US Indicts Russians Behind Social Media Election Meddling

How far did Russia go to try to influence the 2016 presidential election? According to federal investigators, several Russian operatives resorted to buying computer infrastructure in the US to mask their election-meddling activities. They also stole the identifies of US citizens, using Social Security numbers from at least four people to buy political ads over social media sites.

The claims are contained in a US government indictment that charges 13 Russian nationals with conspiring to influence the election through social media. On Friday, the Justice Department released the document, and said the suspects managed to dupe US citizens into assisting the Russians with their scheme.

"This indictment serves as a reminder that people aren't always who they appear to be on the internet," US deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein said in a press conference.
The indictment puts names to the Russian operatives allegedly behind the 2016 election meddling, which US lawmakers and Silicon Valley companies have been trying to address. Rosenstein said the US will attempt to extradite the suspects from Russia, but it's doubtful the Kremlin will comply. The Russian government has repeatedly denied any involvement in 2016 election inteference. One of the suspects, Yevgeniy V. Prigozhin, is also reportedly wealthy and has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Friday's indictment comes from the US special counsel Robert Mueller. The charges claim the Russian nationals began their activities as early as 2014, with the intent of sowing discord in the US political system. To do so, the suspects used social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as a way to spread propaganda to US voters.

Funding them was a Russian company called the Internet Research Agency, which the indictment said employs hundreds. Together, both the Russian nationals and the company created numerous online accounts that posed as activists and political groups, with the goal of attracting real US followers. Two of the suspects even traveled to the US to gather intel.

To prevent the online activities from being linked with Russian IP addresses, the suspects bought computer servers in the US. All connections to their social media accounts were then funneled through VPN services created with the servers.

Source: Pcmag News