Russian state media RT (RT) used Americans and others people in his attempts to tilt the scales in the US in support of the candidate of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, at the expense of his rival from the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, reported the Reuters agency, quoted by BTA, citing a high-ranking representative of the American intelligence.
The comment, made at a briefing on alleged foreign interference in the November presidential election, comes amid efforts by the US government to counter such attempts, the agency said.
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on the editor-in-chief of Russian state media RT and nine other employees over attempts to interfere in the presidential election. The U.S. Treasury Department said RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonovna Simonyan and other media-related individuals secretly recruited social media influencers to sway U.S. public opinion and spread pro-Kremlin messages.
In addition, the FBI has sought court permission to seize 32 Internet domains that the US government says were part of efforts to exert "malign influence," including undermining public support for US aid to Ukraine.
According to the intelligence official, who requested anonymity, the actions of the US government show that Russia is using private Russian companies and RT media “to covertly reinforce and incite internal division, as well as to push Russian-preferred election results”.
„RT has built and used a network of Americans and other people from Western countries to spread a pro-Russian narrative,” the official said, adding that efforts included swaying voters to support the former president (Trump) and reducing the Vice President's chances (Harris).
The employee did not provide details on how these individuals tried to influence voters.
Russian state media RT responded on Wednesday to the US government's actions with a joke: “Three things in life are inevitable: death, taxes and RT meddling in US elections”.