August 11–17, 2017A10

DISINFORMATION CONTINUED FROM A1

Rychlak said Russian disinformation opera-tions generally take advantage of issues around which it can create questions or doubts. It fits with their objective “to have Americans ques-tion the outcome of the election.”

“It was a nice way to sort of throw a monkey wrench into the American system—to make Americans doubt, and to discredit the whole system,” he said.

Disinformation campaigns of this sort are connected to the competition between govern-ments for expanded influence on the global stage and the population’s perceptions of those governmental systems. The United States, for example, promotes individual rights, democ-racy, and its own ideas of rule of law.

It’s because of this competition that coun-tries such as Russia, China, and Iran have viewed the United States and its system as being ideologically opposed to their own. And it’s also why they typically seek to chal-lenge the image and validity of the American

system using means that include propaganda and disinformation.

Rychlak said this competition was more ap-parent during the Cold War, and noted how Soviet disinformation campaigns would often take advantage of global incidents to alter public perception in ways that served Soviet interests.

For example, immediately after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Soviet disinforma-tion painted it as a CIA operation; and during the war in Vietnam, the Soviets likewise used disinformation to make Americans further doubt the morality of the conflict. Both of these opera-tions, Rychlak said, were aimed at making the American people question their decision-makers.

Disinformation is different from other forms of propaganda. Rychlak described it as “a false nar-rative invented that seems to come from a trusted source. It’s designed to have an air of credibility, or be built around a nugget of truth, but it’s intended to advance a political agenda.”

Rychlak added that disinformation should not be confused with governmental or journalistic bias, where the perpetrators may actually believe the information they’re presenting. Under a disinformation campaign, he said, the agents are actively trying to advance an agenda.

“When you’ve got an outlet, when you’ve got an entity like the former KGB and what we see surrounding the leadership of Russia today, you have to recognize the distinct possibility that it’s intentionally distorting the facts to advance a political agenda,” he said.

Russian Agents Behind the DossierFusion GPS had spread its 35-page dossier on Trump throughout the U.S. government, media organizations, and intelligence agencies. It was initially funded by an unnamed wealthy Republican donor in September 2015, then by an unnamed Democrat client starting in May 2016, after it appeared Trump would win the Republican nomination. Mother Jones maga-zine published the first story on the dossier in October 2016.

The unverified report was used by the Demo-cratic National Committee to accuse Trump of working with Russia to spread disinformation on Hillary Clinton.

The contents of the dossier were widely un-known until it was published in full by BuzzFeed News on Jan. 10, and its claims were debunked soon after. Yet by then, the damage had already been done. The claims of a Trump–Russia conspiracy became a key talking point of the Clinton campaign, and the dossier was cited as a key piece of evidence in an FBI report on Russian interference in the 2016 elections—despite the FBI being unable to verify its claims.

It was also revealed that Christopher Steele, a former British spy hired by Fusion GPS to collect research for the dossier, had sourced most of his findings from two key Russian contacts he spoke with through intermediaries. One of the con-tacts was a senior figure in the Russian Foreign Ministry and the other was a former top-level Russian intelligence officer who is still active in the Kremlin.

That the dossier itself had the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign only became widely known when William Browder, CEO and founder of Hermitage Capital Management, testi-fied at a Senate judiciary committee hearing on July 27 this year.

Browder said Fusion GPS was indirectly receiv-ing money from a senior Russian government official in the spring and summer of 2016. He also said that both Fusion GPS and the Russian gov-ernment had lobbied against the 2012 Magnitsky Act at the same time.

The Magnitsky Act sanctions anyone in Russia responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or violating the human rights of people who promote human rights in Russia, or who expose illegal activities of the Russian government.

According to Rychlak, the dossier, the ties of Fusion GPS, and the effects of the campaign give it the appearance of a Russian disinforma-tion operation.

He noted that while he is “willing to accept it could have been an individual action,” the claims in the anti-Trump dossier align with the often far-fetched claims in Russian disinformation.

Russia Conspiracy Looks Like Disinformation Campaign,

Says ExpertIt fits with Russia’s objective ‘to have Americans

question the outcome of the election’

Known for her prolific career in musicals and cabaret, soprano Barbara Cook died on Aug. 8 from respiratory failure at age 89.

Cook died in her Manhattan home surrounded by her family and close friends, her publicist said.

Cook, a native of Atlanta, broke out on Broadway in the 1950s with roles in “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel” and most notably “The Music Man,” for which she won a Tony award for best featured actress in a musical for her role as Marian Paroo.

In the 1970s, she became a concert singer, performing at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Her 2001 cabaret act “Mostly Sondheim” earned her a Tony award nomination.

Broadway Star Barbara Cook Dies at 89

Glen Campbell Dies After Alzheimer’s Battle

Walt Disney’s plan to plunge into a crowded streaming services market, dominated by Netflix, could bring some initial pain, but the strength of the company’s content is expected to help it pull through in the long run.

Shares of the world’s biggest entertainment company were down 6 percent in premarket trading on Aug. 9, a day after Disney said it would stop providing new movies to Netflix starting in 2019.

Disney’s 2019 slate of movies such as “Frozen 2” and “Toy Story 4” will not be available to Netflix subscribers, but other Disney-produced content such as the “Marvel Defenders” series will stay with Netflix.

The plan to go online marks an aggressive stance as the company struggles with subscription losses to online streaming services such as Netflix and Time Warner’s HBO.

Singer-guitarist Glen Campbell, the “Rhinestone Cowboy” who went on a farewell tour to play hits such as “Wichita Lineman” and “Gentle on My Mind” before Alzheimer’s disease set in, died on Aug. 8 at the age of 81.

Campbell died in Nashville at an Alzheimer’s facility surrounded by his family, his publicist said. Campbell announced in June 2011 that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s. The “Gentle on My Mind” singer then embarked on a nationwide farewell tour that ended in November 2012. He released a final studio album, “Adios,” in June 2017.

Disney’s Dream to Stream Could Pay Off

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CCARTENREUTERS/LUCAS JACKSO

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The head-quarters (aka Lub-yanka) of the Fed-eral Secu-rity Service (FSB), the former KGB, in Moscow in 2007.

The Kremlin at the Red Square in Moscow on June 8.

MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

MAXIM MARMUR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

RUSSIA INVESTIGATIONS

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in Moscow on Nov. 8, 2016. Veselnitskaya has ties to Fusion GPS, which created the Trump–Russia dossier. She requested a meeting with Donald Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., during the 2016 elections.

YURY MARTYANOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

It was a nice way to sort of throw a monkey wrench

into the American system—to make Americans doubt,

and to discredit the whole system.

Ronald Rychlak, law professor and author REUTERS/M

ARIO ANZUO

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