Russian troll farms used Facebook to organize side-by-side competing rallies on the same day in Texas during the presidential election season.
That was just one revelation Wednesday from hearings on Capitol Hill on the extent of Russian influence on social media during the 2016 election, with the Senate Intelligence committee grilling lawyers from Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Committee chair Sen. Richard Burr cited the May 2016 rallies as an example of how Russia’s online meddling turned to offline political tension.
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Troll farms are suspected to be behind two Facebook pages, “Heart of Texas” and a page impersonating the organization United Muslims of America, which planned two rallies, one pro-Islam and one anti-Islam, held in Texas on May 21 at the Islamic Da’wah Center in Houston.
“What neither side could have known was that Russian trolls were encouraging both sides to battle in the streets and create division between real Americans,” Burr said.
Paid posts about the events reached nearly 15,000 people combined, and the two groups ended up shouting slogans across the street from each other, one group holding placards decrying hate and welcoming Muslims, the other toting Confederate flags.
This week’s been jam-packed with revelations about how Russia sought to sow discord and drive support of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential elections.
Ahead of their testimonies, tech executives gave new reports to Congress on the reach of Russian disinformation on their platforms. Russia-linked content on Facebook alone reached over 126 million Americans.
Those reports were given the same day that special counsel Robert Mueller delivered the first indictments and a plea from his investigation into Russian election meddling, revealing that Trump campaign officials sought meetings with Russian officials.
