Report: Russian Social Accounts Sow Election Discord — Again

A new report shows that social media accounts linked to Russia have begun to disrupt this year’s U.S. presidential race and it’s become harder to detect the posts on platforms like Instagram.

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Young Mie Kim notes in her study that the Russian-linked accounts have posted messages about divisive issues such as race relations, abortions, gun laws and immigration.

The tactics are very similar to those used by the Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency in 2016, which polluted American voters' social media feeds to sway the presidential election.

Kim says the Instagram accounts spreading the disinformation have grown more sophisticated since then.