Russian propaganda engaged U.S. vets, troops on Twitter and Facebook, study finds

[DonViejo]

BY GREG GORDON AND PETER STONE
McClatchy Washington Bureau

OCTOBER 09, 2017 5:00 AM

WASHINGTON Russia has exploited social media networks to target current and former U.S. military personnel with propaganda, conspiracy theories and other misinformation, achieving “significant and persistent interactions” over Twitter during a one-month period last spring, a British research team found.

The Oxford University study, which traced the reach of three websites with clear ties to the Russian government, adds a new dimension to revelations of a Kremlin cyber campaign aimed at undermining Americans’ trust in democracy during last year’s U.S. elections and helping Donald Trump win the presidency.

“We’ve found an entire ecosystem of junk news about national security issues that is deliberately crafted for U.S. veterans and active military personnel,” said Philip Howard, a professor of internet studies who led the research. “It’s a complex blend of content with a Russian view of the world – wild rumors and conspiracies.”

However, the study found that Russia’s communication inroads with the military community on Twitter “are not presently very deep,” and that it has had more success gaining influence through Twitter than Facebook.

The researchers sought to map how social media amplified the impact of these websites that sprang up over the last four years:

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[Iliyah]

1. And the GOP welcomed it and worked with them

That's why they are sooooooooooooooooo silent while ass kissing.

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[ffr]

3. There's a more insidious side to this story, further in.

Carpenter said that under President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine “has become very good at targeting specific demographics and subgroups within American society, with tailored content in order to sow discord and undermine trust in government.”

He said the “information warfare” meshes with Russian “spear phishing attacks” – attempts to compromise the emails of U.S. service members and military contractors.

“This is further evidence of the Kremlin’s holistic effort to try to get inside the minds, computers and communications of our forces to steal information on things such as the locations and deployment schedules of specific military units and to conduct psy-ops (psychological operations) against our troops.”

Not just about compelling us to fight amongst ourselves and elect the worst weakest leaders possible, they are also targeting service members to divulge U.S. operations and locations.