Ex-US marine smearing Harris campaign at Russia’s behest – WaPo

John Mark Dougan reportedly targeted US voters with deepfakes, an accusation he denies

A former US marine has orchestrated a “misinformation” campaign targeting the team of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at Russia’s behest, the Washington Post has claimed, citing documents provided by an unidentified European intelligence service. John Mark Dougan, however, has denied any ties to the Russian government, suggesting that the paper relied on fabricated materials.

According to a package of over 150 documents reviewed by the Post, Dougan was funded by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, with some wires reportedly dating back to the time when his network was having trouble accessing Western AI services and needed an in-house AI generator to create content.

The paper claimed that the ex-marine was “responsible for content on dozens of fake news sites,” including DC Weekly, Chicago Chronicle, and Atlanta Observer, accusing Dougan of spearheading an information campaign targeting American voters. Experts interviewed by the Post also said they believed Dougan was the one who stood behind a fake video accusing Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, of sexual assault.

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According to the article, there are now concerns that Dougan may soon shift his focus from “smearing Harris” to undermining the integrity of US elections. McKenzie Sadeghi, a researcher at NewsGuard, said that the ex-marine “has a clear understanding of what would resonate with Western audiences,” suggesting that this is what made his efforts more effective.

Dougan is reportedly linked to GRU officer Yury Khoroshenky and is subsidized by an institute led by Alexandr Dugin, a Russian philosopher, political commentator, and proponent of establishing a “Euro-Asian empire” capable of fighting the US-led Western world order.

The ex-marine, who obtained Russian citizenship in 2023 after living in the country for several years, has denied having anything to do with creating the above-mentioned media network, and insisted that “no one sends me money for anything.” He also insisted that the documents must have been fabricated. “Hypothetically, if they were my sites, then I am merely fighting fire with fire because the West is f*****g lying about everything that’s happening,” he added.

Dugin also denied claims of links to Russian intelligence, adding that “any suggestion about… attempts to manipulate foreign journalists or influence the political landscape in the US are completely unjustified.”

Dougan previously accused the US government of stationing biological laboratories on Ukrainian soil while denouncing Vladimir Zelensky as an American “corrupt puppet” who had “sold out [his] people for money.”

The ex-marine fled to Russia in 2016 after claiming he was being persecuted by the FBI for creating the website PBSOtalk.org, which allowed users to anonymously submit cases of violations by US law enforcement.