Russia’s US Midterm Messaging Campaigns and American Amplifiers

Russian FIMI Networks, Operations and Election Narratives

Ahead of the November 3 US midterms, Russian FIMI actors adopted different approaches to the elections.

State media and established FIMI channels linked Trump’s electoral prospects to negotiations with Moscow, while the Pravda network amplified US partisan messaging and separate influence operations targeted Democratic candidates with fabricated allegations.

In September, the Russian FIMI operation Matryoshka, also known as Operation Overload, circulated (6) fabricated videos targeting Democratic candidates. Researchers identified 16 clips with counterfeit CNN branding and hashtags including #midterms2026 and #AllDemocratsAreCriminals. One used (7) a fabricated voiceover purporting to be actress Alyson Hannigan saying:

“Today in America, there isn’t a single child who isn’t under threat from Democrats.”

Further investigations identified (1) nine targeted politicians, including Senate candidates James Talarico, Jon Ossoff, and Roy Cooper. A review of 130 manipulated videos and newspaper pages documented (8) fabricated misconduct allegations and automated amplification with limited genuine engagement. The fabricated material also appeared on TikTok and Bluesky.

On October 20, the Russia-aligned operation Storm-1516 used an X account impersonating a former student of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico to circulate two videos that were very likely AI-generated. The videos falsely accused (9) him of sexual assault and were amplified by both accounts previously linked to the operation and US conservatives.

SGAnon, a prominent account that amplified the videos, later deleted them, citing signs of AI generation.

Between October 7 and 9, the Russian FIMI operation Doppelgänger used (2) more than 50 fake accounts and 1,000 amplifiers to generate approximately 150,000 quote-posts on X relating to elections in the United States, Israel, and France. The posts directed users to counterfeit news websites but attracted little organic engagement.

An additional October 27 Associated Press investigation documented apparently manipulated clips targeting Democratic Senate candidates James Talarico in Texas and Sherrod Brown in Ohio. The Brown video misused the name and image of former intern Haya Akbik, who explicitly rejected the fabricated allegations. Media-forensics specialists said the clips resembled previous Storm-1516 material; X removed the original posts and suspended the originating accounts, but copies continued circulating.

The case illustrates the continued circulation of candidate-focused fabrications in the final weeks of the campaign. (10)

The US branch of the multilingual Pravda (Portal Kombat) network amplified anti-Democratic messaging ahead of the midterms. On October 27, it circulated (11) former Republican senator and Senate candidate John E. Sununu’s criticism of immigration policy as “an enormous human tragedy.”

Pravda also reproduced two posts attributed to SGTnewsNetwork, a US conservative account active on X and Telegram. One mocked (12) New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani; the other alleged (13) that there were more than “20,000 likely noncitizen ballots in California.” SGTnewsNetwork amplified (14) the California ballot allegation on X the following day. On October 26, Pravda republished (15) commentary from the state-controlled outlet Sputnik in which political analyst Pavel Seleznev accused Democrats of sacrificing Americans’ interests and warned that congressional investigations could obstruct Russian diesel imports.

On October 27, Pravda also reproduced (16) a post by SGTnewsNetwork quoting House Speaker Mike Johnson’s appeal: “You have to vote Republican.”

This pattern of republication is consistent with findings by independent researcher Kazuki Ichida on the circulation of US conservative messaging through SGTnewsNetwork to Pravda. In a study of 32 archived headlines mentioning targeted candidates, Ichida found that 30 were republished from SGTnewsNetwork within 3–22 minutes; 13 intermediary posts reproduced Republican-aligned X material. (17)

On October 19, RT published (18) an English translation of commentary originally published in the Russian newspaper Kommersant. Its author, Anton Grishanov, a chief research fellow at the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy, described a US–Russia agreement to resume Russian diesel supplies following a temporary easing of US sanctions as a diplomatic success for Moscow.

He argued that the deal was intended to reassure Trump’s increasingly dissatisfied supporters but was “unlikely to prevent Republicans from losing control of the House of Representatives.” He also anticipated a possible confrontation between Trump and a Democratic-controlled Congress over Ukraine, including another impeachment campaign.

On October 21, RT’s “America First,” hosted (19) by Scottie Nell Hughes, featured conservative pollster Rich Baris, who warned of a “bloodbath for the Republicans” amid unmet economic expectations and declining enthusiasm among Trump’s working-class supporters.

