(TheConservativeTimes.org) – There has been a crackdown on the Russian influence on American media, but one group of former Trump advisers and operatives have been helping to build up a pro-Russian website that is known for spreading misinformation.
George Papadopoulos, Trump’s former policy aide, Papadopoulos’ wife, Simona Mangiante, and others have become the editorial members of the website Intelligencer. The United States has been looking to crack down on misinformation, especially regarding Russia amid this year’s presidential election.
Just recently, the Justice Department charged two members of RT, or Russia Today, with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act and for money laundering payments that they allegedly made to “recruit unwitting American influencers.”
Intelligencer is gaining popularity and just had its best month for Internet traffic with an increase of almost three hundred percent during August, according to Similarweb. Its articles have been shared by multiple people including Alex Jones, a social media conspiracist, and even former White House staffer Garrett Ziegler.
Emma Briant, an associate professor of news and political communication at Monash University in Australia, said that using well-known figures to spread misinformation is a new disinformation tactic.
Briant said, “Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has increasingly been forced to rely on networks of proxies and influencers whose conspiracist ‘brand’ generates income and audiences through social media monetization and some of whom Russia has now been caught covertly subsidizing.”
The website has opaque ownership which makes it difficult to understand where their funding is coming from, but there is no direct evidence of Kremlin funding. There is also no corporate group listed on their website, only a business address that is located in Los Angeles.
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