Weaponizing Cyberspace: Inside Russia's Hostile Activities by Sambaluk Nicholas Michael;

Author:Sambaluk, Nicholas Michael;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO, LLC
Published: 2021-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Media reports characterized Trump’s statements as constituting a defense of white supremists, with the Washington Post stating that “the evidence shows there were no quiet protesters against removing the statue that weekend. That’s just a figment of the president’s imagination.”69 Proving a negative is notoriously difficult, and hate-based demonstrations in the city were conspicuously in evidence and are naturally identified as newsworthy. Widespread news coverage of a chilling and strident white supremist march the night before and selective media coverage of Trump’s statements (excluding “the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists—because they should be condemned totally,” but including the reference to “very fine people”) quickly fed an already standing suspicion that Trump sympathized and encouraged racism in the United States.70

Researchers subsequently reported an uptick in Russian troll activity, as well as their postelection consolidation on messages oriented to stir Right-fringe groups. New social media accounts were being operated “tweeting the same message differing only in the idiosyncratic hashtags used.” Republican congressman Tom Garrett, representing the Charlottesville region, later indicated that intelligence officials after the violence had concluded that Russian actors had actively worked to enflame the tension and violence. “What they’re trying to do is make the world safe for kleptocrats and oligarchs and dictators like Putin,” Garrett noted. “That’s what scares me most—that Americans will be pitted against Americans … .”71

A particularly dizzying aspect of the identified Russian trolling involves the tenor of the messages put forth during and immediately following the Charlottesville violence. Unsurprisingly, red meat was fed to the fringes: the fake account BlackNewsOutlet announced “Nazi fuckers ‘protesting’ right now in #Charlottesville fighting for white supremacy. ‘Racism is a thing of the past’ yeah right”; the fake account southlonestar2 charged, “We have NEVER seen this outrage when it comes to islamists or BLM attacks”; the fake account Wokeluisa declared, “Why cops show up to #BlackLivesMatter ‘riots’ in riot gear but not to these #Charlottesville ‘rallies’?” Such posts encourage division and tension and fit neatly into the kind of social undermining that trolls could be expected to nurture.72

But other troll accounts posted ostensibly moderating statements, and this defies such easy explanation. Fake account Pamela_Moore13 posted: “Both sides are responsible for this #Charlottesville mess. This is what Identity Politics leads to” and “Media and Corrupt Politicians … they’ve radicalized Americans to the point of killing each other.” TEN_GOP, another account exposed as a source of Russian disinformation, posted: “A very sad day for America. This is not who we are.” USA_Gunslinger posted: “#Charlottesville happening are not only un-American, but also disgraceful to the values and principles that formed this nation” and “I condemn everything that’s going on in #Charlottesville and so does our President. But leftists calling everyone a Nazi are just disgusting.”73

Why would trolls post such statements that simulate the frustrations of Americans who are distressed by violence? There are several potential rationales. One is that voicing such purported moderation-in-distress might help encourage American social media users not to post expressions of moderation but to feel powerless. Possibly such

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