As more information comes out on Russian influence operations in the United States, evidence is building that the dominant anti-Trump movement, the self-described “resistance,” has been used by Russia to stoke division and undermine the White House.
After Trump’s electoral victory, Russian cyber operations began focusing on “fomenting discord about the validity of [Trump’s] election,” Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch told a Senate Judiciary panel on Tuesday. Sean Edgett, general counsel for Twitter, offered a similar assessment.
“During the election, they were trying to create discord between Americans, most of it directed against Clinton. After the election you saw Russian-tied groups and organizations trying to undermine President Trump’s legitimacy. Is that what you saw on Facebook?” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham asked Edgett and Stretch, Politico reported. Both Edgett and Stretch characterized Graham’s remark as “accurate.”
The weekend after Trump’s election, thousands of people attended a left-wing anti-Trump protest in New York City that was secretly organized by Russian operatives, ads released by the House Intelligence Committee revealed.
More than 16,000 people RSVP’d on Facebook for the protest, which was titled: “Trump is NOT my President. March against Trump.”