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| VOA News, Nov. 24, 2017. 779 Ibid. a desire to stay in the EU, the Kremlin changed its stance to anti- Scottish independence. 776 And as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told reporters, after noting that over half of the fake profiles involved in spreading fake news came from Russia, What is clear is that there are people who maybe interested in things not going well in Europe.’’ 777 But there were also other, darker motives likely at work. According to Spanish intelligence analysts, Russian companies would look to fill the vacuum created by the exit of Catalan and Spanish companies that left because of instability. 778 In addition, the Kremlin could see an independent Catalonia as a possible base from which to penetrate other parts of Europe, where their business activities are restricted by sanctions enforced by the United States and the European Union.’’ 779 While the referendum did not result in Catalonia’s independence from Spain, it showed that Spain is a growing target of the Kremlin s malign influence operations. Spain can strengthen its resiliency by studying the experiences of and cooperating with other similarly-targeted European countries, and the US. government should take steps to help shore-up ongoing efforts. Lessons Learned • Aggressive Investigations of Money Laundering Can Reduce the Kremlin’s Influence Spain’s investigations and prosecutions are targeting and removing bad actors who have spread corruption throughout Europe and likely herein the United States. The US. government has assisted with these investigations, and should continue to do so to the greatest extent possible. Furthermore, the US. government should establish a task force dedicated to investigating money laundering by Russian entities, and should also designate Russia as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern, which would subject Russian financial institutions to additional reporting requirements. Spanish authorities should also be commended and used as an example for the complicated and courageous work that its law enforcement officials are carrying out against Rus- sia-based organized criminal organizations. • The Kremlin Will Pursue Targets of Opportunity As shown in other elections and referendums among Western democracies, the Kremlin’s disinformation operations will not pass upon opportunities to sow chaos and confusion in an attempt to undermine the democratic process and weaken European institutions. The United States and its partners and allies, as well as the private sector and civil society, must proactively identify potential next targets and launch efforts to build resiliency against Kremlin influence operations well in advance of elections and referendums. VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 137 Alberto Nardelli & Craig Silverman, ‘‘Italy’s Most Popular Political Party Is Leading Europe in Fake News and Kremlin Propaganda BuzzFeed News, Nov. 29, 2016; Jason Horowitz, With Italy No Longer in US. Focus, Russia Swoops to Fill the Void The New York Times, May 29, 2017. Jason Horowitz, With Italy No Longer in US. Focus, Russia Swoops to Fill the Void The New York Times, May 29, 2017. Alberto Nardelli & Craig Silverman, ‘‘Italy’s Most Popular Political Party Is Leading Europe in Fake News and Kremlin Propaganda BuzzFeed News, Nov. 29, 2016. Jason Horowitz, In Italian Schools, Reading, Writing, and Recognizing Fake News The New York Times, Oct. 18, 2017. ITALY In recent years, Italy has seen a resurgence of anti-establish- ment, populist parties that have garnered appeal among the population and achieved some electoral success. Some of these parties are strong advocates of pro-Kremlin foreign policies, and have extensively used fake news and conspiracy theories in their media campaigns, often drawn from Russian state-owned media outlets. With national elections coming up in 2018, Italy could be a target for electoral interference by the Kremlin, which will likely seek to promote parties that are against renewing EU sanctions for Russia s aggression in Ukraine. The Five Star Movement (MS, which was formed in 2009 and surged to popularity in recent years with its anti-establishment message, seeks to end sanctions on Russia and normalize relations with the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and recognizes the annexation of Crimea, opposes Italian participation in NATO exercises, and has called fora referendum on Italy’s inclusion in the Eurozone. 780 The chairman of M5S’s foreign affairs committee, Manlio Di Stefano, has stated that NATO is secretly preparing a final assault on Russia and that ‘‘there’s a limit to the alliance that Italy and the United States forged in the aftermath of World War II. 781 During a failed 2016 constitutional referendum, MS used a sprawling network of websites and social media accounts that were spreading fake news, conspiracy theories, and pro-Kremlin stories to millions of people according to an analysis by BuzzFeed Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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