How Russia Is Trying To Boost Bernie Sanders' Campaign

[George II]

INVESTIGATIONS
March 5, 20205:25 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered

It's 2016 all over again — at least from Russia's perspective.

Russia's state-sponsored messaging about Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign was more neutral in the fall.

But over the past six weeks, this coverage has shifted to mirror pro-Sanders talking points first used in the last presidential campaign, said Clint Watts of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, who has been monitoring Russian interference continuously.

"What's really come on strong just in the last 30 to 45 days are very similar narratives that we saw in 2016 about Sanders," Watts told NPR.

While Sanders has acknowledged on the campaign trail that he was briefed by the intelligence community about Russia's efforts to boost his campaign, he has been steadfastly opposed to that support, saying at a recent debate: "Hey, Mr. Putin, if I'm president of the United States, trust me, you're not going to interfere in any more American elections."

It isn't clear precisely how much Russia is doing to help Sanders via the anonymity of cyberspace, but national security officials warned on Monday that social media agitation and disinformation have continued through this year's presidential race.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/05/812186614/how-russia-is-trying-to-boost-bernie-sanders-campaign?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews

[stonecutter357]

1. K&R

[Botany]

2. Sanders knew about Russia helping his campaign for over a month and a half and didn't say ...

.... word one.

[MrsCoffee]

3. His presidential aspirations have been devastating to this country.

And to my party.

And apparently to him. That heart attack should have been a wake up call. Time to go home and heal and be with his family. And let the nation heal. No more divisive bullshit.

Joe’s got this.

[LaurenOlimina]

4. They want chaos.

[Mike 03]

5. There's still one mystery

Someone here quoted CNN as reporting that Russia's meddling wasn't confined to cyberspace and social media platforms.

Maybe it was a false report or an off-the-cuff remark that turned out not to be true. But it was never clarified and I never heard another word about it. Hopefully it was false, but it's hard not to be curious about it.