Russian-Interference

Mueller Report finds 140+ contacts between Trump campaign and Russians

| Importance: 9/10

The Mueller Report documented at least 140 contacts between Trump and 18 associates with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign and transition. The report found Russian interference was “sweeping and systematic” and violated U.S. criminal law. While establishing …

Robert Mueller Donald Trump Trump Campaign Russian nationals WikiLeaks mueller-investigation russian-interference trump-campaign election-2016 obstruction-of-justice
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Mark Zuckerberg Testifies Before Congress on Cambridge Analytica and Russian Interference

| Importance: 9/10

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies for 10 hours before Congress, apologizing for data breaches and promising reforms while avoiding real accountability for platform’s role in election manipulation

Mark Zuckerberg US Congress Facebook Cambridge Analytica congressional-testimony cambridge-analytica russian-interference zuckerberg facebook-scandal +1 more
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Facebook Admits Russians Bought $100,000 in Ads to Influence 2016 Election

| Importance: 9/10

Facebook reveals to Congress that Russian operatives bought $100,000 in political ads reaching millions of Americans, first admission of platform weaponization for foreign election interference, detailed in multiple congressional hearings and investigations throughout late 2017

Facebook Internet Research Agency US Congress Russian Government Mark Zuckerberg russian-interference facebook-ads election-manipulation foreign-influence platform-weaponization +1 more
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Paul Manafort Shares Trump Campaign Data with Russian Agent Konstantin Kilimnik

| Importance: 10/10

Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort shares internal polling data with Russian intelligence agent Konstantin Kilimnik for Ukrainian oligarchs when Trump clinches nomination. U.S. Treasury confirmed in 2021 that Kilimnik provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on …

Paul Manafort Konstantin Kilimnik Trump Campaign Russian Intelligence (GRU) Ukrainian Oligarchs russian-interference election-manipulation manafort kilimnik polling-data +1 more
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Russian Internet Research Agency begins Facebook ad campaign to influence U.S. politics

| Importance: 9/10

The St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency began purchasing Facebook ads and running coordinated influence operations. Senate Intelligence Committee reports and platform disclosures document spending (about $100,000 on ~3,000 ads) and reach in the tens of millions between 2015 and 2017.

Internet Research Agency Facebook Yevgeny Prigozhin russian-interference facebook-ads election-manipulation foreign-influence
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