Facebook, Twitter & Kushner Shared This Russian Investor Putin Pal

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The stories were launched with the release of the Panama Papers.

From the Guardian

Two Russian state institutions with close ties to Vladimir Putin funded substantial stakes in Twitter and Facebook through an investor who later acquired an interest in a Jared Kushner venture, leaked documents reveal.

The investments were made through a Russian technology magnate, Yuri Milner, who also holds a stake in a company co-owned by Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser.

The discovery is likely to stir concerns over Russian influence in US politics and the role played by social media in last year’s presidential election. It may also raise new questions for the social media companies and for Kushner.

Alexander Vershbow, who was a US ambassador to Russia under George W Bush and to Nato under Bill Clinton, said the Russian state institutions were frequently used as “tools for Putin’s pet political projects”.

Vershbow said the findings were concerning in light of efforts by Moscow to disrupt US democracy and public debate. “There clearly was a wider plan, despite Putin’s protestations to the contrary,” he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/russia-funded-facebook-twitter-investments-kushner-investor
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From the New York Times

Now, leaked documents examined by The New York Times offer a partial answer: Behind Mr. Milner’s investments in Facebook and Twitter were hundreds of millions of dollars from the Kremlin.

Obscured by a maze of offshore shell companies, the Twitter investment was backed by VTB, a Russian state-controlled bank often used for politically strategic deals.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/world/yuri-milner-facebook-twitter-russia.html

Beginning to wonder who actually rocks at 3+ Level Chess or 12 level Go.

A couple of American citizens leaked a crap load of information "according to their conscience" and were instantly criminalized. Let's not devolve into arguments about them a g a i n.

However, are we witnessing a War of the Nerds as well as the eternal War for Power? If not, what a great movie title.