US imposes sanctions on Russian, Iranian entities over attempt to influence presidential elections

The entities are accused of using artificial intelligence to spread false information in an attempt to influence the US elections, The Washington Post reported.

The US Treasury, in an official statement, announced that it was imposing sanctions on both a subsidiary of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an affiliate of Russia's military intelligence agency over their efforts to "stoke socio political tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 election."

The Treasury also alleged that the Russian entity used AI tools to "quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network" of fake news websites and produced "baseless accusations" about a 2024 vice-presidential candidate, The Washington Post reported.

The sanctions targeted minor entities, which are unlikely to have major economic effects on both countries. However, these sanctions mark another step backward in the already deteriorating relationship between Russia and Iran.

"The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Bradley Smith, Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement, while adding, "The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy."

According to The Washington Post, the Treasury imposed sanctions on the Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE), a Moscow-based group funded by Aleksandr Dugin. The Treasury had already sanctioned the group in 2015.

The Treasury accused CGE of working with the Russian military intelligence service that "oversees sabotage, political interference operations, and cyberwarfare" against the West.

In its statement, the Treasury said the intelligence service both directed and provided financial support to the center to influence the 2024 presidential election. With that support, Treasury said, the center maintained a network of "at least 100 websites" for its "disinformation operations," through which it pushed false information.

"CGE and its personnel used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin," the Treasury statement said.

The sanctions also targeted Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, over its "influence operations." (ANI)