Why Would Russia Try to Foment Protests in the U.S.?
A report that Kremlin operatives tried to organize rallies via Facebook is a rare example of an attempt at direct action, and echoes Putin’s allegations that the U.S. stirred up demonstrations in Moscow.
Facebook’s terse acknowledgement last week that a Kremlin-linked company had spent more than $100,000 spreading “divisive social and political messages” on the platform practically begged for further revelations. The company declined to publish the contents of the material, and the scope of the operation remained unclear.
Already, it’s becoming apparent that there was more than met the eye. The Daily Beast reported that Russian operatives using fake identities sought to arrange protests inside the U.S. Facebook told the Beast it had discovered several promoted events and deleted them, though it didn’t give any more detail.
The fact that Russians were trying to organize real-life events
