We’re taking steps to protect against future interference in our political conversation by state-sponsored propaganda campaigns
Hi Tumblr,
We’re all grappling with the influence that state-sponsored disinformation campaigns can have on our political conversations—and how wide-spread that interference turned out to be. So please take a moment to read this, think about it, and talk about it.
Last fall, we uncovered 84 Tumblr accounts linked to the Russian government through the Internet Research Agency, or IRA. These accounts were being used as part of a disinformation campaign leading up to the 2016 U.S. election. After uncovering the activity, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts. Behind the scenes, we worked with the Department of Justice, and the information we provided helped indict 13 people who worked for the IRA.
Now that the investigations are done, we want to let you know how we’re going to help protect Tumblr in the future and what you can do to help.
Here’s what we know about these accounts
The IRA employs more than 1,000 people who engage in electronic disinformation and propaganda campaigns around the world using phony social media accounts. Their goal is to sow division and discontent in the countries they target. What makes them so difficult to spot is that they’re not spambots. They’re real people who get trained and paid to spread propaganda.
As far as we can tell, the IRA-linked accounts were only focused on spreading disinformation in the U.S., and they only posted organic content. We didn’t find any indication that they ran ads.
Remember, the IRA and other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns play off our zero-sum politics. They want to drive a wedge between us so that we spend our time fighting with each other instead of building towards the future. We’ll be watching for signs of future activity, but the best defense is knowing how they operate and how to judge the content you see.
What we’re doing in response to the interference
First, we’ll be emailing anyone who liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed an IRA-linked account with the list of usernames they engaged with.
Second, we’re going to start keeping a public record of usernames we’ve linked to the IRA or other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. We’re committed to transparency and want you to know everything that we know.
We’ve decided to leave up any reblog chains that might be on your Tumblrs—you can choose to leave them or delete them. We’re letting you decide because the reblog chains contain posts created by real Tumblr users, often challenging or debunking the false and incideniary claims in the IRA-linked original post. Removing those authentic posts without your consent would encroach on your free speech—and there have been enough disruptions to our conversations as it is.
What we’re doing to stop future disinformation campaigns
You’ve probably read that U.S. intelligence officials expect foreign agents to try similar propaganda campaigns in the future. We’ll be monitoring Tumblr for signs of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and if we see anything we will…
Terminate the accounts and remove their original posts.
Notify you if we determine that you’ve liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed a propaganda account.
Add the username to the public record.
Alert law enforcement.
There are also things you can do to help stop the spread of disinformation and propaganda.
Be aware that people want to manipulate the conversation. Knowing that disinformation and propaganda accounts are out there makes it harder for them to operate. The News Literacy Project has this handy checklist for spotting their tricks.
Be skeptical of things you read. Disinformation campaigns work because they know people don’t fact check. Look for reliable sources, and double-check that the source really says the same thing as the post. You can also check Snopes and Politifact. Both are award-winning resources and usually have the latest viral claim fact checked on the front page.
Correct the record. When you see people spreading misinformation—even unintentionally—politely say something in a reblog or reply. If it’s your friend, send them a message to let them know.
One last note: Please vote.
Transparency won’t mean a thing if we don’t participate in the process. Whatever your political stance, voting ensures a government that represents your interests. For our U.S. users: You can register online or by mail, and many states are holding primaries right now.
In addition to this post, Tumblr staff also sent out e-mails to folks who’d followed one of those accounts, or interacted with them. They provided a list.
We all scream a lot about the failings of this blue hellsite, but that’s the most concrete action any social media platform I’ve been using has done to address the issue of Russian psyops in social media.
Full list below:
1-800-gloup
4mysquad previously known as: thomascestevez
aaddictedtoblackk previously known as: kathyzunigaoverhere, soaddictedtoblackk
artautumn
awesomelizzyjenningsthings
bastardpigeon previously known as: pigeonbastard
belindadoingitgood
bellaxiao previously known as: blogmadworldlove
bellygangstaboo
best-usa-today
bestofninegag previously known as: apolicethepolicethings
black-to-the-bones
blackness-by-your-side previously known as: black-galaxy-magic, fullyfurrymiracle, u4guy, ufo-pilot-and-his-sexy-spouse
blacknproud previously known as: in-the-mirror-world, indiebirdsblog, no-place-for-homophobia
blacktolive
bleepthepolice
cartnsncreal previously known as: feelmydragonballs
chantelreneeblm
coldfirefan
coolmagnificentbets
cybercollectionnerdstuff
delroyheater previously known as: delroyheater32, mastercucumber, scrumptiousluminarytimemachine, sexinstructor666, sexintructor
destinyrush previously known as: delightfullyghostlysong
down-to-venus previously known as: teenageflowerluminary
eugeny-a-antonov
everydaycutenesstherapy
fedupwithlying previously known as: badgyalforyou
funkycodex previously known as: craftykryptonitedelusion
gentlexnoise previously known as: slakerglitch, superblydopepatrol
getaninspiration
gogomrbrown previously known as: go-mrbrown, infectedv0ice, todd-la-death
gottimechillinaround previously known as: howardhenderson
guns4l1fe previously known as: 4lifeme, guns4lifeme, unabashedpolicerunaway
honestlyyoungpersona
honeyjenna
hustleinatrap previously known as: thenaturecanpost, tumblercube
ineverstopexploringblog previously known as: charlenefletcher
info-mix previously known as: americanstatistics, crazypolitician, girlsagainst, illegalmom, just-stat, rochelbarr
itwontbeeasyme
jamesjdelvecchio
jenningsmiracle
joycherryblossom previously known as: joyfullyhappycherryblossom
justmarilynadventure previously known as: justmarylinthings
kingbeardplayer previously known as: kirksgossplayer, placeofminimalthings
kirstenbrownstories
lagonegirl
lamcbride
loveboholiveboho
massivelydopepolice
massmedear previously known as: massblog021
melanin-diary previously known as: blackjourney2justice, dontshootus, jusslittlestoner
missberrianstuff
mooseblogtimes
morningwoodz previously known as: 5cubes, bangbangempire, empireofweird, gifemprireohh, innerpicsempire, picsempire
nadiquitegoodatit previously known as: runlovernad
nevaehtyler previously known as: laserenita
noteverythingiswhite previously known as: ashleyfsilver
poligraphme previously known as: poligraphmy
postingwhileblack previously known as: ghettablasta, heygeraldmartinjohanssen, honestinjun, nativewolveshere
rebellloudwiththecrowd previously known as: massivelystrangetyrant
ricordio
rikki-ri
sassydreamlandcloud
scentedballoonpanda
sergpolozov
shoutoutworldwide previously known as: blackprideworldwide, krispymentalitycowboy
shyshannonstuff
skullofjustice previously known as: naughtykermit, ryanbutlersstuff, usnationaldebt
skwad55
somestuff4ya previously known as: somestufffoya, unitedposters
starling-all-black-all-day
stopropaganda
sumchckn previously known as: blondeinpolitics, blvckcommunity, classylgbthomie, hwuudoin, politixblondie
summerinsomniac
superblygun
swagintherain previously known as: blacklivesmatterusa, carzwithgirlz
the-real-eye-to-see
thetrippytrip previously known as: matrixpath, themostpost
thingstolovefor previously known as: the-inner-mirror
this-truly-brutal-world previously known as: awesomewhitepearl, free-mind-and-soul
voteforwest2020 previously known as: mrbadasscat
weproudto2black
wevanessastewartstuff
yanbig
There’s a little bit more……….
Keep reading
