A new report suggests Moscow’s “influence activities” are expected to escalate in intensity and complexity.
According to a US intelligence report, Russia is using various entities, including RT, to manipulate public sentiment and fuel discord within the United States.
This allegation is part of the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, released publicly on Tuesday. The report supposedly represents the combined knowledge of US intelligence agencies.
The report’s authors assert that Moscow “uses influence activities to counteract perceived threats. These activities include exacerbating political disagreements in the West, undermining confidence in democratic processes and US global leadership, weakening Western support for Ukraine, and promoting pro-Russian viewpoints.”
The report further claims that Russia uses “troll farms” to spread disinformation through inauthentic accounts, and leverages “state media outlet RT in its efforts to secretly mold public opinion in the US, amplify and incite internal divisions, and subtly engage with Americans, all while concealing Russia’s involvement.”
The document reiterates accusations of Russian interference in US elections, which Moscow has consistently denied. It asserts that Russia “likely believes [such] information operation efforts… are beneficial, whether or not they sway election results, because creating doubt in the integrity of the US electoral system advances one of its primary goals.”
The report concludes that “Moscow’s malign influence activities will persist in the future and will almost certainly become more sophisticated and widespread.”
The threat assessment’s release comes as both Russia and the Trump administration are attempting to negotiate a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict and improve relations between the two nations.
On Monday, Russian and American experts met for twelve hours in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they agreed to reinstate the Black Sea Grain Initiative. This initiative aimed to ensure safe passage for Ukrainian agricultural exports in exchange for the West easing sanctions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports.
In September of last year, the outgoing Biden administration announced new restrictions targeting several Russian media organizations, accusing them of trying to “undermine democracy” and meddle in US elections. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that RT was “acting as a de facto extension of [Russian] intelligence.”
Moscow has denounced these restrictions, stating that Washington has “declared war on freedom of speech.”
Earlier in the month, American journalist Ben Swann, former head of RT’s US operations, urged the Trump administration to reverse these restrictions, arguing that they are unconstitutional and infringe upon “rights of freedom of speech and press.”