On October 13, InfoDefense claimed (20) that Washington was threatening to restrict Ukraine’s access to Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite communications system, and curtail intelligence sharing and weapons supplies to pressure Kyiv into halting strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. The channel linked the alleged pressure to Trump’s electoral concerns:

“domestic economic-electoral interests have taken precedence over geostrategic interests... for the moment.”

Chay Bowes also linked (21) the midterms to Trump’s relations with Moscow. On October 22, citing reports that a Democratic victory would do little to reverse Trump’s Russia policy, he commented:

“Lunatics would love to have their forever wars back in fashion.”

On October 23, Bowes amplified (22) Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev’s claim:

“Zelensky campaigned for Kamala during the last US election, now he’s undermining Trump before the midterms,” adding: “Zelensky sure isn’t acting grateful, is he?”

On October 20, the FIMI channel AMERIKAR cited a report (23) by Axios, a US political news outlet, on discussions among pro-Trump activists about seizing ballots and voting equipment if the midterm results were disputed. The channel warned that a Republican defeat would be blamed on “fraud by their opponents” and identified the principal danger as “institutional sabotage from below” through legal challenges and obstruction of vote certification, rather than “tanks in the streets.”

Lord of War portrayed (24) the reported US–Russia diesel deal and postponed Ukraine negotiations as evidence of Moscow’s leverage:

“The US midterm elections are November 3rd, the round is scheduled after them, and the White House won’t get images of silence in Ukraine for the vote.”

Eurasia & Multipolarity criticized (25) Donald Trump’s handling of the war with Iran but rejected the prospect of a Democratic victory: “The answer is simple and it’s a big NO.” The Islander highlighted a New York Times analysis stating:

“A Democratic victory, even a decisive one, is unlikely to significantly limit Trump’s power.” (26)

On X, DD Geopolitics connected (27) the US midterms to the prospect of renewed military action against Iran. On October 8, citing reports of Pentagon preparations for possible strikes, it commented:

“Two elections, two governments in trouble at home, one convenient war.”

On October 23, the channel again highlighted (28) the electoral timing of a possible escalation:

“The White House insists the US will not launch new attacks against Iran before the November 3 midterms.”

The conflicting narratives about Trump are consistent with Moscow’s interests. A Democratic victory is portrayed as a threat to negotiations, while continued Republican control leaves Washington vulnerable to domestic political divisions. Both scenarios allow US electoral uncertainty to be framed as a source of Russian leverage. Fabricated attacks on Democratic candidates pursue a more direct electoral objective.

Sovintern, American Communist Party and US-Facing Distribution

Sovintern is an international socialist network launched at Moscow’s House of Unions on April 27, 2026, through the Russian parliamentary party A Just Russia. The forum programme listed a welcoming address from Vladimir Putin and appearances by A Just Russia leader Sergey Mironov and State Duma deputy speaker Alexander Babakov.

Its US delegation included senior American Communist Party representatives. Jackson Hinkle, named on the official agenda as an ACP executive-council member, moderated the “Digital partisans” session on political communication; ACP chairman Haz Al-Din and international-relations secretary Christopher Helali were also listed as participants. Another session addressed a planned Sovintern social-media and artificial-intelligence platform.

The Moscow forum brought Russian political sponsors and US activists together around political communication and digital mobilization. (3), (29)

A separate investigation by The Insider documented ACP delegates at the forum, identifying Hinkle together with Carlos L. Garrido, Edward Liger Smith, Adam Tahir and Kyle Pettis among the Americans present. Founded in 2024, the ACP includes online political commentators and Midwestern Marx Institute figures. Sovintern’s own materials describe international political networking and digital coordination as ambitions.

The Moscow forum integrated ACP participants into Sovintern’s international political and digital-networking agenda. (4), (30), (31)

Jackson Hinkle is a key distribution node for this network. His X account @jacksonhinkle was displaying approximately 3.8 million followers in an October 2026 profile snapshot.

Hinkle’s public commentary promotes Moscow-aligned arguments on Ukraine and resistance to US and Israeli military policy; his messaging also includes criticism of Trump.

ACP’s February 28 statement condemned US and Israeli strikes on Iran, framed Washington’s foreign policy as serving a financial elite and urged domestic political mobilization.

