By Entorno and AFP | 2023-11-08

WASHINGTON -- The US government has accused Russia of orchestrating a "disinformation campaign" across Latin America, aimed at eroding backing for Ukraine and sowing discord toward the United States and NATO.

"The Russian government is currently financing an on-going, well-funded disinformation campaign across Latin America," the US State Department said in a statement Tuesday (November 7).

The Kremlin's contacts extend to media outlets in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and more countries across the region, it said.

The objective is to "carry out an information manipulation campaign designed to surreptitiously exploit the openness of Latin America’s media and information environment," it said.

"The Kremlin's ultimate goal appears to be to launder its propaganda and disinformation through local media in a way that feels organic to Latin American audiences to undermine support for Ukraine and propagate anti-US and anti-NATO sentiment," the statement said.

Promoting Russia's interests

The campaign is orchestrated by the Social Design Agency (SDA), the Institute for Internet Development and Structura.

Their coordination aims to "promote Russia's strategic interests... by overtly and covertly coopting local media and influencers to spread disinformation and propaganda."

The State Department refers to these entities as "influence-for-hire" companies.

The individuals identified by the United States include Ilya Gambashidze and Andrey Perla, both directors of the SDA; Nikolay Tupikin, the general director of Structura; and pro-Kremlin journalist Oleg Yasinskiy.

According to the US government's assessment, their process unfolds as follows:

First they organize an editorial team "in a Latin American country, most likely in Chile," comprising journalists and opinion leaders from across the region.

Subsequently, a team in Russia generates content that it dispatches for the Latin American team's review, editing and publication in local media.

Russia also maintains a team of translators stationed in Moscow, proficient in Spanish, who "often use aliases to obfuscate their true identities to ensure the information is laundered in a way that feels organic to the target audience."

"The network's operations are primarily done in concert with Spanish-language outlets Pressenza and El Ciudadano," but the group has more media resources available "to further amplify information," according to Washington.

Kremlin's hidden hand

Controlling the Kremlin's narrative is an important aspect of the influence campaign, the State Department said.

The themes are developed "in conjunction with and at the direction of the Russian government," it said.

The intention is to persuade "Latin American audiences that Russia's war against Ukraine is just and that they can unite with Russia to defeat neocolonialism."

In addition, "there are coordinated efforts between Russian embassies in Latin America and state-funded media outlets to increase pro-Kremlin messaging" and "spread anti-US narratives," according to the State Department statement.

"These themes align with Russia's broader false narrative that it is a champion against neocolonialization, when in reality it is engaged in neocolonialism and neo-imperialism in its war against Ukraine and its resource extraction in Africa."

There is also an endeavor to establish partnerships among Russian state-funded media outlets, local media and radio stations, local journalists and "perceived pro-Moscow third-country embassies in the region."

The Kremlin is making efforts to "increasingly hide their hand, laundering their preferred messaging through a vast ecosystem of Russian proxy websites," which indirectly connect with "individuals and organizations that appear to be independent news sources," according to the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.

According to this report, Moscow disseminates "original stories or amplifies preexisting popular or divisive discourse."