Remember those Russian bots from 2016? Theyâre coming back.
Or rather  ask the Russian trolls who have triumphed in disseminating real âfake newsâ to influence U.S. elections. They credibly did so in 2016 by creating a more favorable electoral environment for  Donald Trump . And  reportedly  they are determined to make trouble again in this yearâs midterms.
In the meantime  Russian âbotsâ â applications that perform an automated task â were helping  President Trump  once again by creating momentum for the Feb. 2 release of the âNunes memo â the four-page brief from Devin Nunes (R-Calif.)  the House Intelligence Committee chairman  alleging surveillance abuses by FBI investigators.
To do this  Russian operatives created a #ReleaseTheMemo campaign on Twitter and other platforms  which quickly went viral and created a sense of urgency and import to the committeeâs findings â at least those by Republican members.  Trump   who has final authority over such things  refused to approve the release of a Democratic rebuttal. Apparently  the latter was far more detailed than the Republican version and  according to the administration  could be harmful. Perhaps.
But  also   Trump  likely wanted the Nunes memo released for  its  value in casting doubt on the FBIâs investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the  Trump  campaign. And  undoubtedly   Trump  and  his  Republican supporters want to end the investigation as soon as possible  discrediting the agency in the process. Not that the agency needed much help. With two employees exchanging romantic texts that also included expressions of contempt for  Trump   it would be fairly easy for the predisposed to conclude that the entire investigation was contaminated.
No one has better understood this infectious power than  Trump . Crazy like a fox  he knows that he can imprint on the minds of his followers far more quickly than he could by traditional means â and without accountability. While President Barack Obama used Twitter to raise funds and convey campaign information   Trump  uses  his  account to advance  his  opinion  taunt  his  enemies  exact revenge and  strategically  to misinform. Sort of the way Russia does.
Or rather  ask the Russian trolls who have triumphed in disseminating real âfake newsâ to influence U.S. elections. They credibly did so in 2016 by creating a more favorable electoral environment for  [TGT]  . And  reportedly  they are determined to make trouble again in this yearâs midterms.
In the meantime  Russian âbotsâ â applications that perform an automated task â were helping  President Trump  once again by creating momentum for the Feb. 2 release of the âNunes memo â the four-page brief from Devin Nunes (R-Calif.)  the House Intelligence Committee chairman  alleging surveillance abuses by FBI investigators.
To do this  Russian operatives created a #ReleaseTheMemo campaign on Twitter and other platforms  which quickly went viral and created a sense of urgency and import to the committeeâs findings â at least those by Republican members.   [TGT] who has final authority over such things  refused to approve the release of a Democratic rebuttal. Apparently  the latter was far more detailed than the Republican version and  according to the administration  could be harmful. Perhaps.
But  also   Trump  likely wanted the Nunes memo released for  its  value in casting doubt on the FBIâs investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the  Trump  campaign. And  undoubtedly   Trump  and  his  Republican supporters want to end the investigation as soon as possible  discrediting the agency in the process. Not that the agency needed much help. With two employees exchanging romantic texts that also included expressions of contempt for  Trump   it would be fairly easy for the predisposed to conclude that the entire investigation was contaminated.
No one has better understood this infectious power than  Trump . Crazy like a fox  he knows that he can imprint on the minds of his followers far more quickly than he could by traditional means â and without accountability. While President Barack Obama used Twitter to raise funds and convey campaign information   Trump  uses  his  account to advance  his  opinion  taunt  his  enemies  exact revenge and  strategically  to misinform. Sort of the way Russia does.