The Internet Research Agency (IRA) built a network of Facebook and Instagram pages posing as American activist groups across the political spectrum, from Black activist and Muslim community pages to conservative, Christian, pro-gun, and secessionist ones. Facebook told Congress in 2017 that content from about 470 IRA-linked accounts and pages may have reached roughly 126 million users between 2015 and 2017. The pages built audiences with identity-based content and then pushed divisive messaging, organized real-world rallies, and recruited unwitting Americans. Pages in this section profile individual IRA fronts identified by Facebook, the Mueller investigation, and the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Sources
- U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, Vol. 2: Russia’s Use of Social Media. October 2019.
- Mueller, Robert S., III. Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, Vol. I. U.S. Department of Justice, March 2019.