Beware the 'experts' used by Russia to influence American public opinion

US sees it as threat to coming elections, as Microsoft warns of its Ukraine agenda

- Lin Suling

Sketchy social media accounts amplifying divisive issues like immigration and the Gaza war.

Conspiracy theories on websites surrounding Ms Kamala Harris' eligibility to run for the US presidency.

A video showing a luxurious new villa allegedly owned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a Red Sea resort town.

As the presidential election season goes into full swing in the US, the spectre of Russian interference, a known threat, is growing. But its strategy and tools are becoming more sophisticated.

Most recently, the US Department of Justice announced on Aug 22 the start of a criminal investigation into Americans with ties to Russia's state television networks.

This follows a raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the homes of two prominent figures, Mr Dimitri Simes adviser to Donald Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016, who migrated to Russia in 2022 and Mr Scott Ritter, a critic of US foreign policy and former UN weapons inspector.

Mr Simes is former president and chief executive of the Centre for the National Interest (CNI), a well-connected Washington-based conservative think-tank. CNI was the launchpad for a major foreign policy address by first-time presidential hopeful Trump, and had outsized influence on his campaign's foreign policy.

CNI also had extensive links with Ms Maria Butina a Russian gun activist convicted of acting as a foreign agent in 2019 - and reportedly arranged for meetings between her, her Russian associate and officials from the US government.

Since migrating to the US from the Soviet Union in 1973, Mr Simes had worked his way into US foreign policy circles, including landing roles at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.