In a video, the CIA encourages the Russians to provide it with information

By demonstrating easy ways to leak information on the dark web, American intelligence hopes to convince the Russians to let them know.

By Le Figaro with AFP

Published 05/16/2023 at 07:22, updated 05/16/2023 at 07:33

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The video was posted on Telegram, which has been heavily used by Russians since the war began. Syda Productions / stock.adobe.com

The US secret service CIA asked the Russians in a video on Telegram on Monday to provide them with information about their country. He addressed those who are dissatisfied with the policies of President Vladimir Putin. The short video from the top US foreign intelligence agency shows a Russian officer and his wife at their home with a child, who appear to be living a difficult life and wondering if this life is their dreams.

She suggests that the Russians can act to make things better — by providing information to the CIA — while remaining patriotic, she says. It also shows how to do this, using the Tor browser to access the “dark web” and communication encryption tools. “The CIA wants to know the truth about Russia and we are looking for reliable people who can tell us that truth,” the agency wrote in its video. “Your information may be more valuable than you think,” she says. The CIA said it hopes to get in touch with people involved in intelligence, diplomacy, science and technology, etc., and is interested in all types of intelligence, including political and economic ones.

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Objective uprising in Russia

The US agency has used other social networks in the past but is now focusing on the encrypted Telegram network as it is the primary way for Russians to learn about everything from politics to the war in Ukraine, a CIA official said . The agency hopes that by demonstrating easy ways to leak information on the “dark web,” the CIA can convince those who are reluctant to take the plunge. “Our aim is to offer them the safest possible way of contacting us,” the official said, on condition that he remain anonymous.

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The United States was not trying to provoke an uprising or regime change in Moscow, but hoped some Russians would see a way to advance their country by informing the CIA, he stressed. According to him, similar campaigns on other social networks, most of which are now blocked in Russia, have shown success. “Contact us,” the CIA demanded. “Maybe the people around you don’t want the truth. We want it”.