Divide-and-conquer might well have been the mantra of the Russians who interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the White House.
Chilling new details of their sophisticated disinformation campaign emerged this week, confirming that a Russian company with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin used the biggest names in American technology to spread disinformation, poison the electorate and enrage voters.
Two new reports for the Senate Intelligence Committee describe how the Russians heavily targeted Americans with deceitful messages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms.
No matter who their targets were, the Russians played on ingrained ethnic, racial or political divisions. They had a dark, sinister view of America, spawning a plot that sought not only to undermine the election but to tear at some of America's greatest strengths — its diversity and openness.
To garner support from conservatives, for example, a company known as the Internet Research Agency used anti-refugee, pro-immigration reform themes — the same themes that Trump himself often employed.
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05.04.2025