The relationship between Russian intelligence services and the Black Lives Matter movement is a concern that emerged among scholars in the late 2010s who have researched Russian interference in United States elections.[1][2][3] Russian operatives associated with the Internet Research Agency (IRA) have engaged in an online campaign to both encourage support of and opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement.[4][5]

Background

Further information: Internet Research Agency § Rallies and protests organized by IRA in the United States

Soviet media has criticized racial inequality and violence in the United States since at least 1930s, often using this argument to deflect criticism aimed at the human rights abuses in the USSR, or to create a sense of false moral equivalency between the two states. Lynchings of African Americans were brought up as an embarrassing skeleton in the closet for the U.S., which the Soviets used as a form of rhetorical ammunition when reproached for their own economic and social failings. This became known as the "And you are lynching Negroes" argument, later described as whataboutism, and continued during the Cold War and beyond.[6][7][8][9]

In the late 2010s, researchers found that increases in Russian disinformation activity on Twitter were correlated with increases in polarising conversations regarding the Black Lives Matter movement.[10] One such activity included Russian accounts mimicking Black Lives Matter activists, or supported issues central to the Black Lives Matter cause.[11][12] Activities on Facebook include purchasing ads to promote Black Lives Matter.[13] Reporting by investigative journalists uncovered Russian links with Facebook pages promoting Black Lives Matter.[13][14] In one instance, Russian activities on social media led to real-life protests on behalf of Black Lives Matter.[15]

Prior to this development, in 2010, a report commissioned for the United States Senate Intelligence Committee, the Russian firm Internet Research Agency was identified as creating social media accounts as part of a complex campaign to suppress the black American vote. However, subsequently, investigative journalists found that the Russian firm sought to promote the issue of Black Lives Matter in order to instigate mistrust in US law enforcement and political institutions.[16] While Russian operatives have engaged in an online campaign to encourage supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, their efforts also have included promoting opposition against the group, including inciting violence against the group's supporters.[4]

2016 US elections

According to scholars, Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections included the promotion of themes relating to Black Lives Matter, as well as the promotion of antagonism toward the movement.[4][5][17]

Russian operatives created hundreds of fake personas linked to social media accounts and began posting content that related to two different aspects of the Black Lives Matter movement. On one hand, posts promoted the Black Lives Matter cause by emphasising police brutality in the United States toward minority groups; on the other hand, other posts supported police divisions, strongly criticised any opposition to the police, and denounced the Black Lives Matter movement. In one instance, social media accounts used by Russia's Internet Research Agency simultaneously promoted opposing protests in New York City: one in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the other against it.[4][18] In one case, Russian operatives even hired individuals to organise protests.[4][19]

Researchers found that this interference campaign was performed with the following aims: to support Donald Trump's presidential campaign, to weaken Hillary Clinton's campaign, and to undermine public faith in the American democratic system and the electoral process.[4]

