Barbara McQuade, Columnist

Fighting Russian Disinformation Must Be a Team Sport

Educators, librarians and civic organizations can all help the public learn how to spot propaganda. And politicians should back the Justice Department’s efforts.

September 11, 2024 at 11:30 AM UTC

By Barbara McQuade

Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law school, a former US attorney and author of the forthcoming book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government."

Not a truth teller.
Photographer: Sergei Ilyin/AFP/Getty Images

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Russian disinformation continues to poison US politics via our social media platforms. As the tactics grow more sophisticated, our best defense may be building resilience rather than hoping to eliminate it.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced two law enforcement actions relating to a covert Russian disinformation campaign. First was an indictment charging two Russian state media employees with engaging in a scheme that can best be described as laundering disinformation. By duping special media influencers into sharing Kremlin propaganda, the defendants were able to conceal the source of the lies.