Inside the Russian effort to target Sanders supporters -- and help elect Trump

[Eliot Rosewater]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-russian-effort-to-target-sanders-supporters--and-help-elect-trump/2019/04/11/741d7308-5576-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html?utm_term=.b2dcee83c1c3

After Bernie Sanders lost his primary campaign for president against Hillary Clinton in 2016, a Twitter account called Red Louisiana News reached out to his supporters to help sway the general election. “Conscious Bernie Sanders supporters already moving towards the best candidate Trump! #Feel the Bern #Vote Trump 2016,” the account tweeted.

The tweet was not actually from Louisiana, according to an analysis by Clemson University researchers. Instead, it was one of thousands of accounts identified as based in Russia, part of a cloaked effort to persuade supporters of the Vermont senator to elect Trump. “Bernie Sanders says his message resonates with Republicans,” said another Russian tweet.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. What kind of a knucklehead would you have to be to believe some of that crap

in the first place? I was a Sanders supporter during the primaries because I liked some of his ideas about wealth inequality, but had no problem supporting Clinton after the convention. I never even considered voting for Trump or not voting at all, and didn't take those crazy stories seriously. But obviously some people did (it's called confirmation bias), and now that we know that the Russians are behind at least some of them, how do we deal with what's certain to come in 2020? Evidently there are a lot of gullible knuckleheads out there who are eager to believe what they want to believe.

[ehrnst]

8. Confirmation bias. It's a powerful thing, and leads one to lap up lies that fuel their rage.(nt)

[JonLP24]

2. If Sanders gets the nomination and the Russians want Trump to stay in power

They already have existing Bernie Sanders hate to capitalize from.

I think the propaganda was probably more effective with Republicans. A "Deplorable Jane" account gained 10K followers in a week after tweeting on the hashtag #BasketofDeplorables which the Russian trolls got trending where Trump's campaign pointed to the hashtag demanding an apology from Hillary Clinton.

[Me.]

3. Finally The Truth Is Coming Out

+1

[WA-03 Democrat]

4. Exactly

This is the Russians do. Make everything crap so your choice does not matter. They turn the cynicism up to 11.

[moondust]

5. JPR

I'm pretty sure that was one place ?somebody? focused on to pick up disgruntled Sanders supporters. It didn't take much time at all there to pick up the pro-Russian/anti-Clinton themes.

[Eliot Rosewater]

6. Unless we understand what is happening, why, and who is doing it, we will lose again.

TWO groups are bound and determined to keep Democrats out of power, not just one.

[ehrnst]

7. It's hard to think that one could be taken in by one's own biases to such an extent.

This will be dismissed by those who were.

Some were not fooled. Some of us saw the talking points repeated over and over again on Social Media, and saw friends whipped into a fury by lies about HRC, to the point when ANYTHING came out about the Clintons, it was met with "OMG, Can you BELIEVE they did that," even when it wasn't onerous, and often when it proved that HRC was clearly not a candidate who shilled for donors.

But it became about what tribe one was in, not facts. Dogma.

So many on the left were eager to lap it up and beg for more.

[triron]

9. And there was the constant barrage from the media about her emails. Sigh.

That didn't help with any Sanders supporters that were on the fence.

[Amimnoch]

10. Don't doubt it for one second. -nt

[Eliot Rosewater]

13. WRONG