How did Russia meddle in US Elections and what do the Senate reports say?

But what exactly did Russia do to meddle? Here's what we know.

How did Russia meddle in US Elections?

Russia used every major social media platform to influence the 2016 US election, a report released by the senate claims.

Former trolls employed by the Internet Research Agency have revealed the industrial-scale 24-hour production of social media hate and fake news.

Keyboard warriors are ordered to bombard message sites and news comment sections with propaganda aimed at turning Brits and Americans against their own governments.

The agency – based in an anonymous office block in St Petersburg – has backed Jeremy Corbyn's Labour leadership, rallied support for Brexit and is said to have helped Donald Trump win the US election in 2016.

The US Justice Department says The Internet Research Agency was founded by restaurant boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, dubbed "Putin's chef" because he does the catering for the President's birthday parties and state dinners.

Former workers say the troll farm pays hundreds of bloggers to flood social media at home and abroad with support for Putin and attacks on the West.

Each worker has a quota of as many as 135 posts each shift, including new blogs and comments to help spread the lies generated by their colleagues.

Facebook turned a blind eye to Moscow’s interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election and instigated a cover-up, it’s claimed.

But the social media goliath has denied allegations in an explosive investigation that it hid knowledge about Russian meddling and dealt with crisis was "delay, deny and deflect".

A New York Times investigation alleged bosses Mark Zuckerberg and Cheryl Sandberg were so obsessed with growing Facebook they "ignored warning signs and then sought to conceal them from public view".

The newspaper reported security chief Alex Stamos had in fact amassed evidence showing Russian activity before the election.

Facebook executives were angry that Mr Stamos had directed a team to investigate Kremlin interference without approval, it's claimed.

Ms Sandberg is reported to have said that probing Moscow meddling left the company exposed to legal action.

What do the Senate reports say?

The report which was released by the Senate highlights Russia's efforts to target African-Americans.

The report was put together by the research firm New Knowledge.

It explains how Russia's IRA were focused on "developing Black audiences and recruiting Black Americans as assets," which included encouraging activists to stage rallies, reported BBC.

One IRA campaign highlighted in the Oxford and Graphika paper, Black Matters US, existed across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Tumblr and PayPal.

These various accounts would promote each other's posts and events.

The report says: "What is clear is that all of the messaging clearly sought to benefit the Republican Party – and specifically Donald Trump.

"Trump is mentioned most in campaigns targeting conservatives and right-wing voters, where the messaging encouraged these groups to support his campaign.

"The main groups that could challenge Trump were then provided messaging that sought to confuse, distract and ultimately discourage members from voting."



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