Midterm Elections Targeting by Foreign Operatives Was Limited in Scope, Still Alarming
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Researchers at Mandaint say that foreign operatives targeted the midterm elections with a variety of efforts that included pushing fake news stories in a bid to inflame Americans’ deep-seated political divisions but found that the efforts by Chinese, Iranian, and Russian-aligned operatives were limited in scope, sometimes sloppy and possibly designed to send a message that American’ adversaries will continue trying to tamper with U.S. democracy.
The Russian operations highlighted by the researchers also had a distinct trollish vibe. For example, one account with the now inaccessible “news” site “Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens” (NAEBC) posted a message after the election seemingly mocking the term “Russian Trolls.”
Despite these limitations, the efforts at targeting elections remain alarming and require t…
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