Trending hashtags that the Russia-linked accounts used on Thursday included #nikolascruz, #gunreformnow, #parklandshooting and #floridaschoolshooting, according to data on the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s Hamilton 68 website. The site monitors English-language tweets from some 600 Twitter accounts, including bots, that analysts have identified as spreading Russian propaganda.
Hamilton 68 says that Russian government operatives created some of the content, while other content includes tweets that serve Kremlin interests, such as comments that attack the U.S. or promote conspiracy theories, disinformation and deep divisions over political issues.
Much of the content expresses a “pro-gun” sensibility, Wired reports. One highly shared example included a disturbing Instagram post tied to accused shooter Nikolas Cruz that presented Cruz as particularly unstable. Gun advocates have cited Cruz’s apparent mental illness as an argument that gun control would have had little effect on him. President Donald Trump also referenced Cruz’s mental health in his first tweet and remarks on Thursday about the shooting that claimed 17 lives.
RoBhat Labs’ Botcheck.me, which monitors 1,500 political propaganda bots not necessarily linked to Russia, also found that its tracked bots’ top hashtags on Thursday included #Parkland, #guncontrol, and #guncontrolnow.
“Educating Liberals,” a U.S. account targeted by Russian bot tweets, claimed Cruz was a Democrat and member of antifa, or militant anti-fascist groups, but neither claim has been confirmed by authorities. (A white supremacist group said that Cruz trained with its members, but the evidence is thin.)
Source: Huffingtonpost News
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