Report: Russia’s 2016 Election Interference Campaign Targeted African-Americans
- 5 years ago
Newly released reports commissioned by the US Senate Intelligence Committee reveal that Russia’s 2016 election interference campaign on social media targeted African-Americans.
Newly released reports commissioned by the US Senate Intelligence Committee reveal that Russia's 2016 election interference campaign on social media targeted African-Americans. According to the New York Times, the report prepared by New Knowledge states that Russia's Internet Research Agency "used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard of posts on Instagram that rivaled or exceeded its Facebook operations." It also notes the "I.R.A. efforts on Facebook and Instagram specifically targeted black American communities and appear to have been focused on developing black audiences and recruiting black Americans as assets."
In doing so, it "leveraged pre-existing, legitimate grievances wherever they could." The purpose was generally to villainize Hillary Clinton and elevate now-President Donald Trump. The other report, which was compiled by the Computational Propaganda Project at Oxford University and Graphika, drew much the same conclusion, reports the Washington Post. According to the Post, the I.R.A also, though to a lesser degree, tailored messages to various ethnic and religious groups. Such efforts continued, and in some cases intensified after Trump was elected.
Newly released reports commissioned by the US Senate Intelligence Committee reveal that Russia's 2016 election interference campaign on social media targeted African-Americans. According to the New York Times, the report prepared by New Knowledge states that Russia's Internet Research Agency "used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard of posts on Instagram that rivaled or exceeded its Facebook operations." It also notes the "I.R.A. efforts on Facebook and Instagram specifically targeted black American communities and appear to have been focused on developing black audiences and recruiting black Americans as assets."
In doing so, it "leveraged pre-existing, legitimate grievances wherever they could." The purpose was generally to villainize Hillary Clinton and elevate now-President Donald Trump. The other report, which was compiled by the Computational Propaganda Project at Oxford University and Graphika, drew much the same conclusion, reports the Washington Post. According to the Post, the I.R.A also, though to a lesser degree, tailored messages to various ethnic and religious groups. Such efforts continued, and in some cases intensified after Trump was elected.