Alongside the pro-Republican appeals republished by Pravda, these messages show how overlapping anti-Western and pro-Moscow themes circulate across different US political audiences. (32), (33)

Hinkle’s published material also links geopolitics to the electoral calendar. On October 22, he released a 33-minute video presenting renewed US–Israeli strikes on Iran as a possible political “last card” for Trump and Netanyahu ahead of the US and Israeli elections. An indexed copy recorded approximately 89,900 views. (34) His October 15 mini-documentary framed Burkina Faso’s rejection of French military influence as part of a wider anti-Western struggle; an X archive recorded approximately 198,700 views, 5,200 likes and 1,400 reposts for that post. (32)

Carlos L. Garrido, ACP Secretary of Education and a director of the Midwestern Marx Institute, supplies an additional educational and ideological channel. The institute publishes articles, video discussions and short-form material that frame US politics and global conflict through Marxist-Leninist and anti-imperialist arguments. Garrido is documented at the Sovintern forum and maintains the TikTok account @professor_garrido.

The TikTok account inventory maps the social-media ecosystem around ACP and Midwestern Marx: the official party handle @acp.main, educators and high-volume content creators, individual party supporters and secondary replication accounts.

The separately indexed @edwardmliger account, branded Midwestern Marx, displayed about 418,000 followers and 3,900 videos at the October research snapshot. (35), (36), (37)

The October TikTok research snapshot for @edwardmliger recorded approximately 35.2 million cumulative likes and an estimated 59,500 views per video. One indexed clip featuring a class-consciousness essay explicitly tagged @professor_garrido and recorded approximately 12,400 views.

Together, the indexed account history and the party’s @acp.main presence document recurring production and redistribution of ACP-related ideological content. (37), (36)

French communist mobilization provides a European example of transnational ideological networks. France’s Pôle de Renaissance Communiste en France (PRCF) publicly supported the October 2026 protest wave and called for stronger labour mobilization, while publishing contacts with Russian communist organizations and aid-related activity concerning Donbas. Its messaging opposed NATO and French military support for Ukraine. These activities illustrate cross-border political relationships through which ideological messaging, domestic protest mobilization and opposition to Western support for Ukraine reinforce one another. (38), (39)

Sovintern’s Moscow Network Hub also carried the French unrest into its multilingual information channels: on October 3 it posted that children were joining demonstrations, and on October 12 it portrayed French youth protesting under red banners. The posts circulated the French protest narrative within the organization’s international network. (40), (41), (42)

Kuhn’s Take America Back and the Election-Administration Message

On October 21, Steven Eugene Kuhn, a US Army veteran and founder of the American political initiative Take America Back, (43) released a video (5) drawing on allegations by American researcher Jennica Pounds (DataRepublican), who announced her resignation from a Pentagon special-government-employee role on October 2, 2026 (44).

In “The Democracy Files, Part 2,” Pounds accused (45) former US Agency for International Development (USAID) officials and allied networks of conspiring to provoke a post-election crisis and undermine the legitimacy of the federal government.

Kuhn, in turn, claimed that the alleged conspirators intended to “stir up enough chaos that the president reaches for the Insurrection Act,” a federal law authorizing domestic military deployment under specified circumstances. He claimed that Democratic governors would declare Trump’s administration illegitimate, assume national leadership, and seek foreign support.

Kuhn also urged viewers to contact their political representatives and use Take America Back’s “Find Your Seat” tool to seek local government positions, specifically mentioning election officials, commissioners, and clerks. He urged them to “fill those seats with people who keep their oath.” The video was subsequently shared (46) by Tim Kirby, an American FIMI actor based in Russia and a former contributor to the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, (47) who commented:

“They say that once something is exposed that means it can’t happen. I sure hope that is the case with this one.”

By the time Take America Back published its video on October 21, DataRepublican’s original allegations had already gained substantial traction. Her October 20 post attracted approximately 1.8 million views, 14,000 reposts, and 32,000 likes on X. Kuhn’s video subsequently received approximately 287,000 views, 7,000 reposts, and 15,000 likes.

Kuhn thus repackaged an already widely circulated US conspiracy narrative as a call for political mobilization, including recruitment to local government and election-related positions.

Tim Kirby’s subsequent redistribution of the video carried that message into the pro-Kremlin information environment. Kirby’s Telegram channel regularly amplifies FIMI outlets, including New Resistance, (48), (49) which is run by Joaquin (Xoaquin) Flores, a former editor-in-chief (50) of the pro-Kremlin outlet Fort Russ News and director (51) of the Belgrade-based Center for Syncretic Studies. The Center’s own website identifies Kirby as its ideological and multimedia director. A 2023 US State Department investigation identified (52) New Resistance, Fort Russ News, and the Center as components of a pro-Kremlin disinformation network.

