'Antifa' website cited in conservative media attack on Biden is linked to — wait for it — Russia
Category: News & Politics
Via: jbb • 4 years ago • 144 commentsBy: Hunter WalkerAugust 12, 2020, 8:47 PM (YahooNews)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Hunter WalkerAugust 12, 2020, 8:47 PM
WASHINGTON — At his press briefing Wednesday, President Trump, as he usually does, called for a question from Chanel Rion, the chief White House correspondent for the conservative One America News network, which has at times replaced Fox News as the president's favorite news outlet. Rion's question had nothing to do with COVID-19 or the economic recovery Trump had been boasting about, but instead brought up an obscure website, antifa.com.
"I wanted to highlight a kind of odd situation. In the last hour or so, if you googled 'antifa.com,' it would take you straight to Joe Biden's website — his official campaign website — odd situation," Rion said, adding, "We don't know who's behind that."
Rion went on to suggest the site posed "an interesting leadership question" for the former vice president and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
"Should Joe Biden, the Democrat Party, Kamala Harris, should they publicly denounce the antifa as a domestic terrorist organization?" Rion asked the president.
It's not clear why she thought it raised that question, though, since there is no evidence that the Biden campaign had anything to do with antifa.com, or vice versa. Instead, the phenomenon cited by Rion had a clear link to Russia.
The people in control of any website can redirect to another, without the permission or even knowledge of the second site. Nothing Rion described would indicate direct involvement by Biden's campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Records for "antifa.com" in the domain name database Whoisology.com show the site was registered in the Russian Federation from 2013 through last July. Starting last November, the site's registration was moved to Panama, The website has always been anonymously registered and its owners could not be reached for comment.
After briefly redirecting to Biden's page on Wednesday, the site went dark. Based on copies of the site on the Internet Archive, it was blank from 2013 until June of this year when it began to feature a message in support of the protests that erupted around the U.S. following the killing of George Floyd. The page declared, "we are actively increasing Membership" but provided no contact information for anyone interested in joining.
"We Are Antifa: Join Us & Take Action," the note said, adding, "More to come ... Check back regularly for updates & How you can be part of something that is changing the world."
The U.S. intelligence community concluded the Russian government conducted a campaign to intervene in the 2016 election in order to help Trump and hurt his Democratic opponents. That effort included extensive usage of disinformation, Kremlin owned media outlets, and social media. U.S. intelligence officials have said the Russian government is engaged in a similar effort during this year's race.
Russian state media have highlighted tensions around the Floyd protests. In June, a Department of Homeland Security bulletin indicated the agency was aware of "covert proxies and social media accounts" that were working with foreign rivals and their state media outlets to use the demonstrations to paint a bleak picture of the situation in the U.S.
"Russian influence actors, in particular, have a history of using online tools to covertly amplify content concerning protest activity in the United States, including rhetoric that may seek to incite violence at such events," the bulletin said.
Rion's question provided Trump an opportunity to highlight one of his favorite campaign themes, the supposed far-left stance of Biden and, as of this week, Harris. Trump claimed leftists who have been protesting and engaging in vandalism around the country are "part of" Biden's campaign. While many of the protesters oppose Trump, they do not all support Biden. Antifa, short for "antifascist," is a movement that has no clear organization. Trump went on to tout his administration's efforts to clamp down on looting and vandalism by protesters with an aggressive response from federal troops.
"It's virtually a part of their campaign, antifa," Trump said. "The Democrats act like, 'Gee, I don't know exactly what that is.' ... Take a look at any place you want to. ... They're all over the place."
Rion did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Her channel, One America News, which was founded in 2013, bills itself as "straight news," but it has a clear pro-Trump bent. The channel's owners have reportedly directed staff to promote Trump and downplay Russian aggression. One of the network's reporters, Kristian Brunovich Rouz, simultaneously worked for Sputnik, a Russian news site that U.S. intelligence officials pegged as playing a role in the Kremlin's propaganda campaign pegged to the 2016 election. A 2017 investigation by Yahoo News found Sputnik employees were specifically directed to "stay true to the national interest of the Russian Federation." Rouz's work for One America News have included segments that falsely linked Democrats to antifa.
