Adrien Chen:
Yet, like most things having to do with Russia, the connection between Trump and Putin is far from straightforward. For every piece of damning evidence there is compelling counter-evidence.
[… see note at end]
I’m not too upset that Trump has been labelled an agent of the Kremlin. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. But the zeal with which many have seized on a foreign explanation for a domestic problem sets a worrying precedent for how any future event or movement that challenges our understanding may be processed, in a time when malevolent actors, foreign or domestic, can influence perceptions more easily than ever, and we can all see it unfold in real time. Russia’s use of propaganda, dirty tricks, leaks, and hacks in foreign affairs works a lot like a troll farm on a larger scale. The aim is to promote an atmosphere of uncertainty and paranoia, heightening divisions among its adversaries. “Having realized it is unlikely to make any real or lasting friends, Moscow has instead turned its efforts into paralyzing and demoralizing its enemies,” Galeotti writes. This effort is ideologically blind: Russia supports extreme right-wing nationalist parties in France and Germany, while in the U.S. the state-run news outlet Russia Today is better known for highlighting the causes of the far left (Occupy Wall Street, the drone war, government surveillance). When I was investigating the Internet Research Agency, one of the trolls’ favorite topics to promote was the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the shooting of Michael Brown. Today the agency has moved on to Trump. And yet one can see a future where political protests against police brutality or income inequality are discredited by opponents, because of superficial connections to Russia. This is especially easy to imagine under President Trump.
Please read that last sentence again:
“And yet one can see a future where political protests against police brutality or income inequality are discredited by opponents, because of superficial connections to Russia. This is especially easy to imagine under President Trump.”
We are supposed to be the reasonable party — the ones opposed to the Republican whackos who love overblown frenzy like this. We are not doing our jobs on this issue. We are fueling and fanning a dangerous narrative here that is so far based on speculation and still weak or completely lacking (regarding Russian government involvement in leaks) evidence. It’s tempting — because it seems to serve to harm Trump (and that’s not even certain) — but that’s not reason to abandon our good sense here.
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Note: Please go to the article for a good rundown of the compelling counter evidence. Don’t want to publish to much here.
Great read by Russian-American Masha Gessen here: www.nybooks.com/...