The 13 Russian nationals who were charged were indicted for working in "various capacities to carry out" the troll factory's "interference operations targeting the United States."
In particular, the indictment said, the operation was intended to denigrate candidates Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton, and others, while supporting Bernie Sanders and then candidate Donald Trump.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's office has charged three Russian entities and 13 Russian nationals with "violating US criminal laws in order to interfere with US elections and political processes."
The charges were directed primarily at the Internet Research Agency (IRA), an infamous Russian "troll factory" that focused on sowing political discord during the 2016 race by using Russian bots to spread fake news and pro-President Donald Trump propaganda on Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media platforms.
The 13 Russian nationals charged were indicted for working in "various capacities to carry out" the agency's "interference operations targeting the United States."
All the defendants were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the US; the IRA and two defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud; and the IRA and four defendants were charged with aggravated identity theft.
Among the defendants was Kremlin-allied Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, who is accused of using his companies, Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering, to bankroll the IRA's work.
The charges do not allege that any American was a knowing participant in Russia's activities, or that the underlying conduct altered the outcome of the race.
Friday's indictments shed light on the elaborate and multi-faceted nature of Russia's social-media influence operation.
The IRA was a "structured organization," operating through Russian shell companies, that was arranged into separate departments to facilitate its operations, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said during a press conference shortly after the charges were announced.
The defendants also took several steps to conceal "the Russian origins of their activities" beginning in May 2014, according to Rosenstein and the indictment. That included allegedly purchasing space on computer servers in the US to set up a "virtual private network," which they then used to establish hundreds of accounts across social media platforms.
After gaining insight into the country's political climate, they "engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump," the indictment said.
Source : Businessinsider
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