Discussion

• @benimmo Ben Nimmo on x

  BREAKING: coordinated takedown across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. -Operation based in Ghana; -Targeted the African-American community; -Still in audience-building stage; -No systematic reference to 2020 election; -Linked to associates of the Russian IRA troll farm. https://t…

• @kremlintrolls KT CounterIntelligence on x

  Are we okay with Vladimir Putin interfering in the 2020 election to elect Trump again, just like he did in 2016? https://twitter.com/...

• @john_sipher John Sipher on x

  Are we okay with Vladimir Putin stoking racial violence in the US? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  An interesting new Russian operation using African intermediaries to target African-American communities in the United States. Compatible with our analysis of Prigozhin-linked groups pushing disinformation inside of Africa from last October. https://twitter.com/...

• @yoyoel Yoel Roth on x

  Together with @Facebook, @CNN, and our partners in law enforcement and the research community, we've removed 71 accounts originating in Ghana and Nigeria which we can associate with Russia. Comprehensive data about their activity is now in our information operations archive. http…

• @scontorno Steve Contorno on x

  “More than 200 accounts were created by the Ghanaian trolls — the vast majority in the second half of 2019 — and they reached hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people worldwide.” https://twitter.com/...

• @juliadavisnews Julia Davis on x

  1. Not “meddling,” interference. 2. Not “back,” it never stopped. https://twitter.com/...

• @blackdigitalhum Kim Gallon on x

  Russian Trolls using Ghana and Nigeria to target Black Americans have the potential to significantly harm & negatively impact Pan-Africanist networks, movements and productive relationships between Africa & the Diasporas in the U.S. They must be stopped..@AfricanaCarr, thoughts? …

• @stevenlhall1 Steven L. Hall on x

  Glad to see Facebook and Twitter taking these accounts down. Interesting to see Russia using the racism issue - they must assess that's one of the biggest stress points in the US. Russia will certainly reconstitute these efforts elsewhere. https://twitter.com/...

• @clarissaward Clarissa Ward on x

  3/ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have now taken down all 274 accounts associated with this effort. In total, they were followed by more than a quarter of a million people.

• @sheeraf Sheera Frenkel on x

  @clarissaward The good: FB and Twitter have made it harder and more expensive for Russia to run influence ops. They can't just “buy ads in rubles” anymore. Russia has to sink more money, time, and resources into spreading disinformation among Americans now.

• @sifill_ldf Sherrilyn Ifill on x

  This story broke today. Russia is targeting African Americans again & posing as activist groups - but this time they're laundering their election interference by paying & working through Ghanaian and Nigerian trolls. Facebook exposed & took down one ring. https://www.cnn.com/...

• @ninadschick Nina Schick on x

  Massive scoop from @CNNPolitics leading Facebook to remove a network of fake Russian accounts ahead of #US2020. https://twitter.com/...

• @bayouowl @bayouowl on x

  I've been seeing followers from Ghana in ALL of the MAGA troll accounts I investigate. Each and every time I'm attacked or I see someone getting attacked.... I look at the troll's followers. Inevitably, I find massive bot accounts and Ghana accounts. EVERY. TIME. https://twitter.…

• @bwestbrookaz8 Brianna Westbrook on x

  Just as I have suspected for weeks, many of those ‘mean tweets’ that campaigns were talking about online are not real people but paid trolls. https://twitter.com/...

• @grahambrookie Graham Brookie on x

  We peer-reviewed some of the independent research findings. The details of this case are stranger than fiction, but the bottom line is not surprising: Russia's efforts and influence operations to use our own divides against Americans are real, evolving, and ongoing. https://twitt…

• @ngleicher Nathaniel Gleicher on x

  Excellent reporting by @clarissaward — this type of on-the-ground sleuthing can be critical to understanding and exposing these networks. It was a privilege to work with her to take down this operation! https://twitter.com/...

• @clarissaward Clarissa Ward on x

  1/ EXCLUSIVE: Russian trolls have outsourced their disinformation campaigns to Ghana and Nigeria, focusing on racial issues in the US ahead of the presidential election https://edition.cnn.com/...

• @markwarner Mark Warner on x

  I've said for years now that it would be foolish to believe there was only the one well-publicized IRA facility in St. Petersburg. This new reporting is a reminder of the continuing threat we face from Russia and its continuing efforts to divide and manipulate us on social media.…

• @ramcnn Ram Ramgopal on x

  I know there's a lot going on, but this is an amazing story from @clarissaward @TimListerCNN @sebshukla @katie_polglase and @GianlucaMezzo https://twitter.com/...

• @davidcorndc David Corn on x

  Meanwhile.... (If Facebook and the Trump administration don't take steps, Russia is going to mess again with a US election this way.) https://edition.cnn.com/...

• @donie Donie O'Sullivan on x

  🚨Huge new investigation from @clarissaward and team: The same Russian troll farm that targeted 2016 US election has outsourced to Africa. CNN tracked down the man running it in Ghana. http://www.cnn.com/...

• @blackamazon @blackamazon on x

  There are conversations to be had that no one wants https://twitter.com/...

• @benimmo Ben Nimmo on x

  But more of the content was positive and affirming than negative. This was an operation trying to build an audience, especially in African-American communities. It was looking for virality through the feelgood factor, not hate. With the IRA in 2016, the hate came later. https://t…

• @ninadschick Nina Schick on x

  More fake Russian influence networks removed from Facebook today. https://twitter.com/...

• @andreabellemare Andrea Bellemare on x

  Fb pulls down 49 Facebook accounts, 69 Pages and 85 Instagram accounts for engaging in foreign interference. “They frequently posted about US news and attempted to grow their audience by focusing on topics like black history, black excellence and fashion...” https://twitter.com/.…

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  Nice to see cooperation between multiple tech platforms and journalists on this one. https://twitter.com/...

• @alexstamos Alex Stamos on x

  @clarissaward @CNN Facebook's post-2018 political ad policies blocked this group from running ads, but the overall takedown highlights the potential risk of Russian groups manipulating legit US activists to run ads on their behalf. https://about.fb.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @profcarroll @profcarroll on x

  New network found with links to RU IRA via Ghana and Nigeria targeting US Facebook and Instagram users on race, police violence, LGBT issues, etc. ... again. https://twitter.com/...

• @digiphile Alex Howard on x

  Russian active measures targeting black Americans in 2016: https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/ ... today are underreported, & may have played a role in depressing turnout. Is this is what disinformation looks like, @BrendanCarrFCC? Or would you call it something else? https://tw…