- Moscow-based GCE spreads false information about candidates: US
- A cognitive design production center planned influence operations.
- America will remain vigilant against opponents who undermine democracy.
Washington: The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on entities from Iran and Russia, accusing them of trying to interfere in this year’s US elections.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the entities — a subsidiary of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and an organization affiliated with Russia’s military intelligence agency — were “aimed at fomenting social and political tensions and interfering with the 2024 U.S. election.” To impress voters.”
The Cognitive Design Production Center planned influence operations from at least 2023, the Treasury said, while the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) conducted deepfakes and disinformation about candidates in elections. Directed and subsidized.
The CGE also manipulated a video to create “baseless allegations about the 2024 vice presidential candidate,” Treasury said. He did not say which candidate was targeted.
Republican Donald Trump was elected president in November, defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and making a stunning comeback from the White House after four years of voting.
“The governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and are attempting to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” Bradley Smith, the Treasury’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement. Tried.”
“America will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy.”