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The Treasury Department has announced sanctions against two Russian and Iranian entities, citing attempts to meddle in the November election in the U.S.
“The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” said Bradley T. Smith, the Treasury’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement Tuesday. “The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy.”
The Treasury’s news release says Russia’s intelligence agency helped one of its Moscow-based affiliates create and disseminate disinformation to target Americans in the lead-up to Election Day. The U.S. says this was done with the use of deepfakes and fake news sites that were designed to look authentic.
The U.S. says this was done with the use of deepfakes and fake news sites that were designed to look authentic.
The statement also refers to the Russian intelligence agency’s role in creating a manipulated video meant to sow derision toward a vice presidential candidate, an apparent reference to a video with false allegations about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
As for Iran, the Treasury cited attempts at “using social engineering and other efforts to gain access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both parties.” This seems to be a reference to Tehran-backed efforts to hack the presidential campaigns of then-candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the latter of which was successful but bore minimal fruit when news outlets largely declined to share the hacked materials they’d been sent. The Treasury pins the Iranian influence efforts on an organization called the Cognitive Design Production Center, which is a subsidiary of Iran’s military.
Russian and Iranian officials have denied the allegations. The sanctions ban Americans from doing business with the cited organizations or the people who lead them.
With Trump waiting in the wings to return to the White House, I’d argue there’s a grim feeling of finality to these sanctions. Given the president-elect’s penchant for dismissing actual election interference — and what he disturbingly sees as election meddling — this feels like the last accountability for actual election misconduct we’ll see for some time. And that’s all the more reason for Americans to be vigilant in spotting misinformation and social media-borne manipulation in the years ahead.