By Vincent DiFonzo ’25, Managing Editor
Russia Today is an English-language Russian state-owned media outlet widely known for its biased reporting and spread of misinformation in order to defend the government of Vladimir Putin. The network specifically broadcasts in English to reach foreign audiences, giving the Kremlin a voice to whisper in the Western public’s ear.
Last week, the United States Department of Justice formally accused Russia of election interference through the spread of disinformation, largely due to U.S. support for Ukraine in their ongoing war and U.S. deterrence of Russian aggression against its neighbors since the Russian Federation’s founding in 1991.
The DOJ alleges that RT paid American Tennessee-based media company Tenet to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”
This included disinformation on the 2024 elections and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which the United States has proved vital to stopping a complete Russian takeover of their country.
U.S. foreign policy towards Russia eased up after the end of the Cold War in 1991. After all, the threat was gone, right? The nation that once stood as the great boogeyman of the American mind — the Soviet Union — had finally collapsed.
First president of the newly-formed Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, traveled to Washington to meet President Clinton in 1994. Relations between the once bitter rivals improved through the 1990s as the Cold War slowly left the American mind.
Putin took over as Russia’s second president in 1999 and has become increasingly authoritarian since. Under Putin, Russia invaded Georgia and Ukraine, committed war crimes in Chechnya and supported dictatorships around the world, including Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Kim Jong-Un of North Korea.
For more than two decades, Putin has guided Russia down an authoritarian path of increasing political repression, suppression of anti-Kremlin speech and the dissolution of any semblance of a free press. This includes the jailing of both foreign and domestic journalists.
In the Kremlin’s fight against any semblance of a free society, they have acted covertly to cause domestic chaos to its adversaries. This includes Russian interference in Ukrainian politics and annexation of Crimea, attempts to undermine European elections since 2016, using cyberattacks against neighbors who they once occupied such as Estonia and attempted interference in U.S. elections since 2016.
It’s not just Russia using disinformation to undermine the U.S. Iran does the same, using the internet, social media and state-controlled news outlets in order to divide the U.S. and avow political chaos.
China has recently taken to social media to spew election-related disinformation, as well as disinformation regarding the status of Taiwan, where tensions have recently escalated.
The U.S. is not the only target. Our allies across the world are increasingly threatened by disinformation campaigns fueled by the West’s adversaries. One example comes from Europe as Russia has grown more and more anti-Western and anti-democracy since Putin took power.
A Russian operation to coerce German, Italian, French and British politicians and journalists into spreading pro-Kremlin information was recently uncovered by the FBI.
Politico Europe reported last week that “the goal of the Kremlin’s campaign in Europe was to sow division, discredit America and undermine support for Ukraine, according to a host of Russian documents, memos and minutes from Russian psychological warfare meetings.”
Russia is increasingly using technology to harass their NATO neighbors, swarm social media with disinformation and undermine Western democracies in their benefit.
Disinformation allows America’s authoritarian adversaries to directly manipulate the Western public through false and misleading information, while disguising its origin. This is especially dangerous given that political violence is reaching record levels in the U.S — the January 6 insurrection and recent attempted assassination of Donald Trump stand out as especially dangerous incidents fueled by the country’s polarized climate.
When the U.S. is distracted by its domestic disputes, American adversaries have more room for gain. American polarization and disunity allowed the Russian government to gain the confidence to launch an invasion of Ukraine, believing that Western backlash would not be enough to stop them. Putin incorrectly believed they could take Kyiv in three days, but U.S. aid and intelligence-sharing for Ukraine has saved the 38 million people of the country from occupation under Putin’s Russia.
By no means is the U.S. perfect. America has made many decisions that hurt other nations greatly. However, the U.S. is a democracy — a deeply flawed one — but still a democracy elected by the public. And it’s vital that the country that leads the world’s political and economic systems is a democratic one in which the public influences government decision-making.
Russia and China are anti-democratic, deeply corrupt societies that suppress free information on the internet and are quick to violence in suppressing opposition, while the U.S. legally guarantees the right to protest and criticize the government. Outwardly anti-government speech, aside from the active promotion of violence against people, cannot land you in legal trouble in the U.S.
Americans have a lot of sway in their government, and that sway translates into positive change domestically and internationally.
For example, the U.S. stands out as the single largest provider of humanitarian aid globally, at a time when need for humanitarian assistance is at a record high. This aid actually makes an impact on people’s lives.
Before U.S. aid to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa, the disease was the largest cause of death on the continent. The President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, shorted to PEPFAR, has directly benefited millions of people across the African continent, and the U.S remains crucial to its continuance.
As the most powerful democracy in the world, the U.S. must act to prevent the escalation in aggression of authoritarian nations — Russia, Iran, Venezuela, China and North Korea — whose governments brutally suppress basic rights and maintain highly unequal and unfree societies while threatening and bullying their neighbors.
But U.S. democracy is undermined when foreign actors intentionally drive Americans apart through the spread of disinformation. Don’t let the country become ripped apart with the assistance of foreign agitators who want democracy out and autocracy in.
In order for the U.S. to grow into a better democracy, people need access to accurate, verifiable information and must not be misled into believing false claims. People must engage in the benefits of a free society by making their voice heard through voting, protesting when needed and engaging in their viewpoints with those they disagree with.
As Gettysburg College debuts Conversations for Change, Ike’s Anvil will act as a place for students to engage in “dialogue across difference” through crafting a political or policy argument that supports your viewpoint. These blogs are a way for everyone to learn about different perspectives, even when you strongly disagree with a point of view.
When you engage political adversaries with an open mind, you can learn from a differing perspective, potentially strengthen your own argument and come to a better understanding of how different people hold different viewpoints.
Submissions to Ike’s Anvil can be directed to difovi01@gettysburg.edu or sent in via Google Form in the submissions page. All Gettysburg students, despite class year or major, are invited to write for Ike’s Anvil.
