Pierluigi Paganini
January 01, 2025
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned entities for spreading disinformation linked to Russian and Iranian intelligence ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Moscow’s Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE), founded by OFAC-designated Aleksandr Dugin, for spreading disinformation and creating deepfakes ahead of the 2024 elections.
CGE, supported by GRU, used AI tools to create and spread disinformation across fake news websites to influence the 2024 U.S. election, including manipulating videos and funding operations.
“CGE personnel work directly with a GRU unit that oversees sabotage, political interference operations, and cyberwarfare targeting the West. Since at least 2024, a GRU officer and CGE affiliate directed CGE Director Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin (Korovin) and other CGE personnel to carry out various influence operations targeting the U.S. 2024 presidential election.” reads the announcement by U.S. Treasury.
“At the direction of, and with financial support from, the GRU, CGE and its personnel used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin.”
The GRU provided financial support to CGE and a network of U.S.-based facilitators, they were tasked to build and maintain its AI-support server along with a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations. The Russian military intelligence agency also contribute to the rent cost of the apartment where the server is housed. Korovin coordinated GRU’s financial support to his employees and U.S.-based facilitators.
“In addition to using generative AI to construct and disseminate disinformation targeting the U.S. electorate in the lead up to the U.S. 2024 general election, CGE also manipulated a video it used to produce baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate in an effort to sow discord amongst the U.S. electorate.” continues the announcement.
The U.S. government also sanctioned The Cognitive Design Production Center (CDPC), a subsidiary of the IRGC, for planning influence operations to incite socio-political tensions in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. elections.
“Since at least 2023, CDPC planned influence operations designed to incite socio-political tensions among the U.S. electorate in the lead up to the 2024 U.S. elections, on behalf of the IRGC.” reads the announcement.
As a result of the sanctions, any property or interests of the sanctioned entities and individuals in the U.S. are blocked. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them, and financial institutions may face sanctions for certain activities. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing U.S. persons to violate sanctions.
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