How Russians use social media to divide Americans

Axios ^ | Sep 28, 2017 | Sara Fischer David McCabe

[upchuck]

Congressional investigations and media reports are shedding light on ways Russians use social media to cause division and chaos in the U.S.

Why it matters: The revelation that Russian actors meddled in the 2016 election through Facebook ads have led to intense scrutiny into how social media was leveraged to sow chaos and create divisions among Americans. As congressional investigations ramp up and details leak out, a clearer picture is emerging of the tactics used to interfere with American democracy.

• Impersonating identities: The Daily Beast reports that Kremlin trolls stole the identity of United Muslims of America (a real organization), and then used that alias Facebook page to buy ads aimed at a Muslim audience in order to promote political rallies and spread misinformation.
• Amplifying division with bots: Senate intelligence committee member James Lankford said during a hearing that Russian internet trolls were using social media to divide U.S. citizens over the controversy surrounding players kneeling in protest during NFL games.

Tactics:

• Use false identities, accounts or user names that closely mimic or copy real personas. Daily Beast reported that Russians used fake accounts to set up political events. Russian actors have also used real identities of scholars to spread misinformation through fake think tanks and fake research.
• Use advertising to build audiences on Facebook pages or groups that can further spread misinformation or cause division.
• Create fake news articles and publish them organically on social media, like Facebook and Twitter.
• Use bots to amplify divisive speech and to sow confusion.
• Capitalize on existing political divisions: The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Russian Facebook ads touched on Black Lives Matter and religion-related rifts. Politico also reported this week that Russian-funded Facebook ads supported Jill Stein, Sen. Bernie Sanders and President Trump during the election.

Pressure is mounting in Washington for tech companies to provide more information regarding potential malicious use of their platforms by foreign actors. Twitter will brief Senate Intelligence Committee staff on Capitol Hill Thursday. Facebook said it would hand over to Congress the ads Russians purchased during the election.

Senate committee members have requested that Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter appear before Congress on November 1, and House committee members have requested their presence the following month, per Bloomberg.

The ripple effect: The heightened awareness around Russia-linked efforts has led to calls for investigations into unrelated potential misinformation campaigns. House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith sent letters to the CEOs of Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter asking for information on Russian entities buying anti-fracking ads. Smith argued there's evidence of Russia trying to protect its oil-and-gas sector by spreading sentiment against fracking — the energy extraction technique that has enabled the U.S. oil and natural gas surge.

[upchuck]

As a nonuser of social media I find this disturbing and a little humorous. People are incredibly naive.

[McCarthysGhost]

We are being divided from within a hundred times worse.

[NurdlyPeon]

I just want to know how this is any different than what the DNC does.

[2ndDivisionVet]

The English, French and Germans sent agents here to influence elections while Washington was still in office.

[Herakles]

Oh, so its not Soros, its the “RUSSIANS”, yea, right, you becha, un-hu, yea!

[bigdaddy45]

This is beyond ridiculous. And its fun watching the Dems run around with their hair on fire screaming about “the Russians!!!”.

2020 will be interesting; the Dems will be so paranoid that the Russians are still at it, that they won’t believe anything they read online. EVERYTHING will be fake news.

Ahh... its a great time to be alive.

[fr_freak]

I just want to know how this is any different than what the DNC does.

Exactamundo! Left-wingers are shameless in their online tactics. We all know this from this website alone - how many trolls have been zotted, where the SOB logs on and says "I'm a lifelong conservative but I just can't go along with XYZ blah blah blah anymore" ? I've had personal experience debating with a lefty on a non-FR website where the lefty then goes and creates one or two sock puppets to attack me with to create the illusion of consensus against my ideas.

Add to that the real life diabolical shenanigans of lefties who do things like pretend to be conservatives at rallies where they throw Nazi salutes or carry signs that say "All Niggers Must Die" or some crap like that to make conservatives look bad.

Truth is, you could task the entire KGB (or whatever they are called these days) with gaslighting and disinforming Americans and they wouldn't hold a candle to the crap that the Left pulls in this country every single day.

[Architect of Avalon]

Russians are not the enemy.

[Architect of Avalon]

What did they say about the Founding Father?

[sparklite2]

Russians are not the enemy.

---

Agreed. The people who want to hate the USSR back into existence should be the only ones to deal with the consequences. Sadly, they won’t be.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Did Russian agents infiltrate the NFL?

[SecondAmendment]

The libs don’t realize their “Jedi mind trick” gas lighting
mash up only work on the weak minded, i.e. other libs.

[Flick Lives]

Hillary campaign spent a billion dollars and we’re supposed to believe $100k in ads from Russia has an effect on the election. The media is pushing another false narrative.

[Sacajaweau]

Don't belong to facebook, twitter or any of those media forums either. And there was no Boris in my voting booth.

All the cr** I heard was via OUR media...CNN, CNBC, Fox etc etc

But I also have my own mind...and with a little research, find out things like Hillary lied about Benghazi...that her foundation looks like a United Nations forum.

[nickcarraway]

There were tons of Russian trolls on this sight, and then after the election they left. There waa one Freeper who had Trumo in his name and a picture of Batman. He posted nonstoo, but I haven’t seen him in a long time.

[justa-hairyape]

Ah....um....So we are about to go to war with North Korea, and you are concerned with Russian espionage ? Not North Korean espionage ? Or even Iranian espionage ? Do you even have an estimate for the number of North Korean spies currently within the US ?

[Sacajaweau]

https://www.rt.com/usa/404960-twitter-testify-senate-russia/

[PGR88]

Its really pathetic.

The language is so cliche, and the charges are so broad, its just meaningless. Is really saying that Russians are somehow, without any facts to back the claim, organizing trolls and fake profiles to manipulate the most gullible and credulous Americans out there.

Its really what the Democrats are doing to the stupidest Americans regarding Trump and Russia.

[Chgogal]

Oh I get it! The Russians made Krapenek kneel down during the anthem. Russia made Obama say that the Cambridge police acted stupidly. Russia made Mike of Ferguson rob that store, bully the owner, attack the police officer before he got shot. Russia made Hillary delete her 33,000 emails. Russia made the Obama Administration lie about the video and Benghazi. Russia made Obama invite BLM to the WH how many times? Need I go on?

[Rashputin]

I think they take old articles and substitute the word “Russians” for the word “Jooooz” when they pump this stuff out.