Tag: Trump dismissal of Russian interference

The U.S.’s top spies issue a challenge to Trump’s agenda

The following article by Ishaan Tharoor was posted on the Washington Post website February 14, 2018:

Credit: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg, Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE

On Tuesday, the top intelligence officials in the United States briefed senators on their annual assessments of the threats facing the country in the year ahead. Although most of these principals were Trump appointees, their testimony reflected the consensus of what some Trump supporters would probably tar as the “deep state,” the shadowy world of Washington bureaucrats and spooks operating at a remove from the public.

The headline concern of their report was something that exasperates the president: the role of Russian meddling in U.S. politics, whether in the form of direct attempts to interfere with the electoral system or the proliferation of Kremlin-sponsored social media bots and “news” websites. Continue reading “The U.S.’s top spies issue a challenge to Trump’s agenda”

Russian operatives used Facebook ads to exploit America’s racial and religious divisions

The following article by Adam Entous, Craig Timberg and Elizabeth Dwoskin was posted on the Washington Post website September 25, 2017:

Facebook announced on Sept. 21 that it would turn over copies of 3,000 political ads brought by Russian accounts during the 2016 election, after previously showing some to congressional investigators. (The Washington Post)

The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African American rights groups, including Black Lives Matter, and others suggesting that these same groups pose a rising political threat, say people familiar with the covert influence campaign.

The Russian campaign — taking advantage of Facebook’s ability to send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics — also sought to sow discord among religious groups. Other ads highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women. Continue reading “Russian operatives used Facebook ads to exploit America’s racial and religious divisions”