Russian propaganda machine plays on U.S. soil

American voters were duped and manipulated by a masterfully crafted and well-financed Russian scheme to “sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election.”

We know that now not simply because of an FBI We know that because 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies have been indicted by a grand jury as part of the investigation run by special counsel Robert Mueller. Their paymaster? One Yevgeny Prigozhin, a St. Petersburg restaurateur dubbed “Putin’s chef.”

Starting in 2014 — when members of the Russian team did their intelligence gathering in the U.S. — and escalating during the 2016 election cycle, the group was organized under the Internet Research Agency, operating out of St. Petersburg. They opened U.S. bank accounts, used PayPal accounts, stole identities, whatever it took to do the job.

And the job was to pervert the U.S. political process.

There is, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein insisted, “no allegation” that any of this “altered the outcome of the election.” But it sure as hell wasn’t for lack of trying.

The Russians threw millions of dollars (the monthly budget in September 2016 was $1.25 million) behind an effort that involved extensive use of social media — Facebook and Twitter; the outright purchase of political ads; even the organizing of rallies, complete with paid participants and holders of designed-to-be-outrageous signs.

During the summer of 2016, the rallies were either pro-Trump events or “Down with Hillary” marches. As the election neared, the paid ads and social media posts attempted to sow doubt about the election process itself. A Nov. 2, 2016, post read, “Tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hillary votes being reported in Broward County, Florida.”

After the election, the Russians organized rallies both in support of Trump and protests about the election results — once on the same day.

Yes, as the indictment indicates, the Russians “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign.” But Rosenstein noted there is no allegation that “any American had any knowledge” of the scheme.

It seems unlikely any of those Russians, all safely home now, will ever see American justice, especially Prigozhin, who yesterday told Russia’s state news agency that Americans “see what they want to see.”

During the 2016 election his “team” used that to their advantage. Question is, do we let them do it again?