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The Russian Embassy is asking people to become twitter-bots.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-russian-embassy-is-asking-people-to-become-twitter-botsThe Russian Embassy in the UK, which previously made headlines for its stint in the President Trump Meme War, has concocted an innovative method to garner social media support: it's turning its Twitter followers into automated news bots.
"Welcome to the world of digital diplomacy," declares the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the UK. "Diplomacy of the future!"
Let's dig in. The scheme is part of the embassy's Russian Diplomatic Online Club, which promises members an insight into international policy and "all things Russian". Unlike a regular newsletter, which requires a user to hand over their email address in return for receiving news straight to their inbox, the Russian online club asks users to give over access to their Twitter accounts to a third-party app called Tweetsquad (more on this later).
Once a user's credentials are registered with Tweetsquad, that user will automatically follow the Twitter account of UK Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko, and automatically retweet one of his "most important" tweets each week. Essentially, users willingly sign up to become a Twitter bot for the Russian Embassy.
SNIP