Peace Data or PeaceData is a fake news website run by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian outlet connected to the country's government, which publishes in English and Arabic.[1]

History

Part of its object was to interfere in the 2020 United States elections with the intention of helping Donald Trump to be re-elected by defeating the Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris.[2] The aim was to reduce support for the Biden-Harris ticket among liberal voters.[3] According to Graphika, a social media analytics firm, only about 5 percent of the website's English-language content concerned the American elections, but "this facet of the operation suggests an attempt to build a left-wing audience and steer it away from Biden's campaign". It also targeted left-wing voters in the UK,[4] and featured articles about Algeria, Egypt and Turkey.[5][6] The website hired unsuspecting journalists in the United States as well as inventing false personas with computer created avatars.[7] These fake identities included the three permanent staff members listed on the website, according to Graphika.[5]

On September 1, 2020, Facebook and Twitter announced they had been warned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the disinformation effort and said they had removed or suspended accounts associated with it.[1] The Daily Beast website reported that the operation tried and failed to place content with Jacobin, In These Times and Truthout.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Facebook and Twitter 'dismantle Russian network'". BBC News. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. ↑ Frenkel, Sheera; Barnes, Julian E. (1 September 2020). "Russians Again Targeting Americans With Disinformation, Facebook and Twitter Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Dwoskin, Elizabeth; Timberg, Craig (1 September 2020). "Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. ↑ Martin, Alexander (2 September 2020). "Fake left-wing news organisation targeting UK and US from Russia banned by Facebook". Sky News. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 Stubbs, Jack (1 September 2020). "Facebook says Russian influence campaign targeted left-wing voters in U.S., UK". Reuters. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "A note on 'Peace Data'". Left Foot Forward. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Collier, Kevin; Dilanian, Ken (1 September 2020). "Russian internet trolls hired U.S. journalists to push their news website, Facebook says". NBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. ↑ Rawnsley, Adam; Tani, Maxwell (11 September 2020). "Leaked Documents Show Russian Trolls Tried to Infiltrate Left-Wing Media". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
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