Moscow has found better ways to conceal #influence ops, by using harder-to-trace tech, to amplify arguments for #isolationism before #UnitedStates elections, acc/to disinfo experts & #intelligence.
In recent days, #intelligence agencies have warned that #Russia has found better ways to hide its #InfluenceOperations, & Treasury issued #sanctions last week against 2 Russian companies that it said supported the Kremlin’s campaign.
The stepped-up ops, run by aides to #Putin & Russian #military intelligence, come at a critical moment in the debate in the #UnitedStates over support for #Ukraine.…
Russian ops are laying the groundwork for what could be a stronger push to support candidates who oppose aiding #Ukraine, or who call for pulling the #UnitedStates back from #NATO & other alliances, US ofcls & independent researchers say.
Investigators say that firms working in the “#Doppelgänger” network —& #Russia’s #intelligence agencies duplicating the tactics— are using the techniques to replicate & distort legitimate #news sites in order to undermine #aid to Ukraine.
These techniques are subtle & far more skillful than what #Russia attempted in 2016, when it made up FB posts or tweets in the names of nonexistent Americans, & used them to fuel protests over #immigration or other hot-button issues.
The result is that much of the original speech is First Amendment-protected — say a member of #Congress [#HouseRepublicans] declaring that resources being sent to #Ukraine should instead be used to patrol the southern border of the #UnitedStates. But the amplification is engineered in #Russia or by #RussianInfluencers.