The Russia connectionRussia’s unrelenting attacks on the U.S. justice system

The U.S. justice system is under attack as part of a long-term Russian effort to undermine the appeal of democracy and weaken the West. Using multi-platform disinformation operations, Kremlin-backed operatives work to exacerbate existent divisions within populations and increase overall mistrust of and paranoia about democratic institutions. In the process, justice systems are portrayed as corrupt, inept, and hypocritical.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)  has just published a report which describes the nature of this threat and proposes measures for countering it. The report focuses on activities by the Russian government, including the ways it feeds, is fed by, and amplifies American domestic voices to weaken public confidence in the justice system.

“The insights gained by examining Russia’s efforts can and should inform our understanding of both threats from other nations and the challenges contemporary communications technologies pose to a healthy democracy generally,” the report’s authors say.

Here are the report’s Executive Summary and Conclusions.

Executive summary
The propaganda channels
In accordance with its New Generation Warfare, Russia uses a combination of propaganda channels to maximize the effectiveness of their disinformation campaigns. Each channel serves a slightly different, but complimentary, purpose. In this report, we focus on how state-sponsored media and social media platforms have been used to opportunistically fuel discontent within democratic populations.

Our team studied Russian state-sponsored programming on RT and Sputnik, and data from social media platforms, to better capture how these channels promote messaging to erode confidence in institutions of justice. Further, we explored the ways in which the Russians are capitalizing on already-present divides in society and just turning up the volume of resentment.

Frames
While there is a sense of general resentment featured in Russian propaganda, the disinformation campaigns rely on frames to level more direct attacks on the justice system. Framing theory refers to the packaging and presentation of ideas and suggests that the way ideas are presented determines how that information is processed and acted upon. Russia has developed four frames that are particularly damaging to the justice system. Each frame reinforces the overarching message that the U.S. justice system is not independent or impartial. Instead, the Kremlin’s disinformation asserts: