US assigns new mission to NGOs: Reducing Russian elections turnout
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The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service states that Biden's administration entrusted US NGOs with diminishing the number of voters in the upcoming Russian elections.
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Image taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, March 11, 2024, a Russian serviceman votes in the Zaporizhzhia region, eastern Ukraine. (AP)
Joe Biden's administration has entrusted US NGOs with the mission of diminishing the turnout in the Russian presidential elections, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) revealed today.
"According to information received by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the administration of Joe Biden sets the task for US NGOs to achieve a decrease in the turnout in the upcoming March 15-17 presidential elections in the Russian Federation," the message read.
The SVR stated that the Russian opposition's Internet resources distributed messages to Russian citizens to neglect the presidential election as per Washington's wish.
"With the participation of leading US IT specialists, it is planned to carry out cyberattacks on the remote electronic voting system, which will make it impossible to count the votes of a significant proportion of Russian voters," the statement added.
It explained that according to Washington's calculations, the "reduction in turnout" acquired through appeals and cyberattacks will grant the West an excuse to doubt the results of the elections in Russia.
US-backed NGO runs Russian opposition troll farm: Reports
An investigation released by Russian SVTV on November 16 showed that an NGO founded by back-then-jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny had been operating a network of payrolled online trolls (online commentators) to attack the Kremlin government and their political opponents.
The investigation was based on leaked documents provided by a whistleblower who formerly worked for the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).
The documents revealed that FBK had been managing the troll farm for at least two years.
The troll farm, according to the documents, is bankrolled by the Free Russia Foundation: an American NGO that receives tax-free donations from sponsors of “civil society and democratic development in Russia.”
The Free Russia Foundation board of directors is chaired by David Kramer, senior fellow at the McCain Institute and former State Department assistant secretary. Paige Alexander, a former assistant administrator at USAID, is also among the board members.
The direct work was reportedly contracted to Reforum, a "social media management consultations" firm, which employed 200 online commentators. According to SVTV, the trolls were instructed to use photos of real people who lost access to their accounts.
The trolls (online commentators), who worked from multiple offices in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Tbilisi, Georgia, were reportedly paid $10 per hour, making up to $1,950 a month, and were supplied with links to online posts which they were expected to comment on.
