You have to hand it to the Russians. Their weaponisation of Facebook in the runup to the 2016 U. S elections was really pure genius. In the future, people a
You have to hand it to the Russians.
Their weaponisation of Facebook in the runup to the 2016 U. S elections was really pure genius.
In the future, people are going to look back on this as one of the greatest psychological operations of all time.
For now, Americans are still dealing with the repercussions. There’s an Orange Man in the White House and the country is more divided than ever. Ultimately, that division may pay off in the long run. Maybe a greater America will emerge. Time will tell.
As part of what it calls “continuing transparency”, Facebook is launching a portal that will allow Facebook users to learn which of Russia’s Internet Research Agency Facebook pages or Instagram accounts they may have liked or followed between January 2015 and August 2017.
After Donald Trump’s shock victory, many were quick to point the finger at Facebook, but Zuckerberg initially said it was a “pretty crazy idea” that his beloved site helped Trump win.
As news emerged that Russia’s Facebook campaign was larger and more effective than people imagined, Zuckerberg later apologised for that statement .
According to a recent estimate, Russia-linked Facebook accounts may have reached up to 126 million users, or almost half the population of the United States.
The ads included posts from an account called “Heart of Texas” saying “Time to secede” and ones from “United Muslims of America” touting that we should “save Islamic Knowledge”.
The crafty Russians even organised opposing rallies to occur on the same date, time and location. This is what happens when chess is part of the school curriculum; Russia was ten moves ahead. Trump struggles with checkers, and he’s the guy they wanted in.
They also posted plenty of dank memes that show things like Hillary as the devil boxing Jesus and parents teaching their kids “responsible gun ownership”. It was all designed to divide, stoke anger and create chaos, and it did.
Facebook says it’s important for its users to understand how foreign actors “tried to sow division and mistrust using Facebook before and after the 2016 US election.” Presumably, they won’t be fooled next time.
But they might and there are three more years of Trump, so this could be a case of too little, too late.
See you in 2020, trolls.
