Russia Building Network of Western Influencers

I. Declassified Intel Shows Russia Grooming Western Influencers

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III. Ukraine Advances in the South

IV. The Purge of Successful Russian Military Leaders

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VII. US Drone Initiative: Striking 1,000 Targets in 24 Hours

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X. Podcast Recommendations

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Declassified Intel Shows Russia Grooming Western Influencers

According to a newly declassified intelligence, Russia has been developing ‘grooming campaigns’ that Russian intelligence operatives use to build up a network of future western influencers who the FSB hope will develop into Kremlin supporters. The analysis points out that while previous influence operations have been short term, the goal here is to plant the seed with rising leaders in various spaces and hope they play out over time.

Rather than just sowing dissent on the internet, the report claims this influence operation is designed to leverage Russian-friendly sources in western countries that will spread pro-Russia messaging to their domestic audience. The report stressed that most western voices that eventually become mouthpieces for Russian propaganda were almost certainly unaware of the role they were playing.

A US official declined to offers specifics to back up this claim but noted that once they were able to determine FSB backing, it’s easy to trace the narratives they are pushing in open source materials.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/us/politics/russia-intelligence-propaganda.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/politics/us-intel-russia-propaganda/index.html

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/08/26/world/politics/russian-influence-operations-europe-us/

Russian Junior/Mid-Level Leaders Suffering Heavy Losses