This is Part One of a two-part series by 海角社区app’s National Security Correspondent J.J. Green, following the disinformation spread in American politics. Read Part Two.听
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On Saturday, April 20, the phone lines lit up in the offices of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. Over that weekend, more than 1,000 calls came in, many from people angry that Congress had just passed controversial legislation to send $61 billion to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
Recordings of two calls that 海角社区app was given access to stood out because of their vitriol and an odd connection. They will be monikered going forward as “Caller One” and “Caller Two.”
鈥淢r. Connelly,” said Caller One, a female with a noticeable Southern drawl. 鈥淲e do not border with Ukraine. Any village idiot knows Ukraine is not going to win this war. Why don’t you politicians just dig a big hole and put a trillion dollars in there and watch it rot?鈥�
She grew more and more angry as the message progressed.
鈥淎nd you Democrats, and the stupid Republicans, the spineless Republicans are doing absolutely nothing, just throwing the money away,” she said.
The caller鈥檚 fury was reinforced moments later by Caller Two, a male with no discernable regional dialect.
鈥淗ow does this (expletive) not know the difference between America’s border and the border between Ukraine and Russia?” he asked.
海角社区app examined the metadata of both calls and discovered multiple similarities.
They shared some of the same talking points; and they may聽actually know each other.
海角社区app discovered when you dial the number of Caller Two, you hear the voice of Caller One on the recording for the voicemail box.
Neither was a constituent of Rep. Connolly. They are believed to be residents of North Carolina and Kentucky, respectively.
They are also believed to be victims of a sophisticated Russian operation to funnel disinformation to Americans of all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds, including high-ranking elected officials.
It appears they succeeded.
Congress sounds alarm on ‘Russian misinformation’
Connolly told 海角社区app that two 鈥渧ery senior members of the Republican Caucus, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner of Ohio and the chairman of my committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul from Texas,鈥� sounded the alarm.
It happened, he said, 鈥渨hen they went on Sunday talk shows and explicitly said that they were troubled by the fact that Russian disinformation, Russian bots, had infiltrated many members of their own Republican Caucus, and that we’re hearing Russian propaganda on the floor of the House as a result.鈥�
海角社区app reached out to both Mike Turner, who appeared on CNN鈥檚 State of the Union, and Mike McCaul, who , for comment about their appearances. Turner鈥檚 office declined. McCaul鈥檚 office didn鈥檛 respond.
This infiltration, according to Connolly, was facilitated by 鈥淩ussian sources, Russian misinformation and Russian agents.鈥�
痴颈蝉颈迟听海角社区app鈥檚 Election 2024聽page for our comprehensive coverage.
In early September, the Department of Justice unsealed indictments revealing an FBI-led investigation that accused more than a dozen Kremlin-linked operatives and organizations of engaging in a clever disinformation operation, known as “Doppelganger,” supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber tactics.
The goal of this operation was to widely disseminate Russian propaganda aimed at influencing the upcoming presidential election.
The exposure of the “Doppelganger Campaign” underscores the shifting tactics in disinformation warfare.
As AI and social media continue to shape public discourse, U.S. officials warn that foreign actors like Russia will increasingly exploit these technologies to influence future elections.
“This was a deliberate and highly organized attempt by the Russian government to manipulate U.S. public opinion,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the press earlier this month. “We will not tolerate such interference.”
With the 2024 election quickly approaching, U.S. officials are bracing for further attempts at foreign interference.
Hear JJ Green’s conversations with the experts and stories below:
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