But were the respondents Brits? Some were, but many were Russian-language ones and claim to be Russia-based. Look at these retweeters here, for example.pic.twitter.com/HPx3E5iBSc
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Rixstep and Malinka1102 aren't strangers: they interact online.pic.twitter.com/Qot6Qk9GwS
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One particularly influential retweeter (judging by the number of accounts which then retweeted it) was @ValLisitsa, which posts in English and Russian. Last year, this account joined the troll-factory #StopMorganLie campaign.pic.twitter.com/fPdLVVg2Nt
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The ValLisitsa account drew many, mostly Russian-language, accounts to the Rachael_Swindon tweet. It also interacts with rixstep and malinka1102.pic.twitter.com/sE6eEnB3X0
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@Rachael_Swindon isn't part of that community. But when ValLisitsa used one of her images, she noticed and commented.pic.twitter.com/IEtYxplXA9
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A little exchange followed, in which Rachael showed ValLisitsa her poll as evidence that the "mood of the British public" was shifting. Ironic, given that much of the traffic wasn't British, and ValLisitsa drove it.pic.twitter.com/lIasy0wqZY
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Meanwhile, one of the most-retweeted accounts on the Skripal case on March 18-20 was
@Ian56789, which shared RT and called the attack a false flag.pic.twitter.com/QfNOhOBzE9
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There's no verifiable personal information about this account, and its profile picture is model David Gandy.pic.twitter.com/qJcM76pwCB
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It posts content from the Kremlin point of view; for example, on the Mueller investigation, the White Helmets, MH17,
@bellingcat,@eliothiggins, and NATO.pic.twitter.com/TNGsb8wNS8
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Thanks to
@conspirator0, we know that its biography is not entirely consistent. (See https://twitter.com/conspirator0/status/937127899383189504 … for more.)pic.twitter.com/pfd9zLbjQf
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It's linked to a blogspot page, which also carries content which echoes the Kremlin point of view.pic.twitter.com/KZ3Q01mROk
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Really interestingly, the day after Boris Nemtsov was shot, it carried a "cui bono" post, discussing whether it was a false flag. We know from whistleblowers that the troll factory was ordered to do exactly that, at that time. http://mr7.ru/articles/112478/ …pic.twitter.com/ycheWBuizQ
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These are small incidents, but they show how active, coordinated and effective pro-Kremlin accounts can be at penetrating the online debate in the UK. / Thread ends.
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End of conversation
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