Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.
―H. L. Mencken, In Defense of Women
It is in Mencken’s spirit that I would size up this announcement from the U.S. Justice Department, titled “Justice Department Disrupts Covert Russian Government-Sponsored Foreign Malign Influence Operation Targeting Audiences in the United States and Elsewhere”:
The Justice Department today announced the ongoing seizure of 32 internet domains used in Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns colloquially referred to as “Doppelganger,” in violation of U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark laws. As alleged in an unsealed affidavit, … Russian companies…, operating under the direction and control of the Russian Presidential Administration, … used these domains, among others, to covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim of reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election.
The release quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray: “Companies operating at the direction of the Russian government created websites to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda. By seizing these websites, the FBI is making clear to the world what they are, Russian attempts to interfere in our elections and influence our society.”
So once again a foreign power—usually Russia—is allegedly trying to manipulate the American people with disinformation as a presidential election is coming on. How dare the Russians do this? Political manipulation is allowed only to certain anointed Americans. It’s a position of privilege. So the government will protect us from “consuming” Russian propaganda without knowing it. We’re too stupid to check claims out for ourselves when they sound fishy—even when they come from so-called legitimate” sources. (Point of information: are Russians incapable of saying anything accurate worth hearing? Just asking.)
Before we get all primed for nuclear war, let’s take a deep breath. Maybe it would help to picture a scene that may or may not have occurred in the Kremlin.
Picture President Vladimir Putin (not a guy I’d ever hang with) summoning a top aide to his office. “Sergei, I have a great idea,” he might say this trusted aid. “Here’s $10 million. I want you to launder it, then have some American-looking company pass the money to big-time American internet influencers. But make sure the money goes to people who are already saying what we want them to say. No sense wasting it on people who don’t like us. Pay these friendly guys to post propaganda favorable videos.”
Putin might have gone on: “What we want to do is capitalize—pardon expression, comrade—on the American sport of arguing about politics and culture. Muhahahahahaha! Yes, I know, America is severely divided over more issues than I can name. But it’s not divided nearly enough for our purposes! We can do better, da? This will help us in many ways, primarily by disillusioning Americans about Ukraine. That would be good, nyet?”
After hearing Putin, Sergei might have laughed under his breath and agreed to oversee the project. Why might he have laughed? Because he might have been thinking, “Do we need to pay even a ruble on polarizing America? What a waste of money! America is doing just fine polarizing itself. They don’t need our help. And $10 million? Is he kidding? That’s a drop in the bucket compared to what Americans spend bitterly promoting their views on public issues. Is this the Putin who’s cracked up to be so foxy? Sheesh! Maybe I should be president.”
According to the government’s indictment:
Many of the videos published by U.S. Company-I contain commentary on events and issues in the United States, such as immigration, inflation, and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine. [Emphasis added.]
Immigration, inflation, and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy? Are we to believe that Russian officials think they need to amplify divisions in America? How much more amplified can they get? And what about the Justice Department’s acknowledgment that “the views expressed in the videos are not uniform”? What are we being asked to get upset about?
J. D. Tuccille writing at Reason points out:
Translated Russian documents [provided by the Justice Department] outlining a “guerilla media campaign in the United States” caution their intended audience that “in the United States there are no pro-Russian and/or pro-Putin mainstream politicians or sufficiently large numbers of influencers and voters. There is no point of justifying Russia and no one to justify it to.” [Emphasis added—SR] The campaign was meant to exploit “the high level of polarization of American society” by paying commentators to say things they were already saying.
It’s not clear they got a lot of mileage from that program.
That’s an understatement, I’d say. But Putin’s objective (if he was behind this) might simply have been to upset American officials and the public. Here’s a suggestion: let’s not get upset. Read the rest of Tuccille’s article for more particulars about the effectiveness of meddling and about the U.S. government’s own sorry decades-long record of manipulating other countries’ political systems. Then remember the advice about stones and glass houses.
“So, take reports of Russian interference in American elections with a grain of salt,” Tuccille advises, “knowing that Putin is paying Americans to say what they already believe, and the U.S. does the same in other countries. Importantly, none of that interference prevents you from making your own decisions.”
I have plenty of criticism of democracy, as readers know, but I wonder: is America so fragile? Or is this one of Mencken’s hobgoblins? If so, who benefits?
