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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRussia is Targeting European Elections. So Are Far-Right Copycats
LONDON Less than two weeks before pivotal elections for the European Parliament, a constellation of websites and social media accounts linked to Russia or far-right groups is spreading disinformation, encouraging discord and amplifying distrust in the centrist parties that have governed for decades.
European Union investigators, academics and advocacy groups say the new disinformation efforts share many of the same digital fingerprints or tactics used in previous Russian attacks, including the Kremlins interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
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Russia remains a driving force, but researchers also discovered numerous copycats, particularly on the far right. Those groups often echo Kremlin talking points, making it difficult to discern the lines between Russian propaganda, far-right disinformation and genuine political debate.
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The goal here is bigger than any one election, said Daniel Jones, a former F.B.I. analyst and Senate investigator whose nonprofit group, Advance Democracy, recently flagged a number of suspicious websites and social media accounts to law enforcement authorities. It is to constantly divide, increase distrust and undermine our faith in institutions and democracy itself. Theyre working to destroy everything that was built post-World War II.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/world/europe/russian-propaganda-influence-campaign-european-elections-far-right.html
MineralMan
(146,295 posts)They appear to have similar opinions and positions in many cases. Odd, isn't it?
at140
(6,110 posts)Amazing Russia has made more Zillionaire Oligarchs than United States.
triron
(22,002 posts)Much of the media is complicit.
at140
(6,110 posts)1950's. Even a municipal election, where USSR was funding the communist candidate running for mayor of my city.