Political Meddling In The Fight Against COVID-19 (Terry Gross, Fresh Air podcast)

'Politico' reporter Dan Diamond describes efforts by Trump loyalist and HHS spokesperson (currently on leave) Michael Caputo to alter weekly CDC reports and have scientists change their findings on the course of the coronavirus pandemic. "Caputo walked in the door of the health department in the middle of this once-in-a-century pandemic, having been personally recruited by the president, and the goal was very much to execute the president's agenda and to knock down any messaging, any communications that were seen as conflicting with what President Trump was saying about coronavirus."
Interview:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916092154/political-meddling-in-the-fight-against-covid-19

Russia Is Meddling Again, And The U.S. Is Making It Easy (Diane Rehm, On My Mind)

Through the spread of disinformation online or false media reports that tap into the deep divisions in America, the Russians are at it again.

But they’re not the only ones sowing confusion and distrust ahead of the November elections. It’s coming from domestic sources as well, including the President and other elected officials.

And while both U.S. intelligence and the American public have a better understanding of the tactics – stopping it, both foreign and domestically, is still proving a challenge.

Diane asked Shane Harris, intelligence and national security reporter at the Washington Post, to explain what we know and what most concerns him as we head toward the general election.
Interview:
https://dianerehm.org/shows/2020-09-08/russias-back-in-2020-to-meddle-in-the-elections-and-the-countrys-divisions-make-that-easier-than-ever

Russian meddling is real — but Mitch McConnell and the GOP have broader plans to ruin our elections – Raw Story

Ever since the 2016 election, the U.S. intelligence community has consistently claimed that Russia and its agents continue to work to undermine American elections. When intel officials returned to Congress on Feb. 13 to warn — as required by law — that Russians are already interfering in the 2020 election to aid President Trump, several Republican lawmakers pushed back against the assessment before rushing to the White House to complain. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/02/russian-meddling-is-real-but-mitch-mcconnell-and-the-gop-have-broader-plans-to-ruin-our-elections/

Facebook removes 2.2 billion fake accounts in three months - Business Insider

Facebook announced that in the past three months it removed 2.2 billion fake accounts, a number nearly equivalent to the platform's 2.38 billion monthly active users, per CNN. This comes after it removed 1.2 billion in Q4 2018, almost double the 694 million it took down in Q3 2018...
https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-removed-22-billion-fake-accounts-2019-5

The Trump/Putin phone call, economy and "electability" | Pod Save America recording stream

Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor run through a foreign policy grab bag, discuss the economy and 2020. Plus, we'll talk some Game of Thrones.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/USZknQJFUnA

A Russian 'troll slayer' went undercover at a troll factory and found that hundreds of Russians were working as paid trolls in rotating shifts - Business Insider

Hackers take part at a Cybersecurity Conference to strengthen the fight against cybercrime. "Troll slayer" and journalist Lyudmila Savchuk when undercover at a troll factory for two and a half months to see how it works. Savchuk found that the organization was broken up into departments: "news division," the "social media seeders", and a group dedicated to producing visual memes known as "demotivators."
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-03-13/trolls-are-winning-says-russian-troll-hunter

Russia Is Attacking the U.S. System From Within -- The Atlantic

A new filing by Special Counsel Robert Mueller shows how Russia uses the federal courts to go after its adversaries. ....
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/new-mueller-filing-shows-how-russia-misuses-us-courts/581884/

'Part of Putin's plan': Retired general explains how Trump is doing Russia's bidding in Syria - Raw Story

On Friday, Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby explained to CNN host Jim Acosta that there are "serious repercussions" to President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly withdraw American troops out of Syria. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/part-of-putins-plan-retired-general-reveals-how-trump-is-aiding-russia/

Fake LGBTQ youth hotline set up by Russian election trolls -- Daily Kos

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released two important reports this week, detailing how Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential elections. While this is disturbing for a number of obvious reasons, the reports specifically describe instances of tactics that targeted LGBTQ youth. And they’re really, really messed up.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1820152

Cher leaving Google, Facebook in protest - The Hill

Cher announced Tuesday she will boycott Google and Facebook over what she says are insufficient responses to Russian-led disinformation campaigns on their platforms. ....
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/421880-cher-leaving-google-facebook-in-protest

