Propagandists are spreading information that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation allegedly does not provide US Congressmen with details regarding the $5 million bribe that the Ukrainian authorities provided to current United States President Joe Biden during his tenure as Vice President. This is manipulation.

The authors of messages on this topic in anonymous telegram channels that spread pro-Russian rhetoric refer to the corresponding article of the British tabloid The Daily Mail. The article notes that the Republicans in Congress held a closed meeting, where they heard the details of the “bribe”. The authors of this article took a comment from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who expressed her outrage at the situation. In addition, the emphasis in this case is on the fact that the person who first reported the “bribes” now fears for his safety, allegedly because of the threat of political reprisal. Citing this article, Russian propagandists have already predicted impeachment of Joe Biden, imprisonment for the head of the FBI, and refusal of further assistance to Ukraine. Like, this situation gives the Republicans carte blanche to block aid to Ukraine, and the Americans will only support this, because they are tired of the war.

In fact, the article is intended for a purely American audience, as it adds fuel to the fire of an already existing message that has been manipulated by Republicans from the very beginning of Joe Biden's presidential term. In particular, Biden's “corruption activities” as vice president became the central theme of a whole conspiracy theory against Ukraine, which was publicly supported by US ex-president Donald Trump. The Daily Mail is considered a tabloid by independent British media experts. In addition, the article feels unbalanced coverage of the topic - it contains only comments from congressmen who support the main message of the material. Congresswoman Taylor Green is an odious figure in American politics, as she is one of the most active members of the Trumpist movement within the US Republican Party. Her statements and actions almost always coincide with Trump's rhetoric, and the admins of pro-Russian anonymous telegram channels actively use her as a representative of the American politicians, since she plays along with the messages of Russian propaganda. It is clear that there is no confirmed data on bribes anywhere, and propagandists do not mention specific data that ordinary Americans are tired of the topic of the war against Ukraine in their comments on the material. Although the Trumpist movement has some influence, at the moment it is not so numerous as to launch impeachment proceedings against Biden or completely block aid to Ukraine.

Using such stories, propagandists are trying to cause panic among Ukrainians and distrust of Western partners. In addition, in this way they want to personally discredit Joe Biden and his assistance to Ukraine. Like, he only helps us because he was paid a lot of money. However, the Russians are doing this solely out of their own interest, trying to justify their aggression against Ukraine by “fighting for real values”.