A Russian propaganda apparatus was successful in spreading fake or false news stories during the recent US election, Washington Post reports. The findings come from a new, unpublished report provided to the Post that found more than 200 websites responsible for publishing Russian propaganda during the election cycle. These sites had a combined readership of 15 million Americans.
The campaign reportedly included the use of thousands of botnets, a network of websites and social media accounts, and a team of people paid to push conspiracy theories online. Some of the most common propaganda stories claimed that Hillary Clinton’s health was declining, that people were paid thousands of dollars to protest Trump, and, in the weeks leading up to election day, that the election was rigged.
A team of people were paid to push fake stories
When these stories were published on Facebook, they were viewed around 213 million times, the Post reports.
The researchers traced the origins of social media posts and mapped how they were related to each other, which revealed “connected networks controlled by a single entity,” according to the Post. Many social media accounts and websites would repeat the exact same phrases in rapid succession.