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Western Media Frenzy Over Rehashed Claims of Russian Meddling in US Election

© Sputnik / Alexandr Kryazhev / Go to the mediabankA screen with the logo of the Sputnik international news agency and radio
A screen with the logo of the Sputnik international news agency and radio - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
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The US Treasury Department announced a new raft of sanctions on the Rossiya Segodnya media group, which includes RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly. Russia has vowed to respond in kind.
The Western media is whipping up a frenzy amid new allegations of Russian interference in US elections.
Washington has taken its persecution campaign against journalists who work with Russian media to new heights by slapping sanctions against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly.
The move was presented as a response to “Moscow’s malign influence efforts targeting the 2024 US presidential election."
The claims invoke a sense of déjà vu for the 2016 'Russiagate' conspiracy theory. The falsehoods peddled by failed presidential runner Hillary Clinton to excuse her loss Donald Trump have been dusted off, reheated and served to the public.
The mainstream press is lapping up it all up, judging by the headlines.
CNN used a spectacular image of Moscow’s Red Square to illustrate its story on how the Kremlin’s far-reaching ‘media arm’ had tricked unsuspecting Tennessee-based company and its platform of independent content creators and influencers to “fuel pro-Russian narratives, in part, by pushing content and news articles favoring Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and others who the Kremlin deemed to be friendlier to its interests.”
© Photo : CNNScreenshot of CNN publication.
Screenshot of CNN publication. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of CNN publication.
The Washington Post story ran with a photo of Donald Trump under a headline claiming right-wing conservative influencers “were duped to work for a covert Russian influence operation.”
The unsuspecting “major players,” boasting millions of followers online, found themselves at the mercy of a company that “was a front for a Russian influence operation.”
The newspaper repeated unfounded claims that it was the third US presidential election in a row where authorities had uncovered Russian attempts at interference.
© Photo : The Washington PostScreenshot of publication by The Washington Post.
Screenshot of publication by The Washington Post. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of publication by The Washington Post.
Newsweek echoed the same claims, accusing Russia of interfering in US presidential elections “again”.
Noting that the latest 'red scare' comes “eight years after Russia first emerged as a major player in US election interference,” the newspaper speculated that the White House would “take a more deliberate approach in combating misinformation and fake news specifically spread by Moscow and its affiliates.”
© Photo : NewsweekScreenshot of Newsweek publication.
Screenshot of Newsweek publication. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of Newsweek publication.
The Associated Press news agency also used the word “duped” as it alleged major social media figures were tricked into aiding Russia’s influence operation targeting the 2024 US election
© Photo : APScreenshot of AP publication.
Screenshot of AP publication. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of AP publication.
Britain’s Daily Mail oozed sympathy for the “duped” conservative influencers that had been working for Russia’s “covert sprawling $10 million media project.”
The newspaper claimed they were used by a shell company that “raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars” for churning out videos “consistent” with the Kremlin's “interest in amplifying US domestic divisions.”
© Photo : Daily MailScreenshot of Daily Mail story.
Screenshot of Daily Mail story. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of Daily Mail story.
The Wall Street Journal repeated US Justice Department claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle has been directly involved in covert propaganda efforts.”
The Biden administration, it noted, had accused the Kremlin of "orchestrating a covert campaign to influence the coming US presidential election and erode international support for Ukraine."
© Photo : Wall Street Journal.Screenshot of publication by the Wall Street Journal.
Screenshot of publication by the Wall Street Journal. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of publication by the Wall Street Journal.
A Reuters story ran under an image of vans from Russia’s RT broadcaster near Moscow’s Red Square as it recounted the official US narrative.
“Russia's goal is to exacerbate US political divisions and weaken public support for American aid to Ukraine,” it quoted Biden adminsitration officials as saying.
© Photo : ReutersScreenshot of publication by Reuters.
Screenshot of publication by Reuters. - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024
Screenshot of publication by Reuters.

On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly. The new measures also affected Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya and RT media group. "Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated ten individuals and two entities as part of a coordinated US government response to Moscow’s malign influence efforts targeting the 2024 US presidential election," a statement released on Wednesday said.

In this Oct. 9, 2016, file photo Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speak during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis. - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.09.2023
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