Russia adopting new tactics in election interference efforts, US claims
- Interference focused on memes this election, experts claim, with Moscow’s minions apparently dumping fake news because people are more savvy
Russians believed to be connected to their government have been involved in spreading divisive content and promoting extreme themes in the run-up to Tuesday’s US midterm elections, but they are working harder to hide their tracks, according to US government investigators, academics and security firms.
Researchers studying the spread of disinformation on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other platforms say the new, more subtle tactics have allowed most of the so-called information operations campaigns to survive purges by big social media companies and avoid government scrutiny.
“The Russians are definitely not sitting this one out,” said Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. “They have adapted over time to increased focus on influence operations.”
US intelligence and law enforcement agencies claim Russia used disinformation and other tactics to support President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. The Russian government has rejected claims of election interference.
One alleged sign of Moscow trying to disrupt American political life came out in charges unsealed last month against a female Russian accountant at a St Petersburg company known as the Internet Research Agency.