This is an important column by WaPo's @IgnatiusPost on why USG failed to seriously combat Russian disinformation in 2016, based on the new book by @stengel, who was the relevant DoS official at the time...
democratherald.com/print-specific…
democratherald.com/print-specific…
@IgnatiusPost @stengel Nobody sent me a review copy -- an oversight, surely -- but I'm confident @IgnatiusPost gets the book right. It's important stuff so let's dig into this meaty story, with great historical (and current) import, shall we?
@IgnatiusPost @stengel Ahem: 'Stengel frankly admits that the Obama administration was slow to react to Russia's 2016 election manipulation. "The scale of Russian disinformation was beyond what we were capable of responding to," he writes.'
@IgnatiusPost @stengel Now why was that, @IgnatiusPost?
Perhaps it was because DoS shut down its OWN effort to combat & debunk Kremlin lies and propaganda...you know, a year before the election.
Seems kinda important.
And, yes, this was known, even if you somehow missed it:
observer.com/2015/11/obama-…
Perhaps it was because DoS shut down its OWN effort to combat & debunk Kremlin lies and propaganda...you know, a year before the election.
Seems kinda important.
And, yes, this was known, even if you somehow missed it:
observer.com/2015/11/obama-…
@IgnatiusPost @stengel Let's be clear, @IgnatiusPost: @stengel was the relevant DoS official here. Did he try to save that office? Was he overruled by the Obama WH? What happened?
Seems like something we should know. More than a footnote to this story, wouldn't you say?
Seems like something we should know. More than a footnote to this story, wouldn't you say?
