Is Your Facebook Friend a Russian Hacker?

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 Trump 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.

Melvin Redick’s Facebook page looked innocent. 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 it turns out that Redick was the fictional creation of Russian hackers. Investigators believe these hackers were working for the government of President Vladimir Putin. In fact, the charming photos were 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 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. They concluded “with high confidence” that Putin ordered it to help Donald Trump 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. Trump vehemently denies any connections with Russia’s operation.

“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.”

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

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 specific politician, or political parties,” says Laura Rosenberger, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy. “It’s about creating societal division, identifying divisive issues, and fanning the flames.”

On both Facebook and Twitter, Russians created profiles designed to look like those of typical Americans. They also bought advertising—at least 3,000 ads at a cost of $100,000—on Facebook to target their inflammatory messages at users most likely to believe them and spread them further.

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. 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 specific politician, or political parties,” says Laura Rosenberger, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy. “It’s about creating societal division, identifying divisive issues, and fanning the flames.”

Russians created Facebook and Twitter profiles designed to look like those of typical Americans. They also bought advertising on Facebook to target their messages at users most likely to believe them and spread them further. They purchased at least 3,000 ads, which cost $100,000.

Twitter says it found about 200 accounts that appeared to be linked to Russia’s efforts to influence the election. Google has so far confirmed that Russian agents purchased thousands of dollars worth of ads tied to the election. And those discoveries may be just the tip of the iceberg, experts say.

In addition to Russia-linked Twitter accounts with fake American profiles, Russian agents apparently used large-scale automated messaging—so called “bot” accounts—to spread false stories and promote news articles that were damaging to Clinton, the Democratic candidate.

Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room in 2004 as a way for college students to meet. Today, social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have grown into forces that can shape global events. They were critical tools that helped activists topple governments during the Arab Spring revolts of 2011. And now they’ve apparently been used by a hostile government to influence a U.S. election.

Twitter says it found about 200 accounts that appeared to be linked to Russia’s efforts to influence the election. Google has so far confirmed that Russian agents purchased thousands of dollars worth of ads tied to the election. And those discoveries may be just the tip of the iceberg, experts say.

In addition to Russia-linked Twitter accounts with fake American profiles, Russian agents apparently used large-scale automated messaging. They spread false stories and promoted news articles that were damaging to Clinton, the Democratic candidate, through these so-called “bot” accounts.

Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room in 2004 as a way for college students to meet. Today, social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have grown into forces that can shape global events. They were critical tools that helped activists topple governments during the Arab Spring revolts of 2011. And now they’ve apparently been used by a hostile government to influence a U.S. election.

A year ago, Zuckerberg said the idea that Russians were using Facebook to generate false news to tip the elections was “crazy.” But as the extent of Russian interference has become more apparent, he’s changed his tune.

“For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness,” Zuckerberg wrote on his personal Facebook page in September. “I will work to do better.”

Given the increasingly powerful role of social media in political contests, both tech companies and lawmakers are trying to prevent similar, or perhaps even more sophisticated, cyberattacks during the 2018 congressional races and the 2020 presidential election.

Facebook says it plans to require more thorough documentation to verify the identities of advertisers who wish to buy political ads, and it will add more than 1,000 new employees to review advertising requests.

Some lawmakers say we need new laws requiring disclosure of who paid for political ads that appear online—like we already do in other media.

Jim Ludes of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy in Rhode Island has studied Russia’s objectives.

“They’ve exploited freedom of speech and the most impressive communications technology since the printing press in a way that makes us doubt the integrity of our government, of our elections,” Ludes says. “And they’re doing it to drive divisive wedges into democratic societies.”

A year ago, Zuckerberg said the idea that Russians were using Facebook to generate false news to tip the election was “crazy.” But as the extent of Russian interference has become more apparent, he’s changed his tune.

“For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness,” Zuckerberg wrote on his personal Facebook page in September. “I will work to do better.”

Given the increasingly powerful role of social media in political contests, both tech companies and lawmakers are trying to prevent similar, or perhaps even more sophisticated, cyberattacks during the 2018 congressional races and the 2020 presidential election.

Facebook says it plans to require more thorough documentation to verify the identities of advertisers who wish to buy political ads. It will also add more than 1,000 new employees to review advertising requests.

Some lawmakers say we need new laws requiring disclosure of who paid for political ads that appear online, like we already do in other media.

Jim Ludes of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy in Rhode Island has studied Russia’s objectives.

“They’ve exploited freedom of speech and the most impressive communications technology since the printing press in a way that makes us doubt the integrity of our government, of our elections,” Ludes says. “And they’re doing it to drive divisive wedges into democratic societies.”