Strategic Culture Foundation

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The Strategic Culture Foundation is a Russian think tank that primarily publishes an online current affairs magazine of the same name. It is regarded as an arm of Russian state interests by the United States government.[1]

According to a 2020 United States Department of State report, the Strategic Culture Foundation is directed by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, and is closely affiliated with Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1]

It has been characterized as a conservative, pro-Russian propaganda website by U.S. media, but the publishers of the site are unlikely to endorse any of the specific political positions espoused in the publication.[2][3]

One of the leading columnists is the American conservative journalist and former CIA officer Philip Giraldi, a conspiracy theorist who has contributed pieces on numerous political issues, flirting with Holocaust denial, and outspoken in his criticism of Zionism.[4]

The Washington Post reported in September 2020 that Facebook had banned a Russian disinformation network operated by the Strategic Culture Foundation -- a network that “helped spread conspiracy theories aimed at English-speaking audiences, including by fueling false rumors that the coronavirus was produced as a bioweapon and that a potential vaccine would include tracking technology.”[5] The Post’s report stated that the Strategic Culture Foundation “also spread false information that Bill Gates, the tech executive and philanthropist, was leading efforts to create a vaccine with surveillance capabilities.” The Post’s report called the Strategic Culture Foundation “a phony think tank”.

In April 2021, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the Strategic Culture Foundation.[6][7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "GEC Special Report: Russia's Pillars of Disinformation and Propaganda" (PDF). United States Department of State. August 4, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Rawnsley, Adam (24 September 2020). "Putin's Troll Farm Busted Running Sprawling Network of Facebook Pages". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  3. ^ Zoria, Yuri, ed. (11 February 2019). "An Unfounded Foundation: How Russian-run fake Western thinktanks look like". Euromaidan Press. Ukraine. Retrieved 2022-01-03.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Tucker, Patrick (August 6, 2020). "Russian Disinformation Networks Detailed in New State Department Report". Defense One. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  5. ^ Timberg, Craig (September 24, 2020). "Facebook removes Russian networks tied to intelligence services that interfered in the U.S. in 2016". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  6. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (April 15, 2021). "Biden administration imposes significant economic sanctions on Russia over cyberspying, efforts to influence presidential election". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  7. ^ "Treasury Escalates Sanctions Against the Russian Government's Attempts to Influence U.S. Elections". U.S. Department of the Treasury. April 15, 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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