Weâre taking steps to protect against future interference in our political conversation by state-sponsored propaganda campaigns
Weâre all grappling with the influence that state-sponsored disinformation campaigns can have on our political conversationsâand 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 weâre going to help protect Tumblr in the future and what you can do to help.
Hereâs 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 theyâre not spambots. Theyâre 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 didnât 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. Weâll 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 weâre doing in response to the interference
First, weâll be emailing anyone who liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed an IRA-linked account with the list of usernames they engaged with.
Second, weâre going to start keeping a public record of usernames weâve linked to the IRA or other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. Weâre committed to transparency and want you to know everything that we know.
Weâve decided to leave up any reblog chains that might be on your Tumblrsâyou can choose to leave them or delete them. Weâre letting you decide because the reblog chains contain posts created by real Tumblr users, often challenging or debunking the false and incendiary claims in the IRA-linked original post. Removing those authentic posts without your consent would encroach on your free speechâand there have been enough disruptions to our conversations as it is.
What weâre doing to stop future disinformation campaigns
Youâve probably read that U.S. intelligence officials expect foreign agents to try similar propaganda campaigns in the future. Weâll be monitoring Tumblr for signs of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and if we see anything we willâŚ
Terminate the accounts and remove their original posts.
Notify you if we determine that youâve liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed a propaganda account.
Add the username to the public record.
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 donât 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.Â
Correct the record. When you see people spreading misinformationâeven unintentionallyâpolitely say something in a reblog or reply. If itâs your friend, send them a message to let them know.
One last note: Please vote.
Transparency wonât mean a thing if we donât 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.
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