Ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, American conservative political and media figures have spread Russian disinformation and propaganda in an attempt to weaken U.S. support for Ukraine.

While House Republicans such as Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Scott Perry voting against a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine may not wittingly be supporting the Kremlin, disinformation experts say that spreading Russian falsehoods has been "especially helpful" to their war efforts.

“Marjorie Taylor Green’s introduction of a resolution to audit aid to Ukraine is entirely unsurprising given the pervasively negative messaging about Ukraine coming from the right flank of the GOP over the past three months,” Bret Schafer, a senior fellow with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told The Guardian.

Schafer shared that prior to the November 8 midterm elections, conservative pundits became increasingly vocal about ceasing American aid to Ukraine.

“Of the 100 most retweeted tweets about Ukraine posted by GOP candidates for the House since August, roughly 90 percent opposed continued support for Ukraine," he explained. "Though much of that messaging plays to simple pocketbook concerns – essentially saying, ‘Why are we supporting Ukraine when Americans are struggling to pay their bills?’ There is also a strain of anti-Ukrainian disinformation that colors some of their commentary."

According to Schafer, media figures such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson also have a large role in spreading Russian propaganda, repeating the falsehoods to tens of millions of viewers. In fact, Russian media will often rebroadcast Fox News segments, particularly praising Carlson.

Andrew Weiss, a vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said of Carlson: “The audience for Fox News commentators like Tucker Carlson, who frequently spreads pro-Russian narratives, is obviously orders of magnitude bigger than that of new niche players that often carry Russian disinformation. Such platforms are far more impactful than the more sneaky techniques that the Russian propaganda apparatus employs these days.”

Often times, pro-Russian messaging comes directly from President Putin himself, as former head of the CIA's Russia operations John Sipher added the Kremlin “has weaponized energy, information, refugees, food and nuclear threats to get his way."

“I think Putin’s weakness is that he is not a strategic thinker but reverts to what he knows – using covert means to influence and undermine others,” Sipher said. “He cannot win on the battlefield so he uses threats and intimidations to influence and scare western leaders into backing down or pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table.”

Through politicians and media figures, Russia has attempted to sway U.S. support of Ukraine. While the conservatives pushing propaganda are not the majority, Schafer believes they could still impact public opinion, and therefore legislation.

He added: “Although most members of Congress support Ukraine, the loudest members do not, and their voices are dominating online spaces."