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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. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2018/02/19/facebook-appears-russia-s-biggest-useful-idiot-vladimir-putin-s-bold-war
For the big picture, see my prior column in @TheDrum. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2018/02/19/facebook-appears-russia-s-biggest-useful-idiot-vladimir-putin-s-bold-war
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? https://www.samueljscott.com/2019/02/26/is-everything-on-the-internet-fake/
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: https://thedrum.com/opinion/2018/09/03/global-social-media-regulation-coming-alex-jones-just-the-start
As I wrote before in @TheDrum, social media regulation is coming: https://thedrum.com/opinion/2018/09/03/global-social-media-regulation-coming-alex-jones-just-the-start
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 https://twitter.com/chrisinsilico/status/1285538243296014336
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. https://twitter.com/DamianCollins/status/1285538074563411969
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: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/world/europe/unit-29155-russia-gru.html
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: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/world/europe/unit-29155-russia-gru.html
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. https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/1285716373809901568
After reading the #RussiaReport thread above, look at this (first brought to my attention by @nandoodles). https://twitter.com/nandoodles/status/1286073069857996800
49% of UK voters think that the Russian government interfered in the Brexit referendum. The top of this #RussiaReport thread explains why the country would want to do that. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/26/49-of-voters-believe-kremlin-interfered-in-brexit-referendum-russia-report?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
"We know the big tech platforms have created a vulnerability at the heart of our democracies. We can no longer feign ignorance. And yet we do." - @carolecadwalla https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/26/the-russia-report-shows-we-have-a-security-problem-he-lives-in-no-10
"Officials described the Russian disinformation as part of an ongoing and persistent effort to advance false narratives and cause confusion."
Now, in light of this thread, why do you think Russia would want to do that? https://apnews.com/3acb089e6a333e051dbc4a465cb68ee1
Now, in light of this thread, why do you think Russia would want to do that? https://apnews.com/3acb089e6a333e051dbc4a465cb68ee1
More news. Evgeny Lebedev, whose family owns the Independent and Evening Standard, has been made a life peer in the UK's House of Lords. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/evgeny-lebedev-lord-peerage-boris-johnson-a9648701.html
But remember that Lebedev is a "former" KGB agent. See this whole #RussiaReport thread for the greater context. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/nov/17/boris-johnson-met-alexander-lebedev-without-security-after-nato-summit
"Some with ties to the Kremlin seek to boost Trump's candidacy on social media."
This news should not surprise anyone given this entire thread. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/07/politics/2020-election-russia-china-iran/index.html
This news should not surprise anyone given this entire thread. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/07/politics/2020-election-russia-china-iran/index.html
Meanwhile, in Brazil, animosity on social media -- from both real and fake accounts -- is spilling onto the streets: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/opinion/bolsonaro-office-of-hate-brazil.html
As @techdirt always puts it, "content moderation is impossible to do well at scale."
That is the problem. Social platforms will never admit that. And we have no idea how to address that.
That is the problem. Social platforms will never admit that. And we have no idea how to address that.
Re-upping this lengthy thread.
The GOP-led Senate intelligence committee found that Trump's campaign chair had regular contact with a Russian intelligence officer. Russia disrupted the election to help him become president. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/politics/senate-intelligence-russian-interference-report.html
The GOP-led Senate intelligence committee found that Trump's campaign chair had regular contact with a Russian intelligence officer. Russia disrupted the election to help him become president. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/politics/senate-intelligence-russian-interference-report.html
Re-upping this lengthy thread on this news. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-hackers-2016-election-democratic-congressional-campaign-committee-60-minutes-2020-08-23/
The Tories are dirty too. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservative-party-disinformation-2019-general-election-a9682566.html
Re-read this #RussiaReport thread from the top with the #FinCENFiles bombshell report in mind. Essentially, Deutsche Bank facilitated £1.7m in donations to the Tories from Vladimir Putin through shell companies. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54228079?at_custom4=F1B898DC-FBD4-11EA-8FED-9A283A982C1E&at_campaign=64&at_medium=custom7&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom3=%40BBCNews&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D
And just see America in 2016 as well. #FinCENFiles #RussiaReport https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1307844437700157442
More news on how Russian disinformation and propaganda spreads. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-russia-today-skirts-high-tech-blockade-to-reach-u-s-readers-11602078094?st=guq54bei4sugjrl
