Russian Troll Attack: Putin Confidential Admits Meddling in US Elections

Nobody knows how to manipulate public opinion like Russian President Vladimir Putin. As a former KGB agent, he knows the ropes. The social networks in particular provide a fertile ground for Putin’s propaganda. Be it Facebook or Twitter, no one can escape his army of trolls and bots.

Using ‘fake accounts’, Russia can influence public sentiment in the interest of the Russian government – ​​and therefore entire elections.

A confidant of Putin himself now admits this – a day before the midterms in the US.

Russian businessman and Kremlin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that he is “meddling” in the US election. “We are involved, we are doing it and we will continue to do it”, Prigozhin was quoted on Monday in the online network of his company Concord. He is the first high-ranking Russian to openly admit to meddling in American polls such as the Midterms.

The US has accused Russia of meddling in elections for years and has therefore imposed sanctions on Prigozhin. Prigozhin said the interference was done “with care, precision, surgically, in a way that suits us”.

The businessman, also known as “Putin’s cook”, is accused of rigging elections in several Western countries with his “troll factory”.

Twitter is a haven for Russian trolls and Putinbots

One social network plays a particularly important role in Russian interference: Twitter.

Statesmen, scientists and journalists, among others, tweet here. Former US President Donald Trump had more than 88 million followers worldwide. But after the storming of the Capitol, Twitter banned him from the platform. The influence on this network is enormous, the greater the responsibility for the new owner.

Elon Musk has been the new owner of Twitter for a few days and is announcing big goals.

Musk wants to transform Twitter

“Twitter must become by far the most accurate source of information in the world,” Musk wrote on Twitter. That’s the mission. His new rules for the platform should lead to “democratization of journalism and strengthening of the voice of the people”.

Musk wants, among other things, to ask users of the SMS service to check their accounts. The fun now costs eight dollars a month.

According to him, any name change leads to a temporary loss of the verified tick. In the future, all Twitter acts that engage in impersonation will also be banned permanently.

Will this and next Musk’s moves disarm Russian trolls on Twitter? The fact is that the takeover of Twitter is causing chaos: about every second position was removed. Musk had previously fired the board of directors and board of directors.

Experts are concerned. How should the platform be monitored if a large number of employees have to leave? Now, so close to the US midterm elections and Russia’s open admission that it is dipping its fingers into electoral affairs.

sources

(dsc)