In the 2016 United States presidential election, a Russian company known as the Internet Research Agency (IRA) interfered in the United States electoral process by creating and disseminating misleading content on social media. This Tuesday Yevgeny Prigozhinhead of the Wagner Group, has confessed that He was responsible for that.
“I was never the only one who funded the IRA. I also conceived it, founded it and directed it for a long time“, Prigozhin said in an article shared on social networks by the press service of his Concord restoration group.
From Washington it was concluded that the objective of the IRA was to sow discord and discontent in the American electorate, foment political polarization and undermine confidence in the democratic process. “It was created to protect the Russian information space from rude and aggressive anti-Russian propaganda from the West.“Prigozhin confirmed.
This shows that, although he was not classified as one of Putin’s main allies in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, Wagner’s boss he has been working in the shadows for the Kremlin for many years.
Prigozhin had previously admitted to interfering in US elections, but his statement on Tuesday appears to go further than that. outline your specific ties to the IRAwhich is based in Saint Petersburg.
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‘Modus operandi’
For Decant the elections in favor of Donald Trump, the IRA created fake social media accounts that spread messages designed to influence public opinion. Topics included sensitive issues such as immigration, race or religionas well as criticism of the presidential candidates.
The influence of the IRA was significant. According to reports, the contents generated by the entity reached tens of millions of Americans through Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. The contents were also shared and replicated by other users on social networks, which expanded its reach and effect.
The report of special counsel Robert Muellerformer director of the FBI and in charge of investigating the role of Russia in the 2016 elections, reported that the IRA sought to increase the levels of social tension through a “information warfare”.
Special counsel Mueller, in a file image.
Mueller concluded that Russia sought to favor Trump’s victory: “The campaign was the evolution of a more general program designed in 2014 and 2015 to undermine the American electoral system. The operation executed in early 2016 favored candidate Trump and disparaged candidate Hillary Clinton“says the report.
Two years after that, in 2018 and with Trump in the White House, Prigozhin was sanctioned for the first time by the United States for his links to the IRA, charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. “IRA employees also traveled to the United States on intelligence-gathering missions,” US prosecutors said.
‘Putin’s Chef’
Prigozhin, who spent the last decade of the extinct Soviet Union in prison for robbery and fraud, he has thus confirmed himself as one of Putin’s main allies for years.
It all started when his catering group won government contracts, earning him the nickname of ‘Putin’s chef’while deploying Wagner mercenaries to fight alongside the Russian military in Syria and in conflicts across Africa to promote Russia’s geopolitical interests.
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After denying it for years, in 2022 he admitted his ties to the Wagner Group, an organization of mercenaries fighting for the Kremlin, and said that it had interfered in the ‘midterm‘ Americans of that same year.
Having rapidly gained public notoriety both in Moscow and abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine, some analysts have opined that the Kremlin has decided to clip its wings more recentlyconcerned about the growing stature of the businessman and his high-level criticism of the Defense Ministry.
However, Russian interference in the US presidential election has been a highly concerning topic for American democracy since 2016.
Since then, steps have been taken to address foreign interference in US elections. Lace Social networks have implemented policies to address misinformation and political manipulation, and governments have taken steps to strengthen election security and prevent future interference.
The debate has returned recently with the Meta’s decision to re-admit Donald Trump to its social networks, among which Facebook stands out. Trump is expected to prepare a major network campaign ahead of the presidential elections that will take place in 2024.
