Russian-linked Twitter accounts made to look Louisiana-based tweeted about shootings, flood, monuments
A review of Twitter activity through replies and retweets from the two faux Louisiana Russian actors shows that each had an active presence, responding to the latest news in
"Baton Rouge Voice" and "New Orleans Online" were among 2,752 accounts that Twitter identified as being human-directed and coming from
The Associated Press reported last week that it had examined 36,210 tweets from
The Advocate reviewed dozens of replies to Baton Rouge Voice and New Orleans Online and various interactions with them.
The accounts seemed to know a lot about what was going on in
When three law enforcement officers were targeted and killed in a shooting at a gas station in
It also spread information about
The account was frequently tagged alongside legitimate news accounts when users sought to spread info to them. For example,
New Orleans Online similarly spread information that falsely relayed an intimate connection to
It retweeted a video from
It shared stories about Vice President
"It's weird," Fletcher said. "The notion that a Russian bot account or whatever would attempt to sway our views here is crazy."
Fletcher said he doesn't remember anything in particular that stood out to him but during one exchange, it appears that the account was attempting to link Republican
Angelle, who now serves as director of the federal
"(E)xcuse me but Angