The Russian government is using social media to influence elections and destabilize countries in the West. The UK's new #RussiaReport makes it even more clear. A thread.
For the big picture, see my prior column in @TheDrum. thedrum.com/opinion/2018/0…
For the big picture, see my prior column in @TheDrum. thedrum.com/opinion/2018/0…
A speech of mine in England last year: "After Parliament’s landmark report on foreign interference through social media, after @DamianCollins called Facebook “digital gangsters,” why is that not the top story in every single newspaper and news broadcast? samueljscott.com/2019/02/26/is-…
The Cold War never really ended. #RussiaReport 
Many countries, especially the US, have a foreign policy that is a mix of realism and idealistic. Russia is brutally realistic. #RussiaReport
After World War II, the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact were balanced by NATO, which was US/UK led. Later, Russia was also countered by the EU. A strategic goal of the Russian government has always been to break up the European and the trans-Atlantic alliances. #RussiaReport
I am sure it is just a coincidence that country leaders whose elections were helped by Russia often just happen to support policies that benefit Russia. #RussiaReport
It is an immediate and urgent threat to everyone. #RussiaReport
There are many more examples. #RussiaReport
"The Government must now seek to establish a protocol with the social media companies to ensure that they take covert hostile state use of their platforms seriously." #RussiaReport
As I wrote before in @TheDrum, social media regulation is coming: thedrum.com/opinion/2018/0…
As I wrote before in @TheDrum, social media regulation is coming: thedrum.com/opinion/2018/0…
Breaking up the United Kingdom would also benefit Russia. #RussiaReport
I would love to see what MI5 found in relation to reported Russian attempts to influence the Brexit referendum. #RussiaReport
Remember: The Brexit vote in 2016 was on a clear path to fail until there was a sudden surge of support likely due to illegal and probably untraceable last-minute ad campaigns. #RussiaReport
This is the most shocking thing so far. #RussiaReport
And remember: Mark Zuckerberg has always refused to appear before @DamianCollins @CommonsDCMS and other similar bodies in the UK. I wonder why?
So much for "needing to do better." #RussiaReport
So much for "needing to do better." #RussiaReport
The #RussiaReport does not mince words.
The #RussiaReport states that electoral interference is difficult because the UK uses paper ballots. That's not the point.
The people casting those paper ballots can be brainwashed by hostile online propaganda and misinformation. How do you protect against that?
The people casting those paper ballots can be brainwashed by hostile online propaganda and misinformation. How do you protect against that?
"The UK is clearly vulnerable to covert digital influence campaigns."
So is everyone else. #RussiaReport
So is everyone else. #RussiaReport
My personal remit, so to speak, is marketing and media. But the report also discusses oligarch money in London, future geopolitical strategy, and what the British parliament and government should do.
For more on that, I suggest following @carolecadwalla.
For more on that, I suggest following @carolecadwalla.
I would also follow @chrisinsilico. #RussiaReport
Another addition to the end of this #RussiaReport analysis thread: Former UK MP @LouiseMensch is also a good follow.
She is a critic of such described Russian actions but, perhaps paradoxically, is also a #Brexit supporter.
She is a critic of such described Russian actions but, perhaps paradoxically, is also a #Brexit supporter.
And @DamianCollins tweets about the #RussiaReport.
Now, the million pound question: Why did PM @BorisJohnson not release this report until long after the December 2019 general parliamentary election?
Again, @DamianCollins in a thread tweeted above might have the answer:
"The #RussiaReport suggests that the intelligence community isn't looking for evidence of Russian election interference."
"The #RussiaReport suggests that the intelligence community isn't looking for evidence of Russian election interference."
The #RussiaReport in a nutshell.
Russia is very good at strategy.
The country cannot compete on weaknesses (non-nuclear military size, cultural output, and economy). But it competes on strengths (cheaper hybrid warfare) in a new field of opportunity (the Internet).
See: nytimes.com/2019/10/08/wor…
The country cannot compete on weaknesses (non-nuclear military size, cultural output, and economy). But it competes on strengths (cheaper hybrid warfare) in a new field of opportunity (the Internet).
See: nytimes.com/2019/10/08/wor…
During the Cold War against the Soviet Union, the West used a strategy of containment. But I do not see any general, focused strategy at all today. That is what is most worrisome.
Another addition to the end of this #RussiaReport analysis thread: @wiczipedia is a great follow on Russian disinformation. @anneapplebaum is a brilliant writer on authoritarianism in general and on the worsening situation in eastern Europe specifically.
And to bring this back to marketing, "Russia" is a brand -- just like every country. For as much as Vladimir Putin and the other oligarchs simply want to get rich, many also truly believe in the glory of Mother Russia and want to restore its prestige.
That is the power of brand.
That is the power of brand.
For Americans, @carolecadwalla gives the nutshell political context of the #RussiaReport that I analyzed above in a thread.
