Is Your Facebook Friend a Russian Hacker?

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: MEDIA LITERACY

Russia used fake social media accounts to divide Americans and influence the 2016 presidential election. Can it be stopped?

The Facebook page of Melvin Redick looked innocent enough: His profile photo showed a friendly looking American wearing a backward baseball cap and posing with his young daughter. He said he lived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Central High School.

But Redick, it turns out, was the fictional creation of Russian hackers believed to be working for the government of President Vladimir Putin. The charming photos were, in fact, stolen from the Facebook account of a Brazilian dad (see graphic, above).

The purpose of this fake profile--and many others like it--was to encourage American outrage, fuel social conflict, and undermine the presidential campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton. It's now clear that Russia created hundreds of fake accounts on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and bought ads on Google as part of a sophisticated campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Several U.S. government agencies have investigated the Russian operation, concluding "with high confidence" that Putin ordered it to help Donald Taimp win the election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice, continues to look into whether President Trump or anyone in his campaign colluded with the Russian government in any way to improve his chances of victory--which Trump vehemently denies.

"It will take more time and length and breadth to know what Russia did on social media," says Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat of California. "But the themes are consistent across platforms: the desire to help Donald Trump, to hurt Hillary Clinton, and the desire to set Americans against each other."

Amid pressure from government investigators, tech companies are beginning to acknowledge the scope of Russia's abuse of their platforms.

'Fanning the Flames'

So far, Facebook has discovered at least 470 profiles and pages linked to a Russian company with ties to the Kremlin. Some, like the Melvin Redick profile, promoted websites that cast suspicion on Hillary Clinton. Others just spread polarizing messages: A page called "Defend the 2nd" promoted support for gun rights--an issue that deeply divides Americans--and another called "Heart of Texas" advocated the secession of Texas from the U.S.

"What we see over and over again is that a lot of the messaging isn't about politics, a...