Federal officials in Philly announce takedown of Russian-backed campaign to interfere in the U.S. election

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Federal officials in Philadelphia have announced the takedown of 32 internet domains they say are connected to ongoing investigations into Russian government-directed campaigns to influence the upcoming presidential election.

Three Russian-backed companies — Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura National Technology (Structura) and ANO (Dialog) — “cybersquatted” multiple domains to appear as legitimate American news media to share Russian propaganda, according to an unsealed FBI affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Cybersquatting is the act of registering a domain similar to others — such as those alleged in the affidavit like washingtonpost.pm — and using it in bad faith efforts. One of the most famous examples is whitehouse.com, which resembles the official whitehouse.gov website, which instead directs people to explicit content rather than the government website.

The influence campaigns, referred to as “Doppelganger,” violate United States money laundering and criminal trademark laws. Federal officials say the propaganda purposely left out the Russian government and its agents as the source of the content. On top of this, officials say the campaigns created their own media brands to promote misinformation and used social media influencers and paid advertisements to disseminate propaganda.

The messages focused on reducing international support for Ukraine, “bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election,” according to a DOJ news release.

U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said protecting democratic processes from foreign malign influence is “paramount to ensure enduring public trust.”

“As America’s adversaries continue to spew propaganda and disinformation towards the American electorate, we’ll use every tool at our disposal to expose and dismantle their insidious foreign influence campaigns,” Romero said in the release.

“Today’s disruption sends a clear message to our adversaries: we will not tolerate foreign efforts to influence our elections,” Wayne Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia, said. “Our office and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to identifying, investigating, and counteracting malign foreign influence operations targeting the United States.”

“Doppelganger” activities were also reported in other countries including Germany, Mexico and Israel. Officials said that those activities specifically aimed to garner support for Russian government objectives and undermine the United States’ relationship with those countries.