How the Russians pretended to be Texans and Texans believed them

[IronLionZion]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/10/17/how-the-russians-pretended-to-be-texans-and-texans-believed-them/?utm_term=.f5b03f3f08a0



In early 2016, while researching some of the most popular U.S. secession groups online, I stumbled across one of the Russian-controlled Facebook accounts that were then pulling in Americans by the thousands.

At the time, I was writing on Russia’s relationship with American secessionists from Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. These were people who had hitched flights to Moscow to swap tactics, to offer advice and to find support. They had found succor in the shadow of the Kremlin.

That was how I eventually found my way to the “Heart of Texas” Facebook page (and its @itstimetoecede Twitter feed as well). Heart of Texas soon grew into the most popular Texas secession page on Facebook — one that, at one point in 2016, boasted more followers than the official Texas Democrat and Republican Facebook pages combined. By the time Facebook took the page down recently, it had a quarter of a million followers.

The page started slowly — just a few posts per week. Unlike other secession sites I’d come across, this one never carried any contact information, never identified any of individuals behind the curtain. Even as it grew, there was nothing to locate it in Texas — or anywhere else, for that matter. It was hard to escape the suspicion that there might be Russian involvement here as well.

There were other oddities about the site. Its organizers had a strangely one-dimensional idea of its subject. They seemed to think, for example, that Texans drank Dr. Pepper at all hours: while driving their giant trucks, while flying their Confederate battle flags, while griping about Yankees and liberals and vegetarians.

Great, now we're stuck playing the game of deplorable or Russian. Deplorables don't have the best command of the English language so that doesn't give it away. Neither group uses spell check. Not even Newt Gingrich or Donald Trump use spell check these days. Deplorables are dumb enough to fall for this professional trolling.

At some point one would think the Russian people would start asking if this is the best use of their tax dollars.

[annabanana]

1. The Russian People have no say in the expenditure of their tax dollars.. . .

(And their demonstrations get no coverage, here OR there.)

[IronLionZion]

2. There are some who want to make America like Russia

and let oligarchs control everything

[Irish_Dem]

3. Taking over America was like taking candy from a baby.

The Russians didn't really have to go to a lot of trouble or spend a lot of money
to wage a propaganda war and hack the voting system.