Thread by @_MAArgentino

This is a great report by @Graphika_NYC "Actors linked to previous Russian information operations continue to target American far-right communities with inflammatory and politically-divisive messaging, leveraging alternative online platforms"
graphika.com/reports/posing…

what they found was a sustained effort to target far-right communities on alternative online platforms. The campaign was mostly on patriots[.]win where it utilizes a set of 20 inauthentic accounts as messaging vectors and amplifiers.

accounts on Gab and Parler were also used and were part of the earlier NAEBC operation. On multiple occasions, they posted the same unique content, usually closely after but sometimes before it appeared on patriots[.]win

"The campaign made a concerted effort to disseminate a series of political cartoons which Graphika was not able to identify elsewhere online. This suggests they could be original content created or commissioned directly by the actors."

Of important note "Despite media concerns about covert Russian efforts to instigate and exacerbate riots at the U.S. Capitol, the identified accounts only mentioned the events of Jan. 6 once in a post that received almost no traction online. "

"Additionally, the patriots[.]win operation made no explicit references to QAnon beyond general allegations of child sexual abuse targeted at Biden and support for Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene."

What is highlighted in the report in interesting as the actors appear to have chosen to commission specific content, rather than using existing content in the ecosystem. This could indicate an attempt at experimenting with trying to inject specific messaging OR...

it could be an indication that the threat actors are not familiar enough the the content in the ecosystem to leverage something that was already existing. It could also be a marker of experimentation.

My intelligent guess however, is that when a threat actor attempts to inject new content in a saturated and hyperactive market it is very much like watering your lawn during a hurricane