page_title: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
section_title: WikiLeaks
hierarchical_section_title: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections / Cyberattack on Democrats / DNC hack / WikiLeaks
caption_attribution_description: Español: Londres (Reino Unido), 18 de Agosto 2014, Canciller Ricardo Patiño y Julian Assange ofrecieron una rueda de prensa con presencia de medios internacionales. Foto: David G Silvers. Cancillería del Ecuador.
context_page_description: The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States.
  The Internet Research Agency, based in Saint Petersburg and described as a troll farm, created thousands of social media accounts that purported to be Americans supporting radical political groups, and planned or promoted events in support of Trump and against Clinton; they reached millions of social media users between 2013 and 2017. Fabricated articles and disinformation were spread from Russian government-controlled media, and promoted on social media. Additionally, computer hackers affiliated with the Russian military intelligence service infiltrated information systems of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Clinton campaign officials, notably chairman John Podesta, and publicly released stolen files and emails through DCLeaks, Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks during the election campaign.
context_section_description: In April 2017, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said WikiLeaks was a hostile intelligence agency aided by foreign states including Russia, and that the U.S. Intelligence Community concluded that Russia's "propaganda outlet," RT, had conspired with WikiLeaks.
  WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange have made a number of statements denying that the Russian government was the source of the material. However, an anonymous CIA official said that Russian officials transferred the hacked e-mails to WikiLeaks using "a circuitous route" from Russia's military intelligence services (GRU) to WikiLeaks via third parties.
  In a leaked private message on Twitter, Assange wrote that in the 2016 election "it would be much better for GOP to win," and that Hillary Clinton was a "sadistic sociopath".
caption: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
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