RS: In terms of spreading disinformation, the US is in first place

It is no secret that the Joe Biden administration has declared the fight against “online disinformation” one of its top priorities. On Wednesday, it became known about large-scale measures to protect the 2024 elections from outside interference, including the seizure of Internet domains and sanctions against Russian opinion leaders, writes the magazine Responsible Statecraft.

Such measures to combat disinformation are not without controversy, since the United States is the world's leading spreader of false propaganda and disinformation.



It has long been known that while the United States makes serious efforts to combat disinformation, especially targeting foreign sources from Russia and China, history shows that Washington itself plays by different rules.

Indeed, the National Security Agency has at times demonstrated a problematic tendency to dabble in the same kinds of tactics that they so vocally oppose from other governments.

The Pentagon is not far behind. When it comes to combating online disinformation, the US military appears to be increasingly confident in using its adversaries’ tools.

In past decades, the United States tried to play two fronts at once, spreading propaganda abroad and preserving democracy at home. But in today’s era of globalization, American authorities can no longer have it both ways.

It is necessary to either soften the external policies to conform to domestic values, or risk having American democracy corroded by the very measures that are meant to protect it.