Six American activists or influencers who together have several million followers have worked for a media company that was actually a facade for a Russian influence operation, according to an indictment that the Justice Department is bringing forward, American media reports.
The six have profiled themselves with content aimed at the far-right flank in the US with a high tone, controversial opinions, support for Donald Trump, and occasionally conspiracy theories.
One of the profiles is podcast maker and YouTube creator Tim Pool, who in notable forms visited Rosengård and Rinkeby in early 2017.
"Last night in Sweden"
The starting point was a speech by Donald Trump, where the then-president had used Sweden as an example of how immigration in itself gets dangerous consequences.
Look at what happened in Sweden last night, Trump said, which initially raised many questions about what he meant, since nothing notable had happened.
Sweden still ended up on the political agenda, especially among Trump's followers. An editor at the far-right media company Infowars promised to pay for a trip to Malmö for a journalist who wanted to see with their own eyes how safe Sweden is.
Tim Pool took on the challenge, and his visit received great attention even in Swedish media. During a walk in Rosengård, he told TT that he had respect for the fact that many can feel a sense of unease about the development of violence in Malmö, but that he perceived warnings about robberies and attacks as "ridiculous", compared to, for example, the number of murders that occur in Chicago.
To sow discord
The accused media company and paid salaries have, according to the indictment, been financed with millions of dollars through two people who secretly have been employed by Russia's state-owned propaganda media company RT.
The purpose is said to have been for the profiles to create and spread English-language content that was often in line with the Russian government's "interest in strengthening domestic discord in the US to weaken American resistance to Russian interests".
The six media activists are not accused of crimes and are not believed to have had knowledge of the connections. Tim Pool writes in social media that he and the others involved have been misled and should be considered victims of crime.