Kuhn also has documented ties to German far-right political circles. The German publication Free World (Freie Welt) identifies Kuhn in its author biography as a “member of the management advisory board” of Civil Coalition (Zivile Koalition). (53)

Freie Welt is published by political organizer Sven von Storch, (54) whose wife, Beatrix von Storch, is a Bundestag member and deputy parliamentary leader (55) of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD). Established by the couple in 2004, Civil Coalition ran political campaigning and mobilization initiatives that later supported the AfD. (56) In May 2025, Freie Welt published (57) Kuhn’s defense of the AfD, in which he described his close association with Sven and Beatrix von Storch and claimed to have worked alongside Sven since 2004.

Kuhn’s statements had circulated through FIMI channels well before the current US election campaign. In August 2025, the FIMI channel Geopolitics Prime reproduced (58) his allegation that Ukraine was preparing a false-flag attack to sabotage the Putin–Trump summit in Alaska. The post also linked Kuhn’s allegations to similar claims advanced by the Russian Defense Ministry. Kuhn warned that

“every time peace gets close, a shock image appears and the deal dies.”

The same material was subsequently circulated by the FIMI channel Eurasia & Multipolarity (59) and Canadian pro-Kremlin propagandist and RT contributor Eva Karene Bartlett. (60)

A particularly extensive amplification campaign followed Kuhn’s May 26 allegation (61) that Ukrainian officials and their families had ordered superyachts worth hundreds of millions, with a four-year order backlog, allegedly financed by Western taxpayers. He described the war as “the largest money-laundering operation in modern history.” On May 27 and 28, the allegation appeared on the FIMI channels Ukraine Watch, (62) Lord of War, (63) and InfoDefense Estonia, (64) an Estonian-language branch of a multilingual FIMI network run by Russian milblogger Yuri Podolyaka. It also appeared in Russian propaganda outlets, including Komsomolskaya Pravda (65) and Russian Spring. (66)

On May 27, Soloviev LIVE aired Kuhn’s allegations on “Full Contact,” (67) a show hosted by Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. Soloviev LIVE also published the video on its official Telegram channel. (68) Tsargrad TV, an ultraconservative Kremlin propaganda outlet (69) founded by Russian Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, also circulated (70) the video and endorsed Kuhn’s claims.

The independent fact-checking outlet Lead Stories requested (71) evidence from Kuhn on May 28; he declined to identify the alleged yacht manufacturer or provide verifiable documentation.

On May 28, the FIMI channel Lord of War published (72) another message promoting Kuhn’s account of a global corruption network running “from your city council” through defense contractors and politicians to war. It concluded:

“This is not a conspiracy theory. This is a paper trail.”

The channel also provided a direct link to Kuhn’s website, (43) promoting his American political initiative to its audience.

In May 2026, Kuhn shared (73) material from former RT correspondent Chay Bowes featuring (74) Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova discussing an attack in Starobilsk. Kuhn used the video to accuse Western media of concealing Russia’s account. He has also reposted content from FIMI-linked X accounts, including Ignorance, the Root and Stem of All Evil, (75) The Islander, (76) DD Geopolitics, (77) and Lord Bebo. (78) On October 19, Take America Back published another geopolitical statement (79) attributed to Kuhn:

“Putin, Trump and Xi may decide Ukraine’s fate. Europeans may soon ask Russia to restore order.”

The post included a link to the initiative’s website and hashtags promoting political mobilization. Take America Back offers tools for local political participation. Its “Find Your Seat” tool (80) allows users to search for available government positions by ZIP code, emphasizing that many are filled through appointments rather than elections. “Who Decides?” identifies (81) the authorities responsible for decisions involving schools, taxes, emergency powers, and election administration.

Kuhn’s repeated promotion of Kremlin narratives, Russian state media content, and FIMI-linked accounts demonstrates sustained pro-Kremlin alignment.

As founder of Take America Back, he is mobilizing Americans ahead of the November 3 midterms through unsubstantiated allegations of a plot to provoke a constitutional crisis and calls to seek local government positions, including elected offices. He urges supporters to fill these positions with people who uphold their oaths. The case documents a US political mobilization initiative led by an actor with established pro-Kremlin sympathies and connections to the Kremlin-aligned information environment.

Taken together, these cases reveal several layers of Russia-aligned information influence ahead of the US midterms: fabricated candidate allegations, automated amplification, transnational ideological networks and domestic political mobilization messages circulated by Kremlin-aligned outlets.

The Hinkle/ACP and Kuhn cases illustrate how these narratives reach different American audiences through prominent online commentators, political organizations and local civic-engagement initiatives.

TikTok Account Inventory