US charges RT employees over alleged secret funding of right-wing media
The United States has announced a range of actions to combat Russian efforts to influence the 2024 presidential election, including the indictment of two state media employees accused of secretly funding a US media company to sow political divisions.
In an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, the US Justice Department alleged that two employees of Russia’s RT used shell companies and fake identities to pay $10m to a media outlet in Tennessee as part of a Moscow-directed influence operation.
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva face charges of conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
US Attorney General Merrick B Garland said the influence campaign had targeted US audiences with “hidden Russian government messaging”.
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reports from Washington, DC.
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