Vladimir Putin's powerful propaganda chief has bragged that the regime doesn't just control the narrative in Russia, but also wields considerable power in the U.S. by influencing American voters and policy.
Margarita Simonyan, who controls the narrative fed to the Russian people as editor-in-chief of state-controlled channel Russia Today (RT), claims Putin is able to pull the strings of the U.S. electorate and therefore ultimately influence policy decisions.
Simonyan's claims, which she made during an appearance on Russian TV over the weekend, come amid heightened fears of Russian meddling in the U.S. as American voters prepare to go to the polls on November 5 to elect a new president. Last month, the U.S. explicitly accused Russia of spreading disinformation to influence the election and charged two Russian-based employees of RT with conspiring to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Kremlin propagandists are reportedly pushing for Republican candidate Donald Trump to win, but they are also, more broadly, keen to sow division and distrust among the electorate. Last week, the State Department announced it is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about foreign nationals who are "engaging in interference in U.S. elections."
Simonyan appeared to confirm U.S. officials' fears when she bragged about her organization's power on a current affairs show in Russia at the weekend, describing RT as having an "electorally significant influence on the opinion of the [American] people."
Newsweek reached out by email to the White House, the Kremlin and RT seeking comment.
Her comments were shared online by American journalist Julia Davis, who set up an organization called the Russian Media Monitor to alert the West to the propaganda being pumped out by Putin to his citizens. Davis revealed details of Simonyan's boasts by sharing a clip of the TV exchange on her X account (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
"In America, we had an American channel," Simonyan said. "It was designed for Americans, it was watched by Americans. When they closed down our TV channel, we've created a large network on the internet, an enormous media organization, so to speak. There, bloggers with unbelievable audiences were saying something different from what is said on CNN, let's put it that way. We were working with their audiences."
Apparently referring to the recent charges against RT, she said: "Why did they pop us just now? Yes, the U.S. State Department has openly said that because of the work of Russian Today, the situation in Ukraine, the war in Ukraine does not receive the kind of international support they were counting on. I don't think there can be a better recognition of achievements by the employees of Russia Today."
She smiled as she said: I told all the guys that their lives were well spent if the State Department believes that it was us who influenced the absence of financing, deliveries of weapons, and other things to Ukraine... We know that's true, but when the State Department recognizes it, well done."
Speaking about her organization's power in the U.S., she said: "They've closed us down in America, because we are an electorally significant media. We were broadcasting to America. In America, we had an electorally significant influence on the opinion of the people. People would watch this and say, 'I didn't know this!'"
Chillingly, she went on to warn American officials that Russian propagandists would never stop attempting to control Americans.
"They were losing it, because they would close the door to us and we would get in through the window," she said. "They nail the window shut, we get in through the vent. They seal off all the vents, we crawl in through the pipe.
"Now we'll pop up from under the flooring because no one canceled the task that has been set before us. We'll keep working."
She went on to allege that her colleagues were searched because "if anyone in America is working with us they immediately qualify for 20 years in prison."
U.S. fears about election interference are not new. The recent moves against alleged Russian agents follow previous attempts by Russia to disrupt the 2016 elections, which former FBI counterintelligence expert Robert Anderson described as a "well-choreographed military operation."
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