The social media influence operations of the Russian Internet Research Agency were made famous by the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and the Mueller investigation. Today, their work continues. It has expanded in scope and is mimicked by other nations attempting to influence how we engage with one another online. In a time when the majority of Americans’ news is socially mediated, this has potentially serious implications for the 2020 election. Utilizing genuine IRA social media content, this webinar will walk through the tactics and strategy of Russian “active measures.” It will show how foreign influence operations engage in online conversations, simultaneously pushing both extreme right and extreme left-wing viewpoints in order to sow distrust in institutions that help build a strong democracy and to entrench Americans in opposing world views.
