Conservatives were much more likely than liberals to retweet Russian trolls in the 2016 election, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California released this month. It traced Russian efforts to influence America’s 2016 presidential campaign via Twitter using 45 million election-related tweets generated by […] Read more »
Did Russia impact the election?
“I think it [Facebook, Twitter, Instagram] helped me win all of these races where they’re spending much more money than I spent.” — President Donald Trump, on “60 Minutes,” Nov. 13, 2016 “Facebook and Twitter were the reason we won this thing.” — Brad Parscale, Digital Director, Trump for President, Wired, Nov. […] Read more »
Russian Meddling Was a Drop in an Ocean of American-made Discord
… “Partisanship can even alter memory, implicit evaluation, and even perceptual judgment,” the political scientists Jay J. Van Bavel and Andrea Pereira wrote in a recent paper. “The human attraction to fake and untrustworthy news” — a danger cited by political scientists far more frequently than orchestrated meddling — “poses […] Read more »
How Much Did Russian Interference Affect The 2016 Election?
One of my least favorite questions is: “Did Russian interference cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election?” The question is newly relevant because of special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians on Friday on charges that they used a variety of shady techniques to discourage people from voting for Clinton […] Read more »
Protecting Mueller and the Investigation
Despite attacks by President Trump and his allies on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation he is leading, a new survey shows the public believes Russia meddled in the 2016 election, is concerned about it, and is prepared to support Trump’s impeachment if the investigation produces evidence of illegality. […] Read more »
Why Democrats And Republicans Did A Sudden 180 On The FBI
President Trump is weighing allowing the release of the second of two memos addressing allegations of improper conduct by the FBI. The latest classified memo, drafted by Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, allegedly defends the agency in a rebuttal to a memo that was […] Read more »