Cohen: Russian Promised Trump ‘Political Synergy’ in 2015 - The Daily Beast

The disclosure came in a sentencing memo filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Feds are recommending Cohen serve several years in prison. ....
https://www.thedailybeast.com/feds-recommend-several-years-in-prison-for-michael-cohen

Deep Inside a Pro-Putin Network That's Helping Trump Divide America - Mother Jones

Every day, the roughly 600 Kremlin-linked accounts tracked in real time on the Hamilton 68 dashboard dive into the hot Twitter topics of the moment. They have fanned rancor over the NFL's #TakeAKnee protests, and urged Americans to #VoteRed in the midterms. ....
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/russian-trolls-putin-trump-twitter-hamilton/

Roger Stone’s story just changed on Russia — again - The Washington Post: Analysis

Stone told The Post this week that he didn't discuss WikiLeaks with Trump campaign officials. Turns out he emails Steve Bannon about it. And it's not the first denial that has fallen apart. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/01/roger-stones-story-just-changed-russia-again/

Trump's response to new revelation that Russia is still attacking our elections shows why he's unfit to be president - Raw Story

Despite President Donald Trump's professed desire to become friends with Russia, the Kremlin is still working to interfere in American elections and undermine democracy, as a new indictment from the Justice Department of a woman allegedly involved in the ongoing efforts revealed. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/10/trumps-response-new-revelation-russia-still-attacking-elections-shows-hes-unfit-president/

How Russia Exploits American White Supremacy Over and Over Again - The Daily Beast

Russia's troll army was not interested in stirring up generic 'chaos' in America. The Kremlin is strategically tapping into the inexhaustible fuel source of white grievance.....
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-russia-exploits-american-white-supremacy-over-and-over-again

On Reddit, Russian propagandists try new tricks - NBC News:

The address-changing effort highlights how propagandists are employing new strategies to hide their origins as companies begin to crack down. ....
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-russian-propagandists-try-new-tricks-n913131

State-sponsored disinformation campaign 'significantly bigger' than first reported - 9to5Mac

A state-sponsored disinformation campaign identified on Facebook and Twitter is significantly bigger than it first appeared, says a new report ...
https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/29/iran-disinformation-facebook-twitter/

Russian Hackers Target Conservative Think Tanks In Latest Cyberattack (Joshua Johnson, The 1A)

In July, 12 members of the Russian intelligence agency, formerly known as GRU, were indicted for continual efforts to hack Democrats’ emails and computer networks during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Now, the agency is preying on a new group: conservative think tanks.

According to a report set for release on Tuesday, Microsoft has identified and seized websites that posed as affiliates of two think tanks — the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute. Users who accessed these fraudulent sites forfeited their passwords and other data to the Russian intelligence agency.

Why these think tanks, in particular? According to The Washington Post, they “have broken with President Trump and are seeking continued sanctions against Moscow, exposing oligarchs or pressing for human rights.”

Microsoft also detected websites masquerading as the U.S. Senate, which they were able to shut down in their infancy.

Daniel Twining, president of the International Republican Institute, told The Washington Post:

This apparent spear-phishing attempt against the International Republican Institute and other organizations is consistent with the campaign of meddling that the Kremlin has waged against organizations that support democracy and human rights. It is clearly designed to sow confusion, conflict and fear among those who criticize Mr. Putin’s authoritarian regime.

Are these spoofed websites gone for good? And with midterms just three months away, how can tech companies like Microsoft help prevent the next attack?
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2018-08-22/russian-hackers-target-conservative-think-tanks-in-latest-attack

Trump Insisted Russia Is Now on the Democrats’ Side. This Growing List of Hacks Proves Otherwise - Mother Jones

In a startling announcement Tuesday, Microsoft revealed that the same Kremlin-backed military intelligence unit believed to have carried out the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee attempted last week to target the US Senate and conservative think tanks that have broken with President Donald Trump. ....
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/08/russian-hackers-midterm-elections-trump/

Donald Trump Is a 'Russian Asset' Owned by the Mafia, Author Claims in New Book

Omarosa vs. Trump may be the political pro wrestling match of the week, but a more serious confrontation could be prompted by a book that came out Tuesday, alleging that President Donald Trump may be a Russian asset compromised by billions of laundered dollars over decades of shady real estate deals.
https://www.newsweek.com/manafort-trump-putin-russia-mafia-strzok-fbi-1076582