 April 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Eckel |first=Mike |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/five-things-us-intelligence-report-russian-election-interference/31156225.html |title=Five Things To Know About The U.S. Intelligence Report On Russian Election Interference |work=[[Radio Free Europe]] |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Ken |url=https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2021/03/16/san-diegos-oan-had-role-in-russian-efforts-to-influence-2020-election-intelligence-report-hints/ |title=San Diego's OAN Had Role in Russian Efforts to Sway Election, Intelligence Report Hints |work=[[Times of San Diego]] |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-date=17 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317151942/https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2021/03/16/san-diegos-oan-had-role-in-russian-efforts-to-influence-2020-election-intelligence-report-hints/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dilanian |first=Ken |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-intel-agencies-say-russia-tried-help-trump-china-n1261234 |title=Russia tried to help Trump in 2020, Iran tried to hurt him and China stayed out of it, says new report: A newly declassified intelligence community assessment also says no foreign actor hacked into the U.S. voting infrastructure, meaning machines or data. |work=[[NBC News]] |date=16 March 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ICA-declass-16MAR21.pdf |title=Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections |work=[[National Intelligence Council|United States National Intelligence Council]] (NIC) |page=3 |date=10 March 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Levai |first=Eric |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/oan-propoganda/ |title=OAN busted for airing anti-Biden documentary made by Russian spies: The network has a fraught relationship with the truth and the 2020 election. |work=[[The Daily Dot]] |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Zachary |last2=Cohen |first2=Marshall |last3=Polantz |first3=Katelyn |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/16/politics/us-election-intel-report/index.html |title=US intelligence report says Russia used Trump allies to influence 2020 election with goal of 'denigrating' Biden |work=[[CNN]] |date=March 17, 2021 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/17/how-new-government-report-strongly-implicates-giuliani-russian-interference-effort/ |title=Analysis &#124; How a new government report strongly implicates Giuliani in a Russian interference effort |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=17 March 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref>
+On 3 February 2022, John "Jack" Hanick, who helped established the [[Konstantin Malofeev]] owned [[Tsargrad TV]] in 2015, allegedly was working to establish similar networks in Greece and Bulgaria, and worked at [[Fox News]] as a founding producer and news director from 1996 to 2011, was arrested in London for violating sanctions against Malofeev whose Tsargrad TV was disseminating Russian disinformation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dugan |first=Kevin T. |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/exfox-news-producer-indicted-for-work-with-russian-oligarch.html |title=Ex–Fox News Director Indicted for Working With Russian Oligarch |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] (nymag.com) |date=3 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220324232352/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/exfox-news-producer-indicted-for-work-with-russian-oligarch.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tv-producer-russian-oligarch-charged-violating-crimea-related-sanctions |title=TV Producer for Russian Oligarch Charged with Violating Crimea-Related Sanctions |work=[[United States Department of Justice]] |date=3 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303193953/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tv-producer-russian-oligarch-charged-violating-crimea-related-sanctions|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lahut |first=Jake |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-director-indictment-russia-oligarch-tv-channel-tsargrad-2022-3 |title=Ex-Fox News director indicted for allegedly helping a Russian oligarch start pro-Putin Tsargrad TV network: report |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=4 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220304211359/https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-director-indictment-russia-oligarch-tv-channel-tsargrad-2022-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shanahan |first1=Ed |last2=Weiser |first2=Benjamin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/nyregion/fox-producer-sanctions-russian-oligarch.html |title=Ex-Fox News Producer Broke Law With Work for Russian Oligarch, U.S. Says: John Hanick was on Konstantin Malofeev’s payroll after Mr. Malofeev’s backing of Crimean separatists led to sanctions, an indictment says. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=3 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220325002718/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/nyregion/fox-producer-sanctions-russian-oligarch.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pagliery |first=Jose |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-fox-news-producter-for-sean-hannity-jack-hanick-indicted-for-helping-russia |title=Former Fox News Director Jack Hanick Indicted for Helping Russia: FOX HOLE. An American TV producer was arrested in London and now faces criminal charges for working with a sanctioned Russian billionaire. He used to work for Fox News. |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=3 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220324225248/https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-fox-news-producter-for-sean-hannity-jack-hanick-indicted-for-helping-russia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dickinson |first=Tim |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jack-hanick-indictment-putin-russia-propaganda-fox-news-1317789/ |title= How a Former Fox News Director Landed in Jail for Pushing Putin Propaganda: He fell in love with Mother Russia — and an oligarch’s gravy train. But a disregard for sanctions and lying to the FBI could land him in prison for years |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=7 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220325004204/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jack-hanick-indictment-putin-russia-propaganda-fox-news-1317789/}}</ref>{{efn|Through Malofeev, Hanick is close to the pro Russia former Greek defense minister and prime minister [[Panos Kammenos]] and [[Vladimir Putin]] gives carte blanche to Tsargrad TV which according to Malofeev is the Russian equivalent to Fox News.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weaver |first=Courtney |url=https://www.ft.com/content/27125702-71ec-11e5-ad6d-f4ed76f0900a |title=God’s TV, Russian style: Meet Konstantin Malofeev — the devout and fervently pro-Putin founder of Orthodox channel Tsargrad TV |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=16 October 2015 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.ph/KC7qR}}</ref>}} Hanick was the first person criminally indicted for violating United States sanctions during the [[Russo-Ukrainian War|War in Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Spocchia |first=Gino |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/fox-news-crimea-russian-oligarch-b2028644.html |title=Former Fox News director indicted for violating Crimea sanctions and helping Russian billionaire: Justice Department vows end to ‘Russian aggression’ with first Crimea-linked sanctions violation |work=[[The Independent]] |date=8 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220318211048/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/fox-news-crimea-russian-oligarch-b2028644.html}}</ref>
+During the [[Russo-Ukrainian War|War in Ukraine]], Russian state TV channel [[Russia-1]] used [[Tucker Carlson]]'s interview with the [[Douglas Macgregor#2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|pro-Russia]] Retired Colonel [[Doug Macgregor]] to demoralize Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news |last=Reed |first=Brad |url=https://www.salon.com/2022/03/04/russian-state-tv-uses-tucker-carlson-to-demoralize-ukraine_partner/ |title=Russian state TV uses Tucker Carlson to "demoralize" Ukraine: Russian state TV uses clips of Tucker Carlson's favorite pro-Putin US colonel to 'demoralize' Ukraine |work=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |date=4 March 2022 |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220324231629/https://www.salon.com/2022/03/04/russian-state-tv-uses-tucker-carlson-to-demoralize-ukraine_partner/}}</ref>
 == See also ==