"Russian internet trolls hired U.S. journalists to push their news website"

[Budi]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1239000?__twitter_impression=true

(Now those 'journalists' refuse to be named)

Russian internet trolls hired U.S. journalists to push their news website, Facebook says
Facebook said the website is run by people affiliated with the Internet Research Agency, which inflamed political tensions in the 2016 election through social media.


Some of Russia’s most notorious internet trolls have launched a news website that hired real-life journalism freelancers — including Americans — to contribute, Facebook said Tuesday.

The site, called Peace Data, launched this year with coverage focused largely on the environment and corporate and political corruption.

Facebook learned through a tip from the FBI that people formerly associated with the Russian Internet Research Agency, which created a number of influential Twitter and Facebook personas to inflame political tensions in the 2016 election, ran Peace Data and has taken down its known affiliated accounts. It had yet to gain a serious following, said Nathaniel Gleicher, the company’s head of cybersecurity policy.


SNIP
“This looks like an attempt to target left-wing audiences on a range of issues, but the operation got taken down in its early stages and didn't score measurable impact,” Nimmo said. “The election wasn't the only focus, but to the extent that it was, it looks like the operation wanted to divide Democratic voters, the same way the IRA tried in 2016,” he said, referring to the Internet Research Agency.


An American journalist who wrote several articles for the site said he was unaware that the website was backed by Russians and that it was hard to turn down paid writing work in an era when many journalists have trouble finding it.

“They DM’d me on Twitter and said hey do you wanna write for us, we’ll give you $200 an article,” said the journalist, who asked to not be named so as not to draw undue attention to having worked for a misleading news operation. “I lost my job during COVID and was pretty desperate to earn money just to pay rent.”
MORE...

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Some pols knew of this operation in 2016 but chose to keep quiet when it benefitted their own opportunity.

This touches only the surface of why social media, in 2016, became inundated with hate propaganda against the one woman who knew & warned of Russia's threat to our nation.

They built an entire fringe political party & gave them a catchy name, against the Democratic Party using this method, that exists today, via the use of a Social Media cult of naievete & ignorance.

Excellent Read...
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Link to tweet

[Iliyah]

1. Hate radio, fake news (murdoch) and oann . ..

Sinclair, etc. are all working with the Russians.

[Budi]

2. 2016/2020 - Greenwald, Assange, Intercept, Sirota, ...

The list is long & the 'journalists' become more obvious every day.

[Cha]

10. They all absolutely have trump blood on their hands.

[Gothmog]

3. I discount the articles that I see talking about discord in the Democratic Party or attacking Biden

I keep seeing articles discussing discord and division inside the Democratic Party and I wonder if Russia is behind these articles. Russia pushed a number of attacks in 2016 that helped suppress the vote or help third party candidates. We will be seeing more attempts by Russia to help re-elect trump including claims that Joe has some disease or that there are real divisions inside the Democrats Party and so various groups need to stay home and not vote. Please ignore these articles and focus on the only thing that matters which is defeating trump

[Budi]

4. This article explains why we see so much "Dems in Disarray" propaganda

Because it is just that.

[Gothmog]

5. I keep seeing articles about Democrats being in disarray being posted on DU

I just laugh at these articles and wonder if the authors are being paid by Russia or are Russians. I simply do not trust articles pushing the view that the Democratic Party is not committed to defeating trump.

[Budi]

6. Yup. It appears quite a few 'journos' were enticed by that $200 offer.

All they had to do was keep the 2016 division moving thru 2020.

$200 & their name among the social media 'influencers'.

They got Fame & Fortune & didn't even need a soul to guide them. The script was written for them. All they had to do was to see that the 'script' was repeated everywhere.
What a gig, huh?

[Gothmog]

7. I am tired of articles about the Democratic Party is at war with itself

A number of these poorly written articles keep appearing on DU and I wonder what role Putin played in getting this articles printed

We need to defeat trump and we need to ignore crappy articles from Russian sources about the Democratic Party is not unified.

[ehrnst]

9. Yep. On the money.

Even considering several of the regular posters of that tripe have gone silent since early April.

[NurseJackie]

11. YeS!

[ehrnst]

16. ...

[ehrnst]

8. Get. Out. Some of us figured this out long ago, and when we called such tripe out, we were accused

of being "establishment shills."

Interestingly, several of those who reposted those articles here on DU have gone quiet since early April.

[GeorgiaPeanut]

12. There is HA Goodman

and Holly Otterbein and many others.

It all makes sense now. "Democrats in disarray", "progressives are not happy", "BLM thinks they were only given lip service" etc.

Then there is Brihana Joy Grey and there is Nina Turner ... also on Russian payroll probably.

Great OP. Thanks for posting.

[Gothmog]

13. I remember HA Goodman

His articles were very poorly written. Does JPR still cover that idiot?

[Gothmog]

14. Russia and trump are each pushing the same lie regarding Joe Biden

trump has blocked a report from US intelligence agencies to law enforcement about Russia pushing lies about Joe Biden's mental competence because trump is pushing the same. lie. Russia and trump are busy pushing the same lie

Link to tweet

[GeorgiaPeanut]

15. Don't forget Cenk Uygur who started it

Obviously Cenk gets rubles too.

[George II]

18. He's got a contract with RT for something like $5M.

[George II]

17. I'm growing more and more skeptical of so-called "online journalism", sites that report....

....only online.

Who knows the true origins of the news they claim to "report"?