Here’s What Russia’s Propaganda Network Wants You to Read

[TomSea]

Here’s What Russia’s Propaganda Network Wants You to Read
How a new system for tracking Kremlin influence operations reveals what Moscow is thinking.
By J.M. BERGER
August 23, 2017
   
Over the past year, Americans have been hearing a lot about Russian attempts to sway public opinion in the United States using manipulative tactics on social media. But in the abstract, it can be hard to understand exactly what that means.

To help illuminate the issue, the Alliance for Securing Democracy recently unveiled Hamilton 68, an interactive dashboard displaying the near-real-time output of Russian Influence Operations on Twitter—or RIOT, if you’re a fan of on-the-nose acronyms. The dashboard is the product of a research collaboration that includes me, Clint Watts, Aaron Weisburd, Jonathon Morgan and the German Marshall Fund.

The network promotes a selective worldview of Western societies in decline, suffused with crime, chaos and conspiracy, and a Russia (and a Russian president) filled with strength and integrity. It produces some original content and amplifies content produced by other people, scouring the internet for messages that tear down confidence in democracies, while absolving Russia and its allies from any hint of wrongdoing.

Continued: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/23/russia-propaganda-network-kremlin-bots-215520