SHARE OF ATTACKS, TARGETED
VICTIMS SPAN AT LEAST 24
COUNTRIES.
AND NOW TO THIS.
YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF
REPUBLICAN SENATOR TED CRUZ
SHARING THIS NOW VIRAL VIDEO
LAST WEEK, THAT COMPARED
RECRUITMENT ADS FOR RUSSIAN AND
MILITARY -- THE RUSSIAN VIDEO,
U.S. MILITARY -- THE RUSSIAN
VIDEO SHOWED MUSCULAR MEN DOING
SHIRTLESS PUSH-UPS WITH GUNS AND
FIGHTER JETS WHILE THE U.S. AD
SHOWED A GIRL TALKING ABOUT
GROWING UP WITH TWO MOMS AND
DEFENDING THEIR FREEDOMS AT AN
EARLY AGE.
SENATOR CRUZ TWEETED, PERHAPS A
WOKE, EMASCULATED MILITARY IS
NOT THE BEST IDEA.
BUT ACCORDING TO "INSIDER,"
EXPERTS SAY THE VIDEO IS
ACTUALLY A FAR-RIGHT RUSSIAN
PROPAGANDA.
IT APPEARS TO HAVE ORIGINATED
FROM AN ALLY OF RUSSIAN
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND
THEN QUICKLY MADE ITS WAY TO
4CHAN AND OTHER WHITE
SUPREMACIST FORUMS.
JOINING US NOW IS SENIOR
REPORTER AT "INSIDER," TOM
PORTER.
WHAT MORE CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
THIS STORY?
>> SO, I WAS CURIOUS TO SEE THIS
ON TED CRUZS TWITTER FEED LAST
WEEK AND I WAS -- I MEAN,
OBVIOUSLY, ITS RUSSIAN
PROPAGANDA.
IT SUPPORTS THE CORE NARRATIVES
OF THE RUSSIAN STATE, THAT
RUSSIA, THAT RUSSIA IS SOMEHOW
IN A POSITION OF STRENGTH
RELATIVE TO THE UNITED STATES.
AND I WANTED TO GO BACK AND SEE
IF WE COULD ACTUALLY CONCRETELY
LINK THIS VIDEO TO PRO-KREMLIN
NETWORKS, SO I SPOKE TO A
BRILLIANT GUY AT THE CENTER FOR
THE ANALYSIS OF THE RADICAL
RIGHT HERE IN THE UK, A GUY
CALLED ALEXANDER ROSS, AND OVER
THE COURSE OF SEVERAL DAYS, HE
MANAGED TO TRACE THIS VIDEO BACK
TO A NETWORK OF PRO-KREMLIN,
FAR-RIGHT KMEM TATORCOMMENTATORS
OUTLETS IN EUROPE.
AND FROM THIS NETWORK, IT KIND
OF SPREADS INTO THE U.S.
FAR-RIGHT THROUGH 4CHAN, THERES
A TIKTOK MADE OUT OF IFT.
YOU CAN SEE THE TIKTOK SYMBOL IN
THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE CRUZ
VIDEO.
AND IT THEN LEAKS ON TO
TELEGRAHAMTELE
TELEGRAM.
ITS SHARED BY SOME VIOLENT
ANTI-WEST FORUMS ON TELEGRAM AND
MAKES THE LEAP ON TO TWITTER,
WHERE ITS SHARED BY TED CRUZ.
>> HEY, TOM, ITS JONATHAN
LEMIRE.
I WANTED TO ASK YOU, THIS IS
SORT OF A TRUISM ABOUT RUSSIA,
THAT VERY LITTLE HAPPENS THERE
WITHOUT AT LEAST A NOD AND A
WINK FROM THE KREMLIN ITSELF,
FROM VLADIMIR PUTIN.
AND GIVING THEM SOME
DENIABILITY, SAY, IF ITS NOT A
GRU-RUN OPERATION.
WHAT IS YOUR SENSE?
WHAT IS YOUR REPORTING TELLING
YOU ABOUT HOW MUCH KNOWLEDGE, IF
ANY THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD ON THIS.
GIVE US SOME INFORMATION ABOUT
THESE RUSSIAN-BACKED
ORGANIZATIONS WEVE SEEN ATTACK
THE WEST.
HOW MUCH OF THEM ARE SANCTIONED
OFFICIALLY OR UNOFFICIALLY BY
THE KREMLIN?
>> SO WITH REGARDS SPECIFICALLY
TO THE CRUZ VIDEO, I MEAN, THIS
IS PROPAGANDA THATS FERMENTED
BY THE RUSSIAN STATE, BY RUSSIAN
STATE MEDIA.
I COULDNT FIND ANYTHING KIND OF
CONCRETELY LINKING IT TO THE GIU
OR ANY RUSSIAN STATE ACTORS, BUT
IT COMES OUT OF THE CLIMATE OF PROPAGANDA THAT RUSSIA PUSHES
PROPAGANDA THAT RUSSIA PUSHES
AND PROPAGATES.
&ITS VERY MUCH PART OF THIS
CAMPAIGN, THAT GOES BACK A LONG
TIME NOW, SEEKING TO PORTRAY THE
U.S. AND THE OPEN SOCIETY THAT
THE U.S. HAS AS, INFECT, KIND OF
WEAKENING THE U.S.
ITS A KIND OF CORE NARRATIVE
FOR THE KREMLIN AND THEY PORTRAY
THEMSELVES AS HAVING THIS
TRADITIONALIST SOCIETY.
AND WITH RESPECT TO THE HACKS,
RUSSIAS CAMPAIGN IS CONDUCTED
ON SEVERAL LEVELS.
YES, THERES THE PROPAGANDA
CAMPAIGN, WHICH FEEDS INTO SOME
WAYS MAINSTREAM REPUBLICAN
PROPAGANDA IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND THIS ALSO THE HACKING AND MY
UNDERSTAND IS THERE ARE SOME
PRETTY CLEAR LINKAGES BETWEEN
THE HACKING AND RUSSIAN