The U.S. Department of Justice said Russia targeted the Forward as part of a disinformation campaign to influence Jewish communities and U.S. elections. Graphic by Jake Wasserman

By Beth Harpaz, Jake WassermanSeptember 5, 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice says Russia created fake websites for the Forward, The Washington Post and Fox News in a propaganda campaign to promote Russian interests, influence elections and target Jews around the world. 

In a 277-page affidavit filed Wednesday, the DOJ described an “Israel-related campaign” involving the “creation of a media brand, targeted advertising to spread content, the publication of articles in legitimate media, and an operation involving the widespread posting of social media comments impersonating Israelis.”

The DOJ said a proposal for the campaign specified a “full-fledged three language right-wing information online project in Hebrew, Russian and English” that would “target Jewish communities across the globe, first and foremost in Israel and the US.”

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The U.S. government seized 32 internet domains created by Russia in violation of U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark laws, the Justice Department said in a news release. It referred to the fraudulent sites as “‘cybersquatted’ domains impersonating legitimate news entities and unique media brands,” created at the behest of “the Russian presidential administration” in order “to covertly spread Russian government propaganda.”

Explaining social media attacks

Amy Spitalnick, head of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, said of the announcement, “This is truly nuts and also 100% predictable.”

Posting on the social media platform X, Spitalnick wrote: “If you were wondering why liberal Jews were being swarmed by far-right accounts attacking them as self-hating, anti-Israel, or worse, it’s because Russia was engaged in a deliberate influence campaign targeting the Jewish community.”

If you were wondering why liberal Jews were being swarmed by far-right accounts attacking them as self-hating, anti-Israel, or worse — it’s because Russia was engaged in a deliberate influence campaign targeting the Jewish community.

This is truly nuts and also 100% predictable. pic.twitter.com/dSIup7ForA

— Amy Spitalnick (@amyspitalnick) September 5, 2024

The fake Forward site

In June, the Forward republished an article from the Israeli investigative news outlet Shomrim about Russia’s role in creating a fake URL, www.forward.pw, that mimicked the Forward’s actual website. That investigation found that fake Forward articles discrediting President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been shared by thousands of bots on the social platform X.

The DOJ’s affidavit also included examples of articles published on the fraudulent website purporting to be Forward stories with headlines including “U.S. Surrendered Israel to Hezbollah” and “Hezbollah Tentacles Stretch from Germany: Hitler Would Be Happy.”

Jodi Rudoren, the Forward’s editor-in-chief, said the campaign was upsetting both because it would further erode trust in legitimate news outlets and because of the way it played into antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories.

“These nefarious actors focusing on Jews is a reminder of the dangerous ways Jews continue to be targeted and stereotyped,” Rudoren said. “It is also an alarm bell about media literacy, and how essential it is for audiences to keep their antennae up to discern disinformation from the real, reporting-based independent journalism that is our hallmark.”

Forward publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen noted that while the Forward‘s intellectual property (logo, style, colors, layout and other brand hallmarks) was stolen and “used in the service of something that’s anathema to a legitimate news organization, our own site wasn’t breached or compromised.” She also expressed thanks to the DOJ and FBI for intervening, since the Forward‘s resources “don’t stretch to taking on this kind of operation” and the Forward attorney’s demand that the fake site be taken down was not acted on.

Using influencers and ads to support Russia

A separate document cited by the DOJ “provided an example of how to pose as an Israeli and disseminate fake articles and comments presenting an unattributed Russian narrative through comments on social media.”

The DOJ said methods used to drive viewers to the fake websites included the use of influencers, paid social media ads and fake social media profiles posing as U.S. or other non-Russian citizens with links to the cybersquatted domains. 

The DOJ said the campaign’s goals also included influencing public opinion in Israel over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by painting Ukraine as a bastion of neo-Nazism and increasing “the number of Israeli citizens supporting Russia in the fight against Nazism.”

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