U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday accused a
conservative financial news website with a significant American readership of
amplifying Kremlin propaganda and alleged five media outlets targeting
Ukrainians have taken direction from Russian spies.

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The officials said Zero Hedge, which has 1.2 million
Twitter followers, published articles created by Moscow-controlled media that
were then shared by outlets and people unaware of their nexus to Russian
intelligence. The officials did not say whether they thought Zero Hedge knew of
any links to spy agencies and did not allege direct links between the website
and Russia.

Zero Hedge denied the claims and said it tries to
“publish a wide spectrum of views that cover both sides of a given story.”

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The officials briefed The Associated Press on the
condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence sources. It was the
latest effort by President Joe Biden’s administration to release U.S.
intelligence findings about Russian activity involving Ukraine as part of a
concerted push to expose and influence the moves of Russian President Vladimir
Putin. U.S. officials previously accused Putin of planning a “false-flag”
operation to create a pretext for a new invasion of Ukraine and detailed what
they believe are final-stage Russian preparations for an assault.

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It’s unclear whether U.S. efforts are changing Putin’s
behavior. And without releasing more proof of its findings, Washington has been
criticized and reminded of past intelligence failures such as the debunked
allegations that pre-war Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Zero Hedge has been sharply critical of Biden and
posted stories about allegations of wrongdoing by his son Hunter. While perhaps
best known for its coverage of markets and finance, the website also covers
politics with a conservative bent.

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In recent months, Zero Hedge has published numerous
articles that accused the U.S. of fomenting panic about Ukraine, which now
faces the possibility of an invasion by more than 130,000 Russian troops massed
on several sides of the country. Some of those articles are listed as being
written by people affiliated with the Strategic Culture Foundation.

The Biden administration sanctioned the foundation
last year for allegedly taking part in Russia’s interference in the 2020 U.S.
election. U.S. intelligence officials allege the foundation’s leaders
ultimately take direction from the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence
service.

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Recent articles listed as authored by the foundation
and published by Zero Hedge include the headlines: “NATO Sliding Towards
War Against Russia In Ukraine,” “Americans Need A Conspiracy Theory They Can
All Agree On” and “Theater Of Absurd… Pentagon Demands Russia Explain
Troops On Russian Soil.”

In an email, the website said there “is no
relationship between Strategic Cultural Foundation (or the SVR) and Zero Hedge,
and furthermore this is the first time we hear someone allege that the
Foundation is linked to Russian propaganda.”

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“They are one of our hundreds of contributors — unlike
Mainstream Media, we try to publish a wide spectrum of views that cover both
sides of a given story,” the website said.

Disinformation has long been used by Putin against
adversaries, including the United States, and as one tool in regional conflicts
to accompany cyberattacks and the movement of military forces. Washington and
Kyiv have for months highlighted the issue of Russian influence in Ukrainian
media.

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Intelligence officials on Monday named two websites
they said were directed by the Strategic Culture Foundation. Three other
websites are alleged to have ties to the FSB, Russia’s federal security
service.

“These sites enable the Russian government to secure
support among the Russian and Ukrainian populations,” one official said. “This
is the primary vector for how the Russian government will bolster support
domestically for an invasion into Ukraine.”