Thread by @saradannerdukic

How to not participation in disinformation operations, brought to you by the Project Lakhta criminal complaint.
justice.gov/opa/press-rele…

Let’s read what hostile foreign actors were paid to do to us on social media. See if any of this is familiar to what’s happening right now.

“individuals, operating as part of a broader Russian effort known as ‘Project Lakhta,’ have engaged in political and electoral interference operations targeting populations within the Russian Federation and in various other countries, including, but not limited to, (cont'd)

the United States, members of the European Union, and Ukraine…Project Lakhta's stated goal in the United States was to spread distrust towards candidates for political office and the political system in general.”

“The Conspiracy has a strategic goal, which continues to this day, to sow division and discord in the U.S. political system, including by creating social and political polarization, undermining faith in democratic institutions, and influencing U.S. elections.”

“The Conspiracy has sought to conduct what it called internally ‘information warfare against the United States of America’ through fictitious U.S. personas on social media platforms and other Internet-based media.”

“Members of the Conspiracy, posing as U.S. persons, operated fictitious social media personas, pages, and groups designed to attract U.S. audiences and to address divisive U.S. political and social issues (cont'd)

or advocate for the election or electoral defeat of particular candidates. These personas, groups, and pages falsely claimed to be controlled by U.S. activists when, in fact, they were controlled by members of the Conspiracy.”

“Over time, these accounts became the Conspiracy's primary means to reach significant numbers of Americans for purposes of interfering with the U.S. political system.”

“Members of the Conspiracy also staged and promoted political rallies inside the United States, and while posing as U.S. grassroots entities and U.S. persons.”

This wasn’t a few randos deciding to f*ck with people on the internet. It was purposeful, organized, and well-funded:
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“To effectively manage such a large-scale operation, the Conspiracy was headed by a management group and organized into departments, including a design and graphics department, an analysts department, a search-engine optimization ("SEO") department, (cont'd)

an information-technology ("IT") department, and a finance department.”

“the Conspiracy began to purchase advertisements on online social media sites to promote events and social media groups it controlled.”

“Additionally, the budget included expenditures for ‘[r]enting software for social networks,’ including payments for services to manage Twitter posts and generate additional followers.”

Ask yourself if any of these topics are getting massive traction these days from accounts you can’t verify.
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“as part of the Conspiracy's effort to sow discord in the U.S. political system, members of the Conspiracy used social media and other internet platforms to inflame passions on a wide variety of topics, including immigration, gun control and the Second Amendment, (cont'd)

the Confederate flag, race relations, LGBT issues, the Women's March, and the NFL national anthem debate."

Any radical groups at the forefront of the news right now?
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“Members of the Conspiracy were directed to create ‘political intensity through supporting radical groups, users dissatisfied with [the] social and economic situation and oppositional social movements.’ (cont'd)

The Conspiracy also sought, in the words of one member of the Conspiracy, to ‘effectively aggravate the conflict between minorities and the rest of the population.’”

Someone on my TL thought that if you agree with something, or if it’s anti-Trump, then it must be an okay account. WRONG:

“The Conspirators' activities did not exclusively adopt one ideological viewpoint; **they wrote on topics from varied and sometimes opposing perspectives.**”

“a member of the Conspiracy advised…that ‘if you write posts in a liberal group, ... you must not use Breitbart titles. On the contrary, if you write posts in a conservative group, do not use Washington Post or BuzzFeed's titles.’”

“Using the example of individuals of color who are also members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (‘LGBT’) community, the member of the Conspiracy offered the following guidance on how to target the group:”

(THE FOLLOWING ARE NOT MY WORDS, THEY ARE THOSE OF PAID RUSSIAN AGITATORS, AS PER THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT): “Colored LGBT are less sophisticated than white; therefore, complicated phrases and messages do not work.”

(AGAIN, WORDS OF PAID RUSSIAN AGITATORS PER COMPLAINT):
“Be careful dealing with racial content. Just like ordinary Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans, colored LGBT people are very sensitive towards #whiteprivilege + they react to posts and pictures that favor white people”

(AGAIN, WORDS OF PAID RUSSIAN AGITATORS PER THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT): “Unlike with conservatives, infographics works well among LGBT + their liberal allies, + it does work very well. (cont'd)

However, the content must be simple to understand consisting of short text in large font and a colorful picture.”

They had (have) plans on how to deal with the time difference between Russia and the US:

“Posting can be problematic due to time difference, but if you make your re-posts in the morning St. Petersburg time, it works well with liberals - LGBT groups are often active at night. (cont'd)

Also, the conservative can view your re-post when they wake up in the morning if you post it before you leave in the evening St. Petersburg time.”

They read our news, analyze it, and come up with a protocol on sharing it back to us with their own narrative attached:

On an article about John McCain:

“Brand McCain as an old geezer who has lost it and who long ago belonged in a home for the elderly. Emphasize that John McCain's pathological hatred towards Donald Trump and towards all his initiatives crosses all reasonable borders and limits...

...State that dishonorable scoundrels, such as McCain, immediately aim to destroy all the conservative voters' hopes as soon as Trump tries to fulfill his election promises and tries to protect the American interests.”

On an article about Paul Ryan:
“Brand Paul Ryan a complete and absolute nobody incapable of any decisiveness. Emphasize that while serving as Speaker, this two­ faced loudmouth has not accomplished anything good for America or for American citizens. (cont'd)

State that the only way to get rid of Ryan from Congress, provided he wins in the 2018 primaries, is to vote in favor of Randy Brice, an American veteran and an iron worker and a Democrat.”

On opposition of Trump:
“…any attempt to remove Trump is a direct path to a *civil war* in the United States.”

(Civil war, you say?)

On any kind of check on Trump:
“It is a fact that the Special Prosecutor who leads the investigation against Trump represents the establishment.”

(How interesting that there are anti-establishment narratives on BOTH sides)

Here’s how they pretend to be real Americans:
“the Conspiracy used social media platforms to create thousands of social media and email accounts that appeared to be operated by U.S. persons...

... + used them to create + amplify divisive social + political content targeting a U.S. audience.”

“the Conspiracy created a Facebook account registered under the false U.S. persona ‘Helen Christopherson.’ On her Facebook page, ‘Helen Christopherson’ purported to be a resident of New York City and identified her hometown as Charleston, South Carolina.”

“the Conspiracy used the false U.S. persona ‘Helen Christopherson’ to contact individuals and groups in the United States to promote protests, rallies, and marches, including by funding advertising, flyers, and rally supplies.”

(There are more examples like this in the criminal complaint)

And here’s how they hide behind the anonymity that Twitter gives them:

the Conspiracy created a Twitter account that went by various names, including "@UsaUsafortrump," "@USAForDTrump," "@TrumpWithUSA," "@TrumpMov," "@POTUSADJT," "@imdeplorable201," "@swampdrainer659," "@maga2017trump," and "@TXCowboysRawk."

Most recently, the Twitter account went by the name "@CovfefeNationUS."

(YOU READ THAT RIGHT. IT WAS THE SAME TWITTER ACCOUNT WITH ALL THOSE DIFFERENT HANDLES)

This is why I keep pushing the need for transparency and regulation on this platform.

https://twitter.com/saradannerdukic/status/1116767791980404746?s=20

More examples on why this platform needs transparency, not censorship:

“the Conspiracy created the Twitter account ‘@wokeluisa’ registered under the false U.S. persona ‘Luisa Haynes.’

“the Conspiracy used the Twitter account ‘@wokeluisa’ to post over 2,000 Tweets on topics such as the 2018 midterm election, the disenfranchisement of African-American voters, the NFL national anthem debate, the current U.S. administration, and the U.S. President's family. ...

...the Twitter account amassed over 55,000 followers.”

Again, more examples on why this platform needs transparency, not censorship:

“Members of the Conspiracy used these accounts to post messages on controversial social and political topics using a perspective that they believed would resonate with a *conservative* audience in the United States.”

Oh, did you think they were only tricking conservatives? NOPE:

“Similarly, one or more members of the Conspiracy created the Twitter account ‘@KaniJJackson’ on or about September 5, 2017, and the Twitter account ‘@JemiSHaaaZzz’ ...

...and used these accounts to post on many of the same controversial social and political topics from a perspective *that they believed would resonate with a liberal audience* in the United States.

Possibility that current events are being manipulated and infiltrated: HIGH.

“a member of the Conspiracy used the ‘Helen Christopherson’ Facebook account to contact the Facebook accounts for three real U.S. organizations…to inquire about collaborating with these groups on an anti-President Trump "flash mob" at the White House…”

Guess what? There’s a good chance you agree with some of what they say. That’s how they get you to follow them and retweet them (especially when their tweets are artificially boosted):

“a member of the Conspiracy used the Twitter account ‘@KaniJJackson’ to post a Tweet about the election in Alabama:

Dear Alabama, You have a choice today. Doug Jones put the KKK in prison for murdering 4 young black girls. Roy Moore wants to sleep with your teenage daughters. This isn't hard. #AlabamaSenate “

Don't worry. They played both sides.

“a member of the Conspiracy used the Twitter account ‘@JohnCopper16’ to post a Tweet about the 2017 special election in Alabama:

People living in Alabama have different values than people living in NYC. They will vote for someone who represents them, for someone who they can trust. Not you. Dear Alabama, vote for Roy Moore.”

There’s example after example in the criminal complaint of them playing both sides to gain trust, followers, and retweets.

The worst part: we keep falling for it.

Here are tips from a disinformation expert (a former CIA analyst) on how to keep from participating in disinformation:

https://twitter.com/CindyOtis_/status/1285722102134341633?s=20

Let’s also remember what Mueller said during his testimony:

https://twitter.com/saradannerdukic/status/1175868104016039946?s=20