When Russia targets Americans on social media, it has political goals: in 2016, to damage Hillary Clinton and help elect Donald J. Trump; since then, to press Russian views on issues like the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine; and in the future — who knows?
To wield influence, Russian online operators must first build an audience. Posing as Americans, they have to persuade Americans to pay attention and give them at least a modicum of trust.
Two reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released on Monday shed some light on how Russia does it. The reports identify some of the most popular of the images and themes created by the Internet Research Agency, which is based in St. Petersburg, Russia, and owned by a businessman with close ties to President Vladimir V. Putin.
[Read more about the reports here.]
Here are a few of the Russians’ greatest hits.
Posted Sept. 8, 2016, by the Being Patriotic Facebook page
With the message:
“At least 50,000 homeless veterans are starving dying in the streets, but liberals want to invite 620,000 refugees and settle them among us. We have to take care of our own citizens, and it must be the primary goal for our politicians!”
640,390 ‘Shares’
Using a weathered veteran’s face, this post contrasted the desperate condition of many American veterans with the supposedly more fortunate fate of refugees, using a number that Mr. Trump had cited in an attack on Mrs. Clinton. (The number was judged by PolitiFact to be false). Like a huge number of posts, it appealed to conservatives, used dubious statistics and tapped into the presidential election two months away. Despite its somewhat awkward name — the Russian meme makers were not native speakers of English, after all — the Facebook page called “Being Patriotic” garnered 6.3 million “likes,” presumably from Americans who believed they were supporting fellow patriots.
Posted March 2, 2016, by the Instagram account @army_of_jesus_
It garnered the most likes of any Instagram post before the election.
87,750 Likes
The Internet Research Agency trolls sought to tap into powerful currents of emotion and opinion in the American electorate. Not surprisingly, one of those currents was faith. This simple image, like the veteran post above, presents a standoff between opposing forces — not veterans vs. refugees this time, but Christians vs. nonbelievers. By offering Instagram users the choices of liking the image or scrolling on, the Russian operators set up a gentle test of allegiance: Surely they would want to join the Army of Jesus!
Posted Nov. 23, 2016, by the Blacktivist Facebook page
With this message:
“PLEASE HELP THIS VIDEO GO VIRAL. THESE COPS CAN BEAT UP INNOCENT MAN, GET AWAY WITH MURDER EVEN WHEN IT`S CAUGHT ON CAMERA JUST BECAUSE THEY WEAR A ‘MAGICAL’ BADGE AND GUN.”
539,012 Shares
In this authentic video footage, which circulated widely on the web, three white police officers hold down a black man and one officer punches him repeatedly in the head while trying to put handcuffs on him. Blacktivist was one of 30 Facebook pages created by the Internet Research Agency and devoted to African-American themes. The Russians were exploiting a powerful, legitimate grievance then getting extensive coverage: brutal treatment, or shootings, of unarmed black men at the hands of the police. Such posts build an audience and cement a connection to that audience. Then the same page would have an interested audience ready when the Internet Research Agency posted political messages — say, that Mrs. Clinton was hostile to African-American interests, or that black voters should boycott the election.
Posted June 11, 2017, by the Instagram account @blackstagram_
With the message:
“What is your color? @expressiontees @kahmune #blackexcellence #blackpride #blackandproud #blackpower #africanamerican#melanin #ebony #panafrican #blackcommunity #problack #brownskin #unapologeticallyblack #blackgirl #blackgirls #blackwomen #blackwoman.”
254,179 Likes
After the 2016 election, the Russian trolls did not stop their work — and on Instagram they actually stepped it up. Many of the posts aimed at African-Americans, like this one, were essentially apolitical and carried heartwarming messages. As in many of the Internet Research Agency memes, the image and message were not created in Russia but taken from elsewhere: in this case, an advertisement for a black-owned footwear company named Kahmune. Experts who have studied the Internet Research Agency say such posts build a loyal audience, essentially preparing the ground for whatever future political message the Russian government may want to spread.
An Internet Research Agency cross-platform brand
The Black Matters theme was first created on a Facebook page in June 2015. But in the months that followed, Internet Research Agency operators spread the same brand across many platforms: Google+, Twitter and Instagram, where @blackmattersus drew 28,466 followers and 1,929,855 engagements — likes and shares. A YouTube channel with the same name posted 95 videos. There were Facebook and Google ads. A podcast ran on SoundCloud linked to a blog on Tumblr. Like any commercial enterprise, the Russian troll factory built an image and brand name using every possible online tool — all of them provided by American companies.
Source : Nytimes
