Russia trolls stoked anti-Muslim sentiment before election: GOP Senator

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill




BY BRETT SAMUELS - 11/01/17 10:56 AM EDT

Link to tweet

Two Russian-linked Facebook accounts — one anti-immigrant and the other pro-Muslim — pitted Houston-area residents against each other prior to the 2016 election, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said Wednesday.

Russian-linked trolls created and advertised the events for $200, Burr said during a hearing with representatives from Facebook, Google and Twitter about Russian interference in the election.

One group, titled “The Heart of Texas,” promoted pro-Texas and anti-immigration messages with a tagline “Texas: Homeland of Guns, BBQ and ur heart!" The other, titled “United Muslims of America,” claimed to be pro-Islam, and had a tagline “I’m a Muslim and I’m proud.”

The two groups placed advertisements on Facebook promoting events at the same time on May 21, 2016, near an Islamic Community Center. The ads were viewed by nearly 15,000 people combined, Burr said.


Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/technology/358191-russia-trolls-stoked-anti-muslim-sentiment-before-election-gop-senator

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. It was a House member, democrat obvoiusly, about a year ago, not sure now

said if we knew what he and they knew about trump and russia we would be in shock.

I want to know.

[bigworld]

2. Someone needs to look into all the anti-Obama stuff on email for the past 8 years

You know, the stuff that your rabid uncle forwarded you?

I tend to think that before Facebook and Twitter became the preferred platforms of choice, the Russians were probably behind some of that as well.