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2024-09-06 Government Corruption
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'Call from 2016': Dissenting bloggers are being bullied to help Harris win
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Velesov
[REGNUM] A scandal is unfolding in the West, clearly connected to the upcoming presidential elections in the United States in November, to which, just as in 2016, they are trying to implicate a “Russian trace” and the “hand of Moscow,” allegedly pushing Donald Trump toward the White House.
On September 5, leading American and British television channels and publications, from the Associated Press to the Daily Mail, simultaneously reported on the “sensational indictment” released by the US Department of Justice.
| "Here they called from 2016 and demanded all their hackneyed cliches back. There are three inevitable things in life: death, taxes, and "RT's interference in the American elections"... Somewhere, Secretary of State Clinton is sad that this time it's not all because of her." |
The document stated that employees of the Russian media holding RT, Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, were accused by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York of "implementing" a certain "plan" that allegedly consisted of paying $8.7 million to an unnamed company ("Company 1") from the state of Tennessee so that it would release videos "in line with the Kremlin's interests" in exacerbating internal discord in the United States.
It is alleged that Company 1 spent the said $10 million on publishing videos in support of Moscow’s agenda, including in the Ukrainian conflict.
According to the US Department of Justice, the content was allegedly “seeded” onto all known platforms, including TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram* and YouTube.
Since November, the company has published more than 2,000 videos that have been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube, according to the indictment, National Public Radio reported. The publication, by the way, is accompanied by a photo of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland against the backdrop of a Ukrainian flag, which the attorney general hung out in solidarity with Kiev.
The "sensation" about a conspiracy against American democracy was leaked simultaneously with the US Treasury's decision to impose sanctions against RT, its editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, the Rossiya Segodnya media group, and the RIA Novosti and Sputnik agencies. The wording was "for carrying out a disinformation campaign related to the elections."
CNN, which is clearly playing on the side of the Joe Biden administration and is more zealous than others in promoting “RT-gate,” has released its “leak”:
“CNN has independently confirmed that Company 1 is Tenet Media, a platform for independent content creators. It describes itself as “a network of unorthodox commentators who focus on Western political and cultural issues,” according to its website, which matches the language in the newly unsealed indictment."
CNN's publications, which were picked up by other media outlets, emphasize that among the popular video bloggers and podcast hosts who worked with Tenet Media (and therefore were involved in "Russian propaganda") are well-known "right-wing personalities" - Benny Johnson and Tim Poole.
“Both have millions of subscribers on YouTube and other platforms,” CNN points out, making the appropriate point: Poole interviewed Trump on his podcast in May.
The Daily Mail adds a third suspect: Dave Rubin, the author of a popular X blog.
Tenet Media is real and based in Tennessee. The “Free Voices Are Here” outlet is indeed home to Benny Johnson (2.7 million subscribers), Tim Poole (2.1 million), and Dave Rubin (1.5 million subscribers).
All three are called "influencers," that is, well-known figures whose opinions matter to large groups of people. All three are working for the same, conventionally Trumpist, audience.
That is, people living in the “Bible Belt,” for example, in Tennessee, people who are traditionalist (at least in terms of family life and “gender issues”) and who do not trust the federal government and especially the current Democratic administration.
But the main thing is the Republicans who will vote for Trump in November.
The major American and British press, spinning the scandal, particularly emphasized that among the latest heroes of the Tenet videos was Lara Trump, the presidential candidate’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
Other prominent Trump associates gave interviews to the “suspicious” influencers. In particular, former presidential candidate, Indian-born businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (an ardent supporter of the “Mexican wall,” who withdrew his candidacy in favor of Trump back in January), as well as journalist and politician Carey Lake, who calls herself the Republican candidate’s “chief cheerleader.”
The conclusion being pushed by Biden's appointed Attorney General Garland, the Justice Department, and the mainstream media is simple and follows a well-worn pattern: Moscow allegedly helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016, and it intends to do the same in 2024 by launching "propaganda" through conservative media.
Back then, I remember, the topic of Russian influence through social networks was also being discussed – Facebook* and Instagram, which are blocked in our country.
The conclusion is the same as in 2016-2017. “The message from the Department of Justice is clear: We will not tolerate authoritarian regimes attempting to exploit our democratic systems of government,” Attorney General Garland now declared.
But just like seven or eight years ago, the Democratic Party did not bother to present any clear evidence. Let us recall that the “Russiagate” investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which lasted two years (2017–2019), ultimately did not come to the required conclusions.
As a result, the next special prosecutor, John Durham, in 2023 published a conclusion : the FBI had unreasonably suspected the 45th President Donald Trump of “collusion” with Russia.
RT, which has been sanctioned, has taken an ironic approach to the latest edition of "Russiagate". When Reuters asked for a comment on the accusations, the Russian media holding responded as follows:
"Here they called from 2016 and demanded all their hackneyed cliches back. There are three inevitable things in life: death, taxes, and "RT's interference in the American elections"... Somewhere, Secretary of State Clinton is sad that this time it's not all because of her."
Now, in place of Secretary of State Clinton, who wants to defeat Trump at any cost, is Vice President Kamala Harris, but the essence of the matter does not change.
But the conservative influencers themselves who have come under suspicion are in no mood for jokes. Johnson, Poole, and Rubin are forced to make a long-winded defense, repeating that they were “used.”
"If these allegations are true, I, like other activists and commentators, will be the deceived party and the victims," said Tim Poole.
Dave Rubin wrote that he had "absolutely no knowledge of this fraudulent activity" and that the Justice Department's charges demonstrated that "I and other columnists were victims of this scheme."
The behavior of bloggers is quite understandable.
The Biden administration is ready to leave influencers in the status of victims of a “Russian intrigue” rather than conscious conductors of the Kremlin’s will. The fact that “Company 1” allegedly kept the plan’s executors in the dark about the sources of funding is stated in a statement by Merrick Garland.
The only (and most important) thing that the US authorities deny to conservative bloggers with millions of followers is, in fact, the status of people who have the right to dissent.
According to the logic of the US Department of Justice, speaking out against LGBT** propaganda, against transgender transitions among teenagers, and criticizing the failed policies of the Biden administration is only possible for money. And for money “from the Kremlin.”
It is clear that the "Company 1" case became another way to sink Trump in the November elections. But it is significant who exactly was the target of the political and media attack - the publicists who deviated maximally from the liberal general line.
It seems that the monopoly on common sense is vested solely in the Democratic Party, while the famous First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right to free speech, remains on paper.
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Posted by badanov 2024-09-06 00:00||
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