Is Russian Intelligence Funding The Anti-Fracking Movment In The U.S.?

People walk away from a protest against fracking and neighborhood oil drilling in Los Angeles, California, May 14. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Drew Johnson, Newsweek: Intelligence: Putin Is Funding the Anti-Fracking Campaign

Recent intelligence reports show that Russia is interested in influencing more than just America's elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies have taken aim at undermining the U.S. energy industry, as well.

Buried within the U.S. intelligence community's report on Russian activities in the presidential election is clear evidence that the Kremlin is financing and choreographing anti-fracking propaganda in the United States. By targeting fracking, Putin hopes to increase oil and gas prices, destabilize the U.S. economy and threaten America's energy independence.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a decades-old drilling technique in which water and sand is pumped through rock at a high pressure to release previously unreachable deposits of oil and natural gas.

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WNU Editor: There are a lot of groups who oppose fracking .... with many supporters and a lot of funding. I would be surprised if these groups are dependent on Russian funding. But it is true that fracking and its impact on oil production and prices is a strategic threat to Russia .... and it is in Russia's interest (as well as OPEC's) to see these anti-fracking movements succeed.