A Brief History
On September 29, 2017, the news media are buzzing about the revelation made public by CNN yesterday that not only did the Russians buy targeted Facebook ads in an attempt to influence the 2016 American presidential election, they also posted disinformation posing as Black Lives Matter sympathizers in an effort to create divisive rifts in US race relations. Posing as “Blacktivists” the Russians also used Twitter and blogs to destabilize race relations in the US.
Digging Deeper
The so called “Internet Research Agency,” a front for a Russian government backed “troll farm” posted the ads and false stories on Facebook to inspire hatred among African Americans against the American police and White Americans in general, while also trying to stir up fear and resentment against Black Americans by White Americans, the posts being geographically oriented to places suffering confrontational race relations (such as Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland). By furthering the false narrative that the police are wantonly murdering Black males for no apparent reason, the Russians have contributed to discord in the US.
The fake posts went from hard left Black Lives Matter inflammatory rhetoric to hard right gun rights and anti-immigrant hate speech. The campaign to pose as right or left wing groups is all part of the larger Russian internet blog and Facebook campaign to destabilize the US political process and create rifts in American society. The evidence against the Russians is overwhelming, and there is virtually no question that the Kremlin is behind the campaign.
The question we have, is What is our Government going to do about it??? If vigorous action is not taken to punish Russia and their dictator, Vladimir Putin, for interference with American democratic elections, then by a lack of action our own government is complicit with the Russians. If the Trump Administration does not act quickly and with a purpose, we pause to wonder why.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What do you think about the news that racially motivated pot stirring was promulgated by the Russians? What do you think should be done about it? What are your thoughts on this timely subject?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Nance, Malcolm. Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election. Skyhorse Publishing, 2016.
