Foreign Involvement in Social Media

I want to address something that I believe most people know but don’t accept in the memes they are looking at on social media. Many of the more divisive memes come from foreign sources, mainly our adversaries. They want to keep us divided. They want us yelling at each other and not talking to each other. They are sapping the strength of our nation and reducing our readiness to answer their aggression in the world.

Their latest theme is this idea that everyone is lying to you. This is very effective. This targets everyone on both sides of every issue. It is paralyzing when people believe that there is no one they can trust. If no one can warn them of coming dangers, or instruct them on safety and financial matters, then our society will begin to come apart.

Please, everyone, think about things. Don’t let statements made without support control your life or mess with your stability.

Here are just to articles written on the subject. I’m sure you can find many more.

From:

Foreign Interference Persists And Techniques Are Evolving, Big Tech Tells Hill : NPR

Facebook has taken down nearly 2 billion fake accounts just this year and it has dismantled 18 coordinated influence networks, said Nathaniel Gleicher, its head of security policy. They included three Russian and two Iranian networks and two based in the United States.

From:

Russia 'meddled in all big social media' around US election - BBC News

The research details a vast campaign spearheaded by the Internet Research Agency (IRA) - a Russian company that has been described by the United States Intelligence Community as a troll farm with ties to the Russian government.

The report says Russia had a particular focus on targeting conservatives with posts on immigration, race and gun rights.

There were also efforts to undermine the voting power of left-leaning African-American citizens, by spreading misinformation about the electoral process.

Another report, also released today by the Senate, by the research firm New Knowledge, similarly highlights Russia's efforts to target African-Americans.

It explains how Russia's IRA were focused on "developing Black audiences and recruiting Black Americans as assets," which included encouraging activists to stage rallies.