Documents reveal that the creators of a campaign aimed to exploit existing societal divisions in the United States by using racist stereotypes and far-right conspiracy theories to appeal to supporters of former President Donald Trump.
In one of the documents, Gambashidze explains his “guerrilla media” strategy, stating, “They are afraid of losing the American way of life and the ‘American dream.’ These sentiments should be leveraged during an information campaign in and for the United States.”
This same document contains numerous racist and conspiratorial assertions, claiming that Republicans are “victims of discrimination of people of color.” It argues that white middle-class individuals face discrimination due to high inflation and climbing prices, while “unemployed people of color” are portrayed as a privileged segment of the population.
The campaign’s primary objective was unmistakable: to ensure victory for Donald Trump, as noted in Gambashidze’s planning document for the Good Old USA Project.
The Good Old USA plan candidly acknowledges that “none of the significant American politicians can be considered pro-Russian or pro-Putin.” Therefore, instead of trying to persuade Americans that Russia is benevolent, the plan suggested that the U.S. should allocate its resources away from Ukraine and redirect them toward pressing domestic concerns, like escalating inflation and soaring gas prices.
The planning document states, “It makes sense for Russia to put maximum effort into ensuring that the Republican Party’s viewpoint—particularly that of Trump supporters—prevails in U.S. public opinion.” The strategies included proposals for peace in Ukraine in return for territory, emphasizing the need to address U.S. economic issues, and advocating for the withdrawal of troops stationed globally.
In addition to achieving Trump’s election, the campaign also aimed to increase the number of Americans who believe the U.S. is overextending its support for Ukraine to 51 percent, while lowering the confidence in President Joe Biden to 29 percent.
The plan identified several target audiences, including residents of swing states, American Jews, citizens of Hispanic descent, and the gaming community, especially users of platforms like Reddit and 4chan, which were labeled as the “backbone of the right-wing trends in the U.S. segment of the Internet.” In recent months, the Trump campaign has incorporated many influential figures from these communities, several of whom engage in vocal misogynistic rhetoric.
To disseminate their message, the plan called for the establishment of YouTube channels focused on pro-Trump content, along with viral videos featuring “music, humor, beautiful girls, etc.,” to ensure high visibility in search engine results for “U.S. elections.”
Simultaneously, Gambashidze and his team utilized Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit to form community groups for Trump supporters, with one example being titled “Alabama for America the Great.” The documents also indicate that the Russians intended to use Reddit as a platform for spreading their propaganda due to its perceived lack of democratic censorship..
