In a scenario reminiscent of the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, the US has filed charges and sanctioned multiple Russian media executives to “aggressively counter” a “widespread” campaign to interfere in November’s ballot. US Attorney General Merrick Garland says Russia’s state broadcaster RT allegedly paid a Tennessee firm US$10 million to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging” to help secure Russia’s “preferred outcome” of a Donald Trump win over Kamala Harris. That included paying conservative influencers to publish videos “amplifying US domestic divisions” and creating fake websites/social media profiles to reduce support for Ukraine. And while we’re talking about the presidential election… The Trump/Harris campaigns have finally agreed to the rules for their first debate on Wednesday morning our time, so pop that in your diary.