Rion has previously drawn attention for unusual questions and for peddling conspiracy theories. Since March, she has been attending White House briefings in defiance of social distancing rules designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus among the press corps and staff. Rion has said she was explicitly invited to attend by Trump administration officials.
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Straight from Russia into the gop's fish pond to you!
Small wager - Putin is promoting and financing both Antifa and Qanon.
One more time to the US Right - Putin hates you just as he hates the US Left.
Make sense. I've never seen evidence of either!
And he's no doubt supporting the Boogaloo bois and many other right wing white nationalist militia groups. He knows that keeping us divided and keeping Trump in the white house will do the most damage to the United States here and around the world, weakening us and our ability to keep Putin and his violent criminal fascist regime in check. Trump in the white house is a murderous foreign authoritarians dream. It's both creepy and sad that their dream is apparently also shared by about 36% of American citizens...
I wonder if either of these two fought in the Vietnam War? Or were in uniform during the Cold War?
I wouldn't be surprised if the only uniform either of these two idiots wore during the cold war were their confederate soldier uniforms in their civil war re-enactments.
both were section 8 brass
Seriously?
Russia believes they are "at war" with us and the west
I believe them. They are not our friends.
Evidence that Russia plays all sides against each other in the US and the West
Left and Right Russian Trolls in Charlottesville
Russian organized protes t
Russia organizes both sides of protest in Texas
Yet more Russian organized protests
Russian support of QAnon
Again - small wager. Russian trolls will amplify and give support to all sides and are doing it now. It will take a change in administration though before it can be proved conclusively.
That is a very viable thought Adam..... Russia promotes Antifa and Qanon.... Divide and conquer
I'd wager...... NO!
there's plenty of russian collaborators among us here. not very hard to spot, they're obsessed with commies, being hyper-divisive, and spreading the misinformation from radical right wing websites.
I hope the Russians aren't paying them much because they're doing a lousy job of convincing me to vote for trmp
You can't say the bad little fishies aren't trying!
There is no try only do
DA!
Putin cheating on Trump? Oh my, Captain Cheeto won't like that one little bit At least he still has Kim to stroke his uh...ego.
Hard to tell who the trump's are more in bed with, China or Russia...one thing we can be sure of, it's not the USA. Not even trumps wife is an American.
Melania is a citizen of the US.
Claiming otherwise is just wrong
Um, Serbian or Ukrainian? Where is she from?
Ummm born in Slovenia. What ever difference does that make?
do you know that she is as much a us citizen as you are?
Why don’t you think naturalized immigrants are Americans?
Well, ya know...some of us can get a bit confused because Barrack Obama was born in Hawaii but so many people wanted to see his birth certificate
why don’t you think naturalized citizens are Americans?
deleted
Of course I do, don't you?
That was all bullshit in my mind and...........wait for it.............Melania isn't POTUS.
Sometimes they let the mask slip, like when white liberals like Biden declare who the “real blacks” are.
My comment was all bullshit or you thought the birther movement was bullshit?
And you're right, Melania isn't POTUS, but since I'm so immature and have no class I'm just gonna throw boogers at the wall and see if any of them stick
I didn’t give a thumbs up to a post claiming a naturalized citizen isn’t American.
why do I care what comments you give thumbs up on?
It's not like she was born in this country...and she got her citizenship papers the old-fashioned way....she blew her way into them.
Then mommy and daddy became citizens thru chain migration...and who had plenty of words to say about that?
I thought the birther movement was bullshit. Looking for a reason to be offended? Sorry but you have the wrong member if that's the case
Absolutely not! I'm about to go on another vacation and I'm psyched!
Which other citizens aren’t real Americans? You’ve got quite a list going. Sounds like you are channeling the bill the butcher character from gangs of New York for the modern era.
Me too. Headed to Myrtle Beach for a week to celebrate 25 year wedding anniversary.
What list?
Oh...the Slovenians living in the White House!....ok....
Melania's people are here because of who she married. The people that worked their way here actually earned a spot in America as far as I'm concerned. That would include the people who were forced to come here in chains
Congratulations to you and your bride! We did Vegas for our 25th and got married by Elvis.
I noticed you didn't say anything about the chain migration and Melania's parents.....
when ya got nothing deflect
It's a favorite tactic of mine, too
tRumpturd picked Melania from a Slovenian brothel, she gave the best golden showers.
Violated her visa, which according to the right wing, makes her an illegal alien.
I really don't know how to explain it any better to you.
She is a US Citizen------period, full stop.
Now, you may write whatever you choose to write, but the fact will be that she is a US citizen, no matter what you say.
What part is confusing you?
Please stop parroting whatever conspiracy sites you get your news from, but Melania was naturalized as an American citizen in 2006. That she is an American citizen is not open for debate.
Perhaps if you are so worried about that, you should contact the authorities who granted her full US citizenship way back in 2006.
I personally don't think they will bat an eye at your faux-poutrage, but who knows?
The Associated Press is a conspiracy site? LOL!!!!
Do you believe that she is a US citizen?
Or do you believe otherwise, and if so, WHY???????????????
Do you even read your own links? The AP states she’s an American citizen. What nutter site told you she’s not an American citizen?
You are making the incredibly bizarre claim she’s not an American citizen, so provide proof.
You obviously didn't read the article. Also, are you standing by your claim that the AP is a conspiracy site?
Please pay attention. You claimed, against reality, that melania is not an American. Your “proof” that she’s not an American citizen is an AP article that states she’s an American citizen. Therefore, it’s silly to claim that I, or anyone, claimed the the AP is a conspiracy site.
the question has always been what conspiracy site gave you the idea she’s not an American citizen?
Yeah, I noticed you don’t think Americans who received citizenship through chain migration are real Americans. Nor are immigrants who marry American citizens And receive citizenship through marriage.
as i said, you have a long list of American Citizens who aren’t “real American citizens.” Must be exhausting to keep track of all those non American citizens.
Did you find post #3.3.13 at all ironic, given the insistence she isn't a US citizen?
She violated the restrictions of her visa when she arrived and still got her citizenship.
Not even trumps wife is an American.
wow. And the anti immigrant post of the year goes to...
oh please
How’s the know nothing party doing these days? You getting a lot of people at your meetings?
The only meetings I go to are the Saving the World One Beer at a Time on deck on Saturday afternoons
My kind of meeting.
Gotta laugh at people that try to reverse roles.
Like anyone would believe they care anything about immigration.
I know, right?
I know many "rightwingers" who care a great deal about immigration.
And according to some polls, the people who support Trump are more concerned about immigration than those who support Biden.
Let's see how that gets spun.
The next round is on me.
Well, that explains why it was seeded on NT.
Does this mean that Americans who seed it on US internet forums are what is known as "useful idiots" ?
Useful only to Putin. Here they are known as 'useless idiots' which may be why they seem to have changed their allegiance and are now working for fascists.
Does this mean that Americans who seed it on US internet forums are what is known as "useful idiots"
Well, we know who the Russians spent the last few months targeting as useful idiots:
“Based on copies of the site on the Internet Archive, it was blank from 2013 until June of this year when it began to feature a message in support of the protests that erupted around the U.S. following the killing of George Floyd.“
Any hacker, or the site owner, could have redirected the site to Biden.com for one day.
yepp,,, takes less than a minute (including the trip to the kitchen for coffee)
Why is this surprising? Joseph Stalin was anti-Fascist. The Soviet Union was always anti-Fascist. The Russian Federation continues to be anti-Fascist. No doubt Vladimir Putin would support anti-Fascist movements around the world.
The United States is moving ever closer to becoming a National Socialist state. Why would it be surprising that Russia would oppose National Socialism in the United States?
The question is whether or not Joe Biden is advocating a step closer to National Socialism? Is Joe Biden anti-Fascist or Fascist?
I would hope every American is anti-fascist. My grandfather and his brothers fought a war over it.
Then why are we allowing the country to adopt the practices of National Socialism? Why are we celebrating political factions using the same methods to obtain power over the country that were used by Fascists?
Beats me, Nerm. Maybe because POTUS doesn't call them out on it?
Fascists are very good at making speeches. Fascism requires eloquence in its leaders. That's how Mussolini and Hitler influenced popular opinion.
trmp is a good speaker????
... only to his supporting audience.
um, no.
Obviously Trump is not a good speaker so cannot match the appeal of a Mussolini or Hitler. Do not ignore that the Democratic Party has placed great emphasis on electing a President who can speak to the American people. Democrats want an eloquent spokesman for their political ideology that transform America just a Mussolini and Hitler transformed Europe.
Trump speaks like he just blew a 3.2 on a breathalyzer test.
Putin is a fascist. He is supporting Antifa here only because it creates more unrest in the US which is his objective. If they were in his country he'd have them rounded up, beaten and sent to Siberia quicker than you can say 'Faux Democracy' as he does with anything that threatens his strangle hold on their nation.
Or have them poisoned.
Russia didn't form an alliance with Germany and Italy. Joseph Stalin sat beside Franklin Roosevelt at Potsdam. Vladimir Putin is a communist. Communists are anti-Fascist.
He may have been a member of the Communist Party under Soviet Rule but you can bet your big toe he's not Commie today. He's a capitalist with a big C because he likes money...and the power that comes with it
Russia didn't form an alliance with Germany
The USSR signed a non aggression pact with Germany and agreed to partition Poland. They only fought Germany out of necessity.
A non-aggression pact is not an alliance. The United Kingdom signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, too, that was hailed as 'peace in our time'.
Germany and England did not sign a non aggression pact.
Germany and Russia agreed to dismember a sovereign country and split it up. Whether they were formal “allies” is a meaningless semantic. They allied to destroy Poland.
Pustule Putin may have been a communist in the past, and I'm sure his KGB roots are still there, but he is now without a doubt a fascist pig.
Fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.
"There is a broad consensus among students of contemporary Russia that the political system constructed by Vladimir Putin is authoritarian and that he plays a dominant role in it. By building and expanding on these two features and by engaging in a deconstruction and reconstruction of the concept of fascism, this article suggests that the Putin system may plausibly be termed fascist."
"Fascism may be defined as a popular fully authoritarian political system with a personalistic dictator and a cult of the leader—a definition that makes sense conceptually as well as empirically, with respect to Putin's Russia and related fascist systems"
Putin is a modern day fascist and supports fascist movements in Russia and in Europe. Read "The Road to Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder. It is a very important study of this topic. Also check this article by Snyder:
Timothy Snyder overlooks that Vladimir Putin entered politics during the Yalta period of Gorbachev and Yeltsin which preceded the fall of the USSR. Putin is not as ideologically driven as Snyder tries to portray with his selectively insipid folderol. The United Russia party is not an ideological political organization. Putin is attempting to rebuild the Soviet Union without the obvious flaws of Stalin's style of Communism.
Vladimir Putin is not attempting to revive National Socialism and is not attempting to transform Russia into a National Socialist state. That's happening in Europe and the United States.
selectively insipid folderol
If that's how you describe well-researched and thoughtful commentary. I doubt that you have read the article or the book.
Putin is not attempting to revive National Socialism
No one said that Putin was attempting to revive "National Socialism". He is a fascist/authoritarian leader.
That's happening in Europe
If it is, it has Putin's support. The Jobbik Party is Hungary has a neo-fascist platform and it has Trump's strong support.
and the United States
If it is, it has Putin's support.
That's attempting to toss sand and do a soft shoe. Authoritarian isn't the same as Fascist.
Keep in mind that Democrats (and Joe Biden) have been excoriating Trump for not being sufficiently authoritarian. Democrats have hailed the most authoritarian restrictions in Europe as the only means of successfully controlling the coronavirus pandemic.
Fascists promoted the idea that conservative opposition to their political ideology justified drastic measures to eliminate that opposition. Fascists claimed that institutional government was an enemy of the people. Fascists flatly stated that conservative attempts to protect the rule of law was a direct assault upon the people.
Antisemitism isn't the same as Fascism, either. Fascists are anti-conservative and use the methods of anarchy to obtain authoritarian control. That requires eliminating the opposition of any conservative group.
Obviously, I am correct. You have not read the article or the book.
Authoritarian isn't the same as Fascist.
Fascism is an authoritarian/totalitarian "philosophy".
Keep in mind that Democrats (and Joe Biden) have been excoriating Trump for not being sufficiently authoritarian.
I'll keep in mind that is a ridiculous comment.
You keep referring to "conservative" in opposition to "fascist". Are you trying to imply that "liberals" are fascist? If so, do you also believe that 2+2=5?
Jobbik is much more than anti-Semitic.