Bots for Trump
An internet campaign pushing for the release of a classified memo produced by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee has brought new scrutiny to how foreign groups can use social media to manipulate U.S. politics.
Social media giants Twitter and Facebook were already under pressure from lawmakers over Russian actors' use of the platforms to meddle in the 2016 presidential race. Now the hashtag campaign centered on the memo, #ReleaseTheMemo, has turned up the heat even further.
Republicans want the memo in question - a classified report created by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) that supposedly offers proof of malfeasance in the investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia - declassified and released to the public.
Much of the #ReleaseTheMemo push has come from GOP politicians and conservative media figures. But an analysis produced by Hamilton 68, a project of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, found that Twitter accounts associated with Russian "troll farms" were also active in promoting the hashtag.