Astroturf and sockpuppets · 2014-2018 · USSR/Russia, US

Internet Research Agency

The Internet Research Agency, a St Petersburg company, ran a "translator project" aimed at Americans from 2014. A federal indictment of 16 February 2018 charged 13 Russians and three companies with using stolen or invented American identities to run fake groups and accounts, buy ads and recruit real Americans to stage events. Project Lakhta, of which it was part and which also targeted non-US audiences, had a monthly budget over 73 million roubles by September 2016. Facebook estimated 126 million people may have been served its content. What this did to votes is not measured here.

The goal

Sow discord among Americans over issues such as immigration and race, including in the 2016 election, by posing as Americans online, as the 2018 indictment alleges.

Who benefited

  • The Internet Research Agency: funding through Project Lakhta, whose monthly budget (covering non-US work too) exceeded 73 million roubles by September 2016, and fake US groups with audiences of hundreds of thousands, per the indictment; Facebook estimated 126 million people may have been served IRA-linked content, though what this did to votes is not measured; charges against Concord, its alleged funder, were dropped in 2020 before trial.
Run by
Russia
IRA, allegedly funded via Concord Management, per the 2018 indictment
People who may have been served IRA content, per Facebook
126 million
29 million directly; 80,000 posts
What the record shows
Reach, not votes
The indictment charges conduct; it does not measure vote effects
Time to exposure
16 Feb 2018
Grand jury indictment of 13 individuals and 3 companies
The building at 55 Savushkina Street, St Petersburg, which housed the Internet Research Agency, photographed on 17 April 2018 when it was up for rent. Credit: Charles Maynes, Voice of America, via Wikimedia Commons. License: Public domain.

Timeline

  1. 2014 · Context

    The IRA establishes a "translator project" focused on the US population, according to the indictment.

  2. Feb 2016 · It worked

    The indictment quotes an instruction to specialists to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest", with Sanders and Trump excepted.

  3. Jul 2016 · It worked

    More than 80 employees are assigned to the translator project; the group runs fake US groups such as Secured Borders, Blacktivist, United Muslims of America and Heart of Texas, plus the Being Patriotic page and the @TEN_GOP Twitter account (more than 100,000 followers).

  4. Sep 2016 · It worked

    The monthly budget of Project Lakhta, the wider effort that also covered non-US audiences, submitted to its funder exceeds 73 million roubles, over 1,250,000 US dollars.

  5. 31 Oct 2017 · Exposed

    In written testimony to a Senate subcommittee, Facebook estimates 126 million people may have been served IRA-linked content, 29 million of them directly by the IRA.

  6. 16 Feb 2018 · Exposed

    A grand jury indicts 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies. Count One is conspiracy to defraud the United States; Count Two conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud; Counts Three to Eight aggravated identity theft.

  7. 17 Dec 2018 · Exposed

    A report prepared for the Senate by New Knowledge reports 187 million engagements on Instagram and 77 million on Facebook, and says the activity is "active and ongoing".

  8. 16 Mar 2020 · Exposed

    The Justice Department drops the charges against Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering about a month before trial, so the allegation that Concord funded the operation was never tested in court. The IRA and 13 individuals remain charged.

Fake American accounts built audiences of hundreds of thousands; the platforms' own tallies and a grand jury came only after the 2016 election.

“use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest”

IRA instruction to specialists, February 2016, as quoted in US v. Internet Research Agency (D.D.C., filed 16 Feb 2018); Sanders and Trump excepted

The playbook

  1. 1

    Hidden messenger

    Operators posed as Americans, using stolen or fictitious US identities, so readers could not tell the speaker was a Russian company.

  2. 2

    Front group

    Invented groups on immigration, race and religion (Secured Borders, Blacktivist, United Muslims of America, Heart of Texas) gave the posts an organic-looking home.

  3. 3

    Sockpuppet amplification

    Many accounts and bought ads made messages look like grassroots opinion; the indictment says the groups grew to hundreds of thousands of followers.

  4. 4

    Trusted repeaters

    The indictment says the IRA recruited and paid real Americans to take part in political activity, so real voices carried its message.

Through the FATE framework

  • Focus6/10

    Divisive topics such as immigration and race were pushed to the front of feeds.

  • Authority4/10

    Little formal authority was claimed; mostly peer-looking personas and groups.

  • Tribe8/10

    Personas and groups were built to speak for in-groups and set them against others.

  • Emotion7/10

    Content was designed to provoke anger and fear around contested issues.

Propaganda techniques used

Same playbook today

The same playbook can be run by anyone, on any side. We list every current PSYOP that matches Internet Research Agency, whoever is behind it.

No live PSYOP we track matches this playbook right now. When one does, it will appear here.