They are left-wing. Left-wing people believe that words are power constructs. They advocate the telling of noble lies. The idea that they should be condemned for lying is ridiculous to them.

As for the idea that “Russian influence” is bad, people forget that in the 1996 cycle the Clintons got a half million dollar donation from China and the media response was “there’s nothing wrong with that.” They don’t actually dislike foreign influence. They just dislike losing.