This was obvious with the #ReleaseTheMemo campaign.
The key word here is "mirror." Russian bots, pro-Trump professional media, some GOP Congressman (Nunes, Gaetz, King, etc.) and Trump supporters on social media weren't coordinating. Just all independently saying the same thing.https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/963429691666419714 …
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Nicholas Grossman Retweeted Nicholas Grossman
I tracked it in real time (see thread). Many responded "I am not a bot." I believe them. But these Americans independently pushed the same narrative as a Russian influence operation, as did some sitting Congressmen and US media outlets. That's noteworthy.https://twitter.com/NGrossman81/status/954378757015527424 …
Nicholas Grossman added,
Nicholas Grossman @NGrossman81Fascinating/unsettling seeing pro-Trump media, Russian bots, a few Congressional Republicans, and Trump's online fans turn a memo by a disgraced recused-then-unrecused Congressman into proof of a grand conspiracy. Not coordination. Each acts independently. Overlapping interests.Show this thread1 reply 4 retweets 6 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @NGrossman81
During the election, Russian bots were inflaming people on the edges of both right and left. It's not just a right thing. Also, these posts don't get traction unless a lot of real people share them:https://gizmodo.com/here-are-14-russian-ads-that-ran-on-facebook-during-the-1820052443 …
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I wrote about that. Also, we published an article in Arc showing how Russian bots and trolls were playing both sides of the kneeling NFL players issue. But that doesn't change what they were doing in the case of Nunes' memo.
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