AFP
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NOS News•yesterday, 23:06
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The US government has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information about Russians who may have interfered in US elections, including the 2016 presidential election.
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Last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs already praised a reward for ‘foreign interference’, but no names or nationalities of suspects were mentioned yet. A new call specifically mentions that they are Russians from the Internet Research Agency (IRA).
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This group was funded by oligarch and Putin confidant Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin. In April, he was put on the EU sanctions list for his support of the war in Ukraine. He is also on the FBI’s wanted list of criminals for his possible meddling in the election.
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In addition to Prigozhin, twelve other Russians who are wanted are mentioned by name. They and others of this IRA group that has been labeled a ‘troll factory’ in the media and by US politicians have already been subject to US sanctions.
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According to US secret services, this group was crucial in Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, which was won by Donald Trump. The group is said to have spread false information using many accounts, including via social media, in order to sow division. Even after that, the group remained active.
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