Tumblr names 84 accounts claimed to be Russian bots
After months of silence, Tumblr has publicly acknowledged that Russian trolls also used their platform to spread divisive memes and gifs, reportedly to the tune of hundreds of thousands of interactions https://t.co/V2zWGsd5Cz
- WIRED (@WIRED) March 23, 2018
- Tumblr has finally released a list of accounts that were "connected to state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda campaigns."
- in a recent blog post, staff has stated that since last fall, they had uncovered 84 accounts associated with Russian propaganda site Internet Research Agency (IRA).
- "Democracy requires transparency and an informed electorate, and we take our responsibilities very seriously," Tumblr wrote in a brief introduction to the list. "We aggressively monitor Tumblr for signs of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and take the appropriate action when we uncover anything."
- many of the accounts linked were noted to focus on black issues and injustice, as well as police brutality. They also pushed anti-Clinton messages in support of Bernie Saunders.
- It's still unknown how many other accounts are still operated by Russian trolls.
- Tumblr has already sent out emails to people who have been in contact with said trolls, as well as deleting the accounts. They have also announced they would begin keeping a public record of accounts they believe to be associated with IRA and other propaganda groups, as well as alerting (via email) other users if they happen to reblog, like, respond to or follow a propaganda bot. Said accounts will also be deleted and their posts purged from the site.
did you follow the troll accounts, ontd? and how long before some 30 year old reylo stan accuses someone of being a troll bot because they don't like their ship?