Quick Hit:

As the 2024 election approaches, the Biden administration and Democrats are once again accusing Russia of meddling in U.S. elections, this time through a disinformation campaign allegedly targeting social media influencers. The Justice Department indicted two Russian state media employees Wednesday for allegedly using U.S.-based social media influencers to spread supposedly Kremlin-backed narratives.

Key Details:

• The Justice Department indicted two employees of Russian state-controlled media outlet RT for allegedly running a $10 million disinformation campaign through U.S.-based company Tenet Media, targeting U.S. voters by enlisting social media influencers.

• The indictment claims the influencers were used to push content on topics like immigration and inflation, without knowing the campaign was part of a Russian-backed operation.

• The accusations mirror previous claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which led to investigations that ultimately found no evidence of collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Diving Deeper:

In a press conference Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that two Russian nationals, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, had been indicted for their roles in allegedly orchestrating a covert disinformation campaign to manipulate U.S. voters ahead of the 2024 election. The indictment alleges that they worked through Tenet Media to launder nearly $10 million, which was used to hire popular influencers to unknowingly spread supposedly Kremlin-backed content.

According to the DOJ, influencers unknowingly connected to the campaign included Tim Pool, Benny Johnson and Dave Rubin. Pool released a statement addressing the allegations, saying on X (formerly Twitter): “Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims... Never at any point did anyone other than I have full editorial control of the show.” He insisted that his Culture War podcast, which was licensed by Tenet Media, existed long before the licensing deal and that its content was often apolitical, covering topics like spirituality and gaming. Pool also condemned Russia, saying, “Putin is a scumbag, Russia sucks donkey balls.”

Benny Johnson also issued a statement addressing the indictment, saying: “We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme.” Johnson’s company had entered into a standard independent contractor agreement with Tenet Media, which was later terminated. He emphasized that his legal team would take action against anyone implying he knowingly participated in the scheme.

The timing of the indictment, just weeks before the 2024 election, has raised questions about its political motivations. The move closely resembles accusations from 2016, when claims of Russian interference led to long investigations into supposed collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia—claims that were ultimately disproven. The Biden administration’s renewed focus on foreign interference at this sensitive moment has led to speculation that these charges could be part of a broader attempt to revive the "Russian collusion" hoax, even as the upcoming election looms large.