A number of high-profile, conservative influencers in the US have said they are “victims” of an alleged Russian disinformation campaign, after the Biden administration accused Moscow of carrying out a sustained campaign to influence the outcome of November’s presidential elections.
Tim Pool and Benny Johnson published statements on Wednesday evening addressing allegations that a US content creation company they were associated with had been provided with nearly $10m from Russian state media employees to publish videos with messages in favour of Moscow’s interests and agenda, including over the war in Ukraine.
If I was supporting a cause which had Putin so enthusiasticly supporting it, I’d probably wonder if it was a cause that I should continue to support.
Russia definitely would play both sides to fuel it
Victims or willing accomplices?
If you take russian money and distribute the crap they tell you to, you are accomplice, not victim.
Just remember this : when Mitt Romney called Russia our greatest threat in 2012 the GOP rushed to his defense. A decade later they were openly admiring Putin.
And Obama bagged on Romney for it.
“The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.”
The only reason Russia became a threat is that they had Trump there carrying their water.
Also, if Trump had the brains of a Fredo Corleone he would have realized that none of the kompromat Putin had on him would matter once he was in office. The CIA would swear up and down that it was ‘fake news.’
Not even a decade later , within 4-6 they were politically fellating Putin because Donny dipshit has controlled the party since ~2015/6, and he’s been under Russian influence for much longer, if not from the government, then from the Russian mob (I know, I’m repeating myself).
These fucking shills claiming they are victims. Ugh.
Victims that got rich off of their victimhood.
I mean, they might not even be wrong.
Doesn’t mean they’re not also perpetrators.
Yeah, Russia is funding all sorts of critics of the US government, some of them on the left too. Doesn’t necessarily mean they agree with Russia on everything. When RT was still allowed to broadcast in the US, people like Chris Hedges had a show on there.
Honestly, I don’t see how this indictment squares with the first amendment, especially after citizens united. If money is speech, what’s the difference between some American billionaire funding some guys that say things they agree with, and a foreign government/billionaire doing the same? If they’re banning Russian funding, why not ban Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, South China Morning Post, the BBC, etc?
Yeah I think they’re trying to slide the left toward independents. It’s probably not all that hard with Gaza going on, except for the fact that Trump already spewed that dictator on day one b*******. As much as we’d like more progressive things to happen we’re absolutely certain what happens if Trump gets in and there’s plenty not to like on both sides.
An indictment charging… conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering was unsealed today…
Between in or about October 2023 and in or about August 2024, RT sent wire transfers to U.S. Company-1 totaling approximately $9.7 million, which represented nearly 90% of U.S. Company-1’s bank deposits from all sources combined. The wires were sent from shell companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius, and were often accompanied by wire notes ascribing the payments to the purchase of electronics. For example, the wire note for a $318,800 wire payment from a shell entity in Turkey to U.S. Company-1 on March 1, read: “BUYING GOODS-INV.013-IPHONE 15 PRO MAX 512GB.”
U.S. Company-1 never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and directed by RT. Nor did U.S. Company-1 or its two founders register with the Attorney General as an agent of a foreign principal
The first amendment right to free speech does not include the right to defraud. Fraud is generally considered a crime in the US. The indictments are not regarding the content that was produced/influenced, the indictments are regarding RT pretending to not be RT and falsifying financial records in order to do so.
Also, RT is still allowed to broadcast in the US. RT voluntarily pulled out of the US market after cable providers dropped the channel following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as is there first amendment right.
It’s not that they are victims. They are just useful idiots whose idiotic idiot views aligned with the political goals of Russia.
The Russian influence campaign that just started, and hasn’t been running since before the 2016 election? These same influencers assure me that the allegations of Russian influence are just liberal media bullshit, and these Russian influenced people wouldn’t lie about Russian influence, would they?
If you take advice from a man who never takes his beanie off you get what you get
Tim Pool the Russian Tool™
Even if you accept the claim that they were duped at face value, what does that say about them? These folk’s whole pretense is that they can “see through the media’s lies” and that they are able to tell what is really going on. But they were not smart enough to recognize that they were part of a propaganda campaign? They want you to believe they have a sophisticated ability to recognize media manipulation but also now want you to believe that they were hapless stooges that were tricked into participating in a media manipulation campaign.
They knew exactly what they were doing. They’re “victims” only now they’ve been caught.
“Victims of”? No.
“Beneficiaries of”? Yes.
When you do something and get paid for it? That’s called a job.
No, you see… They thought they were beneficiaries, but since trump is not doing so hot, they are not sure right now.
The Russians are refusing to pay me so now I’m the victim!
And the ones that aren’t being paid for it are just pawns envious of the kings.
Honestly I am puzzled every time I see someone ragebaiting and/or having a very bad take without that wretched checkmark on X
Honestly I think they are admitting to being idiots.
Their god-king told them that he loves the poorly educated back in 2016.
Better than prison. These people could be in big trouble… But they won’t be because of their political views. They will get slaps on the wrist and allowed back to continue their campaigns of stochastic terrorism.
Citizens United for the L.
Some people deserve to go to Ukraine as a paid Ruzzian cannonfodder
No one is less accountable than conservatives. Always someone else’s fault.
Please crawl into a hole somewhere and disappear.
