Why the US keeps accusing Russia of interfering in the election

Earlier this month, the U.S. administration raised the alarm about alleged Russian attempts to influence the upcoming presidential election using fake accounts spreading propaganda and disinformation. The move is seen in the U.S. as part of a broader Russian strategy to undermine American democracy, with U.S. intelligence officials calling Moscow a “primary threat to the election.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also investigating Iran’s involvement in attacks on the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. However, US officials say Russia is a more dangerous enemy and their first choice candidate is clearly Donald Trump. The US government has seized 32 internet domains linked to influencers who were allegedly paid by Moscow to spread fake news. It has also imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and two entities allegedly linked to the activities

Russia facing accusations since 2016

This is the third presidential election in a row in which U.S. officials have accused Russia and President Vladimir Putin of trying to influence the results. It was also a huge issue in the 2016 election. The FBI still lists 12 Russian officers as “most wanted” for their roles in hacking and interfering in that election. The officers, members of Russian military intelligence, were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team in 2018. The charges accuse them of hacking Democratic Party emails and systems and leaking information to influence the election in Donald Trump’s favor. Hundreds of documents were then leaked to WikiLeaks. A federal arrest warrant was issued for the 12 officers after a grand jury in U.S. District Court found them liable for conspiracy to interfere in the election. Their presence on the FBI’s “most wanted” list underscores ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Russia over election interference and cyber espionage.

Moscow has consistently denied the allegations, and President Vladimir Putin has personally denied the claims in various interviews and press conferences. Even Donald Trump has come to Putin’s defense, once telling reporters: “He (Putin) said he didn’t interfere. Every time he sees me, he says, ‘I didn’t do it,’ and I truly believe that when he tells me that, he really means it.”

Western hypocrisy

The Kremlin accuses the US and other Western powers of hypocrisy, citing numerous examples over the decades in which America has been accused of interfering in the elections of so many countries. Indeed, the West – particularly the US – has a long history of influencing elections, supporting military coups, providing covert financial support and spreading political propaganda in foreign countries to promote its own geopolitical interests. The long history of alleged involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in elections and regime change in other countries is well-documented, with many declassified documents serving as evidence.

Professor Dov H. Levin’s research for Carnegie-Mellon University analyzed election interference by both the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He claims that both countries interfered in 117 elections between World War II and 2000; the U.S. was involved in two-thirds of them. In recent times, between 1990 and 2000, he claims there were 21 election interventions, 18 by the U.S. The alleged Soviet (later Russian) interference remained shrouded in secrecy, while the U.S. was more transparent in some cases.

Declassified CIA documents highlight the role of U.S. actions in overthrowing the Iranian government of Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, the Chilean government of Salvador Allende in 1973 and, more recently, in regime change efforts in Venezuela and Ukraine in 2014, when the pro-Russian government of President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown.

In the latest example, Sheikh Hasina, after resigning from office on August 5 and fleeing the country, suggested that the US had a hand in her political downfall. It was not the first time she had made such claims – in 2022, she accused the US of trying to undermine her rule. Her allegations have been echoed by some non-Western leaders, who accuse the US and other powerful nations such as France and Britain of using their influence to destabilise their governments.

Propaganda and fake news

It is true that the ongoing accusations and counter-accusations of election interference are just one front in a larger information war between the West and Russia. It is a battle of narratives, with Western media largely supporting the West and Russian media largely supporting Putin’s perspective. Interestingly, Russian media have historically been shunned by the West because of the Kremlin’s tight control over them. But Western media, long proud of their impartiality, are facing accusations of spreading propaganda and even fake news to promote Western interests. For example, in the weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Western media spread false news about Putin’s health. They suggested that Putin had a mysterious illness and might not survive long. Every major Western media outlet peddled this lie. And no apology was made when it turned out to be unfounded.

Janusz Bugajski, a noted expert on Eastern Europe and Russia and the author of numerous academic books, is a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Bugajski wrote a book called Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture , which explored the potential disintegration of Russia. Last year, he told me that the disintegration of the Russian Federation was inevitable. “I would say it would be a long process, an ongoing process, which would be different in different parts of the country. I would say that the war in Ukraine would certainly accelerate that process, because the number of casualties increases, especially in the poorer parts of Russia, and especially in the ethnic parts of Russia, which are usually discriminated against in Russia anyway,” he said. Many in the West agree with his assessment. Putin has often complained about how the West has tried to break up his country.

No one is prepared to challenge the dominance of Western media.

In the ongoing information war, Russia seems to be at a disadvantage, as many believe it is already losing or will eventually lose. This perspective is rooted in history, as Western media have consistently dominated the narrative, often to the detriment of regional media.

Consider the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where Western media spread the now-infamous claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Despite the lack of evidence, this narrative persisted, and regional media, including Al Jazeera Arabic (Al Jazeera English was launched in 2006), struggled to counter disinformation.

This phenomenon is not limited to the Middle East. Dutch investigative journalist Bette Dam, whose work focuses on Afghanistan and how Western media have covered the conflict, argues that Western media often promote war by presenting one-sided stories without examining the underlying causes of conflict.

During the Cold War, Western media played a key role in promoting narratives consistent with the anti-communist stances of governments. The media were used as instruments of soft power, designed to promote liberal democratic values ​​and portray the Soviet bloc as an ideological enemy. These strategies were openly acknowledged by governments, often justified as necessary to counter Soviet disinformation.

West-East Flow

Historically, since the rise of professional journalism, the flow of information and news has always been from the West to the East. Western media consistently shape the narrative and influence public opinion, setting the global agenda every day. Of course, there are disruptions to this flow today, but countering the narrative of Western media has proven difficult. This dominance was evident, for example, in the difference in coverage of the January 2014 attacks in France and Nigeria, where the former attracted widespread international attention while the latter was largely ignored. Westernization of the media perpetuates cultural imperialism by spreading Western ideals and values.

Ultimately, many people, especially young people, have lost trust in mainstream media and have turned to social media platforms for news and other information, including the latest allegations and counter-allegations of election interference in the U.S. This erosion of trust should be a wake-up call for traditional Western media outlets.

(Syed Zubair Ahmed is a senior Indian journalist based in London with thirty years of experience in Western media)

Disclaimer: These are the author’s personal opinions.