The Russian government has its own domestic propaganda channels, but one of its global strategies is to cultivate pro-Russia assets in other countries. If you’re interested in spreading your narratives digitally, it’s helpful to have a roster of people to target who are more likely to support your country’s worldview. Using the Internet to cultivate local populations with Russian propaganda was an elegant way to bypass all Western notions of “national security.” In most Western countries, citizens have free speech rights—including the right to agree with a hostile nation’s propaganda.
