U.S. Intelligence Accuses Influential Conservative Website of Spreading Russian Propaganda: Report
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U.S. intelligence officials claim a popular conservative financial website “published articles created by Moscow-controlled media” and spread them to “unaware” Americans, amplifying Russian propaganda, reported the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Zero Hedge was launched in 2009 by former investment banker Daniel Ivandjiiski and is owned by ABC Media Limited.
The website’s Twitter account, which has a photo of Brad Pitt from the 1999 movie Fight Club as its main image, has over 1.2 million followers. Twitter has not validated the account.
Pitt’s character in the film, Tyler Durden, regularly appears as the author of articles on the website.
“The officials did not say whether they thought Zero Hedge knew of any links to spy agencies and did not allege direct links between the website and Russia,” the AP notes.
Zero Hedge denied the claims, saying it aims to “publish a wide spectrum of views that cover both sides of a given story.” In a response posted online Tuesday morning, the website said it has “has never worked, collaborated or cooperated with Russia, nor are there any links to spy agencies.”
The most recent activity on Zero Hedge’s influential Twitter account is a retweet of Edward Snowden saying, “So… if nobody shows up for the invasion Biden scheduled for tomorrow morning at 3 AM, I’m not saying your journalistic credibility was instrumentalized as part of one of those disinformation campaigns you like to write about, but you should at least consider the possibility.”
AP notes that “in recent months, Zero Hedge has published numerous articles that accused the U.S. of fomenting panic about Ukraine, which now faces the possibility of an invasion by more than 130,000 Russian troops massed on several sides of the country. Some of those articles are listed as being written by people affiliated with the Strategic Culture Foundation.”
The Strategic Culture Foundation was sanctioned last year by the Biden administration for its alleged role in aiding Russia’s interference campaign in the 2020 U.S. elections.
“NATO Sliding Towards War Against Russia In Ukraine,” “Americans Need A Conspiracy Theory They Can All Agree On” and “Theater Of Absurd… Pentagon Demands Russia Explain Troops On Russian Soil,” are all examples of articles written by the foundation, as noted by the AP.
“They are one of our hundreds of contributors — unlike Mainstream Media, we try to publish a wide spectrum of views that cover both sides of a given story,” the website told the AP, explaining the articles.
“These sites enable the Russian government to secure support among the Russian and Ukrainian populations,” one official told the AP, in reference to websites directed by the foundation. “This is the primary vector for how the Russian government will bolster support domestically for an invasion into Ukraine.”
Russian influence and disinformation have been of particular concern in recent months as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to mount. “Washington and Kyiv have for months highlighted the issue of Russian influence in Ukrainian media,” notes the AP.
