A nation must think before it acts.
Fox Fellow Clint Watts Talks to NPR on Russian Propaganda in Social Media
Clint Watts, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute who has been investigating Russian use of social media, said it showed the power of just one Twitter account and its ability to “actually influence the discussion and be cited in the debate.”
Watts says this kind of media propaganda is simply how it works in the digital age, whether it’s the Russians, the North Koreans or a fake news site.
Facebook has already handed over details of 3,000 ads worth $100,000 by Russians to Congress. The company has promised more transparency about who is behind the advertising campaigns. Twitter says it will no longer take ad money from two Russian media outlets, RT and Sputnik. Despite efforts by Facebook, Twitter and Google to take action on their own, Democratic lawmakers are pushing legislation that would require Internet platforms to disclose more information about political ads.