2020 US elections

According to scholars and American investigative journalists, Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections included the promotion of themes relating to Black Lives Matter.[20][21] Often, the purpose of these actions included race-baiting.[22] In 2020, the Internet Research Agency had outsourced[23] to troll farms in Ghana and Nigeria, which created content for audiences on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the majority of whom were in the United States.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jensen, Michael (September 24, 2018). "Russian Trolls and Fake News: Information or Identity Logics?". Journal of International Affairs. 71 (1.5): 115–124.
  2. ^ Miller, D. T. (2019). Topics and emotions in Russian Twitter propaganda. First Monday.
  3. ^ Linvill, Darren; Warren, Patrick. "That uplifting tweet you just shared? A Russian troll sent it". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Aceves, W. J. (2018). Virtual Hatred: How Russia Tried to Start a Race War in the United States. Mich. J. Race & L., 24, 177.
  5. ^ a b Boyd, Ryan L.; Spangher, Alexander; Fourney, Adam; Nushi, Besmira; Ranade, Gireeja; Pennebaker, James; Horvitz, Eric. "Characterizing the Internet Research Agency's Social Media Operations During the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election using Linguistic Analyses". doi:10.31234/osf.io/ajh2q. S2CID 198187651. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Lucas, Edward (2009). The New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Both Russia and the West. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-7475-9578-6. Castigated for the plight of Soviet Jews, they would complain with treacly sincerity about discrimination against American Blacks. (footnote: the accusation 'and you are lynching negroes' became a catchphrase epitomizing Soviet propaganda based on this principle.)
  7. ^ Ioffe, Julia (March 2, 2014), "Kremlin TV Loves Anti-War Protests—Unless Russia Is the One Waging War - Studies in 'whataboutism'", The New Republic, archived from the original on September 22, 2015, retrieved December 17, 2016
  8. ^ Quinn, Allison (November 27, 2014), "Soviet Propaganda Back in Play With Ferguson Coverage", The Moscow Times, archived from the original on January 30, 2016, retrieved December 17, 2016
  9. ^ Ciment, James; Hill, Kenneth (1999), "Czechoslovakia: Soviet Invasion, 1968", Encyclopedia of Conflicts since World War II, Routledge, pp. 533–535, ISBN 978-1-57958-181-7
  10. ^ Gallacher, J. D., & Heerdink, M. W. (2019). Measuring the effect of Russian Internet Research Agency information operations in online conversations. Defence Strategic Communications, 6.
  11. ^ Walter, Dror; Ophir, Yotam; Jamieson, Kathleen Hall (2020). "Russian Twitter Accounts and the Partisan Polarization of Vaccine Discourse, 2015–2017". American Journal of Public Health. 110 (5): 718–724. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305564. PMC 7144436. PMID 32191516.
  12. ^ Linvill, Darren L.; Boatwright, Brandon C.; Grant, Will J.; Warren, Patrick L. (2019). ""THE RUSSIANS ARE HACKING MY BRAIN!" investigating Russia's internet research agency twitter tactics during the 2016 United States presidential campaign". Computers in Human Behavior. 99: 292–300. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2019.05.027. S2CID 191765436.
  13. ^ a b Isaac, Mike; Shane, Scott (October 2, 2017). "Facebook's Russia-linked ads came in many disguises". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Institute, Zach Dorfman of the Aspen (June 10, 2020). "Why Russia will keep poking America's racial wounds into the 2020 election". Axios.
  15. ^ Frenkel, Sheera (August 14, 2018). "How a Fake Group on Facebook Created Real Protests (Published 2018)". The New York Times.
  16. ^ "Targeting Black Americans, Russia's IRA Exploited Racial Wounds". Wired – via www.wired.com.
  17. ^ Amber Jamieson, (2016). Anti-Beyonce Protest Countered by Black Lives Matter Demonstration, THE GUARDIAN (Feb. 16, 2016).
  18. ^ Jamieson, Amber (February 16, 2016). "Anti-Beyonce Protest Countered by Black Lives Matter Demonstration". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  19. ^ Indictment at 20-23, United States v. Internet Research Agency, No. 18-cr00032-DLF (D.D.C. Feb. 16, 2018), 2018 WL 91477
  20. ^ Švedkauskas, Žilvinas; Sirikupt, Chonlawit; Salzer, Michel. "Analysis | Russia's disinformation campaigns are targeting African Americans" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  21. ^ Polyakova, A. (2020). The Kremlin's Plot against Democracy: How Russia Updated Its 2016 Playbook for 2020. Foreign Aff., 99, 140.
  22. ^ Johnson, D. E. (2019). "Russian Election Interference and Race-Baiting". Columbia Journal of Race and Law. 9: 191. SSRN 3426826.
  23. ^ Kao, Craig Silverman,Jeff. "Infamous Russian Troll Farm Appears to Be Source of Anti-Ukraine Propaganda". ProPublica. Retrieved September 7, 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ EXCLUSIVE: By Clarissa Ward, Katie Polglase, Sebastian Shukla, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Tim Lister (March 12, 2020). "How Russian meddling is back before 2020 vote". CNN. Retrieved September 7, 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

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