The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread

by Cailin O'Connor

Russian organizations are reported to have developed a bestiary of personalities, voices, and positions crafted to influence various groups,51 ranging from members of the LGBTQ community, to Black Lives Matter activists, to gun rights supporters, to anti-immigrant zealots, and even, bizarrely, to animal lovers. One goal appears to have been to establish trust with a broad range of demographic and interest groups in order to influence them. The New York Times reported in October 2017 that the Russia-linked LGBT United Twitter account, for example, declared: “We speak for all fellow members of LGBT community across the nation. Gender preference does not define you. Your spirit defines you.” Even the dog-lover page, the Times suggests, was probably formed with the intention of developing a set of followers who could then be slowly exposed to political content. In other words, the goal was to get close, pose as a peer, and then exert influence.