The US Department of Finance announced on Wednesday that the Russian, state-controlled media company RT (formerly Russia Today) was imposed with sanctions due to "malicious attempts" to influence the ongoing election campaign ahead of the presidential and congressional elections in November.
RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonovna Simojan and deputy editor-in-chief Elizaveta Jurjeva Brodskaja, both based in Moscow, were also added to the sanctions list for their attempts to recruit or influence American opinion leaders.
32 domain names
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that RT and its employees had organized "arrangements worth ten million dollars to create and distribute content with a hidden Russian agenda, targeting the American public".
In addition, 32 domain names accused of being part of the Russian operation were blocked.
The announcement of sanctions was expected, as were the accusations of the Kremlin's attempts to influence public opinion in the US.
The US also accuses companies outside the US of spreading false information, including Social Design Agency, according to the American media company CNN.
In total, ten individuals and two companies were pointed out on the US government's list.
American task force
On Wednesday, Garland led a high-level meeting with a special group focused on threats to the American election in November. The group includes, among others, the head of the federal police FBI, Christopher Wray.
The US has previously accused one of RT's employees of spreading lies about, among other things, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Federal authorities have also confirmed reports that Iran attempted to hack the computer systems of both the Republican and Democratic election campaigns.
