Election securityRussian election meddling in the U.S. and beyond
On Thursday 20 September 2018, the US targeted 33 individuals and entities with sanctions over interference in the American Presidential election in 2016. This followed the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of 12 Russian officials. Previously, 13 Russian citizens as well as the Internet Research Agency, Concord Management and Concord Catering had been charged with interfering with the U.S. political system.
On Thursday 20 September 2018, the US targeted 33 individuals and entities with sanctions over interference in the American Presidential election in 2016.
This followed the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of 12 Russian officials. Previously, 13 Russian citizens as well as the Internet Research Agency, Concord Management and Concord Catering had been charged with interfering with the U.S. political system.
Russian military intelligence officers created false online personas and websites in order to stage the release of stolen election-related documents, falsely claiming their activities were the work of ‘American hacktivists’. The Russian influence campaign also created a number of Twitter accounts that posed as local American media outlets
The part of the Russian disinformation attack on the American elections which was carried out by the St. Petersburg “troll factory” was a more than two-year long operation involving dozens of employees, hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of dollars. The campaign also included purchasing election advertisement, which focused on race, LGBT, religion and guns.
The St. Petersburg troll factory is still active and has moved to new and larger premises and e.g. runs a news website specifically targeting American voters.
Not all of the “factory’s” activities are known; however, primarily thanks to Russian journalists working under cover and whistle blowing, the modus operandi of the St. Petersburg troll factory has become public, see here, here and here.
For thorough background on the process that has led up to this most recent development in the US reactions to Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election, see the New York Times’ story, “The Plot to Subvert an Election”.
The American case of Russian election interference has gained massive media attention, but is not unique.
156,000 Russian-based Twitter accounts tweeted about Brexit in the days leading up the June 2016 referendum.
According to the study, the accounts posted more than 45,000 tweets about Brexit in the
