INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to any foreign person or entity
engaging in election interference, it said just weeks before Americans select their next president.An announcement from the department's
Rewards for Justice program specifically singled out Russian media organization Rybar LLC, which it said used social media to "sow discord,
promote social division, stoke partisan and racial discord, and encourage hate and violence in the United States."There was no immediate
reaction from Rybar or Russian authorities.The State Department said Rybar had established a channel on the X platform called "TexasvsUSA,"
and used it ahead of the United States election to exploit the issue of undocumented immigrants crossing the Texas border.It said Rybar
also used social media channels #HOLDTHELINE and #STANDWTHTEXAS to spread pro-Russian propaganda.Rybar, it asserted, receives funding from
Russian defense industrial organization Rostec, which the United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions against in 2022."Rybar relies
followers.It was co-founded by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a one-time member of Russia's Spetsnaz special forces and former Defense Ministry
employee, who has been under European Union sanctions since June 2023.Offering daily reports on battlefield developments in Ukraine, he has
become one of the most famous and influential Russian military bloggers.In April 2024, Zvinchuk announced the opening of a "Rybar Media
School" in Serbia, saying on Telegram: "We have long studied the West's approaches to waging information warfare against us."Now is the
moment to apply our knowledge and teach our associates the right approaches," he said, adding that this was "just the beginning" of this
propaganda strategy in Western countries.
