Trolls from Russia intent on spreading misinformation during the 2016 election put content on r/The_Donald, a notorious pro-Trump subreddit, and Tumblr, according to a new report.
An internal leak from the Internet Research Agency, the Russian “troll farm” at the center of Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s indictments last month, showed how they used websites they created to post content on r/The_Donald and r/HillaryForPrison ahead of the election, generating thousands of upvotes, the Daily Beast reports.
The leak also showed that the IRA ran 21 Tumblr accounts and listed “American proxies” for Reddit and 9Gag, a meme website.
Reddit and 9Gag did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment. Oath, the parent company of Tumblr, said “any abuse of our services is deeply concerning” to them.
Tumblr has come under fire in recent weeks after it was discovered that trolls used the website to sow discord—much like they did on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google—by posing as Black activists and trying to pit supporters of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) against one another.
Last month Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Russia was already attempting to influence the 2018 midterm elections.
You can read all of the Daily Beast’s report here.
TooShiftyForYou on March 2nd, 2018 at 18:15 UTC »
The documents discovered by the Daily Beast are said to detail the Internet Research Agency's efforts on Reddit.
The site says the agency employed "online agitators" to help posts from its own propaganda websites rise to the top of Reddit. It says the organisation used proxy servers to mask the location of its work.
Reddit has now been officially dragged into the Russia investigation.
SultanofShit on March 2nd, 2018 at 17:54 UTC »
If someone posted this on the donald, I bet they'd refuse to believe it.
hops4beer on March 2nd, 2018 at 17:53 UTC »
We already knew this.