U.S. Announces Plan to Counter Russian Influence Ahead of 2024 Election

The United States on Wednesday announced a broad effort to push back on Russian influence campaigns in the 2024 election, trying to curb the Kremlin’s use of state-run media and fake news sites to sway American voters.

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

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Wednesday announced actions by the Justice Department, including the indictment of two Russian employees of RT, the state-owned broadcaster, who used a company in Tennessee to spread content, and the takedown of a Russian malign influence campaign known as Doppelganger.

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

The Treasury Department sanctioned ANO Dialog, a Russian nonprofit that helps run the Doppleganger network, as well as the editor in chief of RT, Margarita S. Simonyan, and her deputies.

The State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information pertaining to foreign interference in an American election and sanctioned five Russian state-funded news outlets, including RT, Ruptly and Sputnik.