05/29/2024

Details of Burgeoning Network of Kremlin Propagandist, Supplemented by Extensive Dialogue with Him, and Excerpt from NewsGuard Co-CEO’s Coming Book, Reveal Global Reach of Moscow-based Former Florida Deputy Sheriff

Activities of Florida Fugitive John Mark Dougan, Given Asylum by Kremlin, Include Threats to NewsGuard’s Steven Brill Directed at his New York Home, Fake ‘Documentary’ About Weapons Labs in Ukraine Used as Excuse for Russian Invasion, and Network of 167 Websites Planted Across U.S. and Europe Posing as Local News

(May 29, 2024 — New York) A new special report from NewsGuard has uncovered a sophisticated and far-reaching disinformation network orchestrated by John Mark Dougan, a former Florida deputy sheriff now residing in Moscow under Kremlin protection. The network, which spans 167 websites NewsGuard has discovered posing as local news outlets, regularly spreads false narratives serving Russian interests ahead of the U.S. elections.   

Dougan, who fled to Moscow after being investigated for computer hacking and extortion, has been central to several major disinformation campaigns, including the creation of a documentary purporting to document non-existent U.S.-run bioweapons labs in Ukraine. His activities have also included direct threats to NewsGuard co-CEO Steven Brill and his family and impersonating an FBI official.

NewsGuard’s report, which can be viewed here, includes months of conversations between NewsGuard analyst McKenzie Sadeghi and Dougan, and an excerpt from NewsGuard co-CEO Steven Brill’s upcoming book, “The Death of Truth.” Together they detail the story of how NewsGuard connected the dots behind the Kremlin’s sophisticated, multi-media global disinformation operation.

Key Findings: 

• NewsGuard has identified 167 websites apparently linked to Dougan’s network masquerading as local news sources and pushing pro-Kremlin disinformation, including stories aimed at exacerbating polarization in the U.S. and undermining confidence in the upcoming elections. These sites masquerading as independent local news sites, with names such as DCWeekly and the Chicago Chronicle, have published over 50,000 articles in the past year, with narratives regularly amplified by Russian state media, Kremlin officials, and social media bots.
• Dougan has produced 15 full-length documentaries justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine. One of Dougan’s notable works is a fake documentary claiming U.S.-run bioweapons labs in Ukraine. This video was cited by Russian officials as a pretext for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• Dougan’s operations include a YouTube video featuring aerial footage of Steven Brill’s home in New York, a phone call to Brill at home impersonating an FBI agent (which is a federal crime), and a second phone call threatening Brill and his family. 
• NewsGuard has identified 19 disinformation narratives apparently originating from Dougan’s network from September 2023 to May 2024. These narratives have jointly generated 37,700,000 views on social media in 16 languages, and the false claims have been amplified by U.S. lawmakers including Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance. 
• The network’s false narratives follow a sophisticated tactic: A self-described “journalist” or “whistleblower” claims to have proof of some outrageous act of corruption and cites fabricated documents. The account that is the provenance of the false claim has few followers, but then the video claim is picked up by dozens of obscure pro-Kremlin sites, eventually reaching official Russian propaganda outlets and, in many cases, mainstream sources.
• Despite his denials, NewsGuard found that Dougan is deeply embedded in the Russian state media apparatus and has links to state actors. He appears regularly on Russian state media and has been involved in a Kremlin-funded program promoting Russia to Western audiences.

NewsGuard’s special report follows recent warnings by U.S. lawmakers and intelligence officials that America’s foreign adversaries, now using the latest innovations in artificial intelligence, are poised to influence the upcoming U.S. elections with disinformation. In May, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said that “Russia remains the most active foreign threat to our elections” relying on a “vast multimedia influence apparatus” consisting of proxies, cyber actors, social media trolls, and state media. Republican Rep. Michael Turner, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said in April that it was “absolutely true” that some members of Congress are repeating Russian propaganda about Ukraine.  

“Our report on John Dougan explains why Russia remains the world leader in spreading disinformation. As a fugitive from the U.S., Dougan is highly skilled at creating the false claims that most effectively manipulate American public opinion, even fooling American elected officials into spreading Kremlin propaganda,” said NewsGuard Co-CEO Gordon Crovitz. “Americans and our allies need to be on guard against Russian disinformation, including generated by AI, especially in an election year.”

 

About NewsGuard 

Founded by media entrepreneur and award-winning journalist Steven Brill and former Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard provides transparent tools to counter misinformation for readers, brands, and democracies. Since launching in 2018, its global staff of trained journalists and information specialists has collected, updated, and deployed more than 6.9 million data points on more than 35,000 news and information sources, and cataloged and tracked all the top false narratives spreading online.

NewsGuard’s analysts, powered by multiple AI tools, operate the trust industry’s largest and most accountable dataset on news. These data are deployed to fine-tune and provide guardrails for generative AI models, enable brands to advertise on quality news sites and avoid propaganda or hoax sites, provide media literacy guidance for individuals, and support democratic governments in countering hostile disinformation operations targeting their citizens.

Among other indicators of the scale of its operations is that NewsGuard’s apolitical and transparent criteria have been applied by its analysts to rate news sources accounting for 95% of online engagement with news across nine countries.