A graffiti in Lithuania shows the fraternal kiss, variant Trump and Putin.
Image: dpa
A study says the influence of Russian disinformation on the 2016 US election was not great. Oh no? The researchers ignore many things.
WAre the attempts by Russian internet trolls to influence the 2016 American presidential election not as successful as previously assumed? The fact that Russian sources have massively interfered in the US election campaign with disinformation campaigns to help Donald Trump win is undisputed in research circles; the American security services, the US Senate and the special representative Robert Mueller also came to the conclusion that the Russian government had systematically tried to influence the election results. How successful the attempts at manipulation were is still being debated.
Russian troll campaign on Twitter
According to a new study, at least the Russian troll campaign on Twitter had a minimal impact. The study by New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics, in collaboration with international academics, concludes that the Russian disinformation campaign was focused on Twitter – seventy percent of the disinformation spread from Russia reached just one percent of the Twitter users – and aimed primarily at party-loyal Republicans. However, the scientists did not find any significant changes in their voting behavior or political attitudes.