(Washington) The American CIA on Monday urged the Russians to provide it with intelligence on their country, in a video on Telegram targeting those dissatisfied with the policies of President Vladimir Putin.
The brief video from the United States’ top foreign intelligence service shows a Russian official and his wife in their home with a child, apparently having a difficult life and wondering if this one fits their dreams.
She suggests that the Russians can act to make things better – by providing intelligence to the CIA – while remaining patriotic in her view. It also shows how to do this, using the Tor browser to access the ” dark web and communications 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 hoped to make contact with people working in intelligence, diplomacy, science and technology and the like, and was interested in all kinds of intelligence, including political and economic.
The US agency has used other social networks in the past, but is now focusing on the encrypted Telegram network, as it is the main way for Russians to learn about everything from politics to war. in Ukraine, a CIA official told AFP.
The agency hopes that by showing simple ways to leak information about the ” dark web », the CIA will convince the hesitant to take the plunge.
“Our goal is to provide them with as secure a means as possible to contact us,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The United States is not seeking to provoke an insurrection or regime change in Moscow, but hopes that some Russians will see a way to help their country move forward by briefing the CIA, he stressed.
According to him, similar campaigns on other social networks, most of which are now blocked in Russia, have yielded results.
“Contact us,” the CIA insisted. “Perhaps the people around you don’t want the truth. We want it”.