Monday, January 7, 2019

New Studies Reveal That Russian Social-Media Involvement In U.S. Politics Was Not As Sophisticated As Many Are Claiming

Facebook ads linked to a Russian effort to disrupt the US political process are displayed as Facebook executives appear before the House Intelligence Committee on November 1, 2017. (Reuters / Aaron Bernstein)

The Nation: New Studies Show Pundits Are Wrong About Russian Social-Media Involvement in US Politics

Far from being a sophisticated propaganda campaign, it was small, amateurish, and mostly unrelated to the 2016 election.

The release of two Senate-commissioned reports has sparked a new round of panic about Russia manipulating a vulnerable American public on social media. Headlines warn that Russian trolls have tried to suppress the African-American vote, promote Green Party candidate Jill Stein, recruit “assets,” and “sow discord” or “hack the 2016 election” via sex-toy ads and Pokémon Go. “The studies,” writes David Ignatius of The Washington Post, “describe a sophisticated, multilevel Russian effort to use every available tool of our open society to create resentment, mistrust and social disorder,” demonstrating that the Russians, “thanks to the Internet…seem to be perfecting these dark arts.” According to Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times, “it looks increasingly as though” Russian disinformation “changed the direction of American history” in the narrowly decided 2016 election, when “Russian trolling easily could have made the difference.”

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WNU Editor: This blog has been claiming the same thing for the past two years. But what like about this post is that it summarizes everything very nicely.

11 comments:

jimbrown said...

All efforts like this were meant to be exposed to create the false narrative of Trump Russia collusion.

They were the dots layed out to be connected.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. For two years, 24/7, CNN and MSNBC pretty much called Trump a "putin pupper", the next "Hitler", a "nazi in disguise", who uses "dog whistles" and "secret language" to promote "white power" ...


these guys. seriously. Why is CNN still on the air? How are they not colluding with the rest of the main stream media to push this narrative on us?

For two years - on thousands of individual occasions, they got away with promoting these lies about a grand Russian ploy. The reality is that it was actually the Democrats who were so knee deep in scandals, including using the FBI and DOJ as tools to spy and derail a presidential campaign. Meanwhile, team Hillary gets town hall questions passed on by Donna Brazille, who at the time was on the payroll of CNN! Ffs..

This rot is so deep, and until parrot like Fred demand that their side pay the price for it, they will just keep doing it

Anonymous said...

You cite a very left wing source for your story and the rubes all go along with it, after denouncing the much less left MSM!

Anonymous said...

It must be frustrating for you!

Bob Huntley said...

Anon hates the demos but the demos are Americans therefore Anon hates Americans. That is of course using his logic.

Anonymous said...

I don't think so Bob. He's always banging on about chuds and rubes on the right, it does look like he's found a friend. You and I disagree on our politics, but always in a civil manner. So no big deal there but the above will be fun to watch.

Bob Huntley said...

I agree with you. When I mentioned things in the past, historical things that put the US in perspective he accused me of hating Americans. I was just reversing that on him or her, whatever the case may be. Nothing better to do on a day when I am avoiding the storm and no Anon, I do not hate storms.

Bob Huntley said...

I should add since he mentioned Fred that Fred's site, http://extragoodshit.phlap.net/ has been parked for a few days now. Hope he is okay.

Anonymous said...

I think fred moved to nursing home or to Venezuela but he was funny old guy who reminded me of my demented grandfather

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Bob Huntley said...

Anon

Your demented grandfather? Interesting, that does explain a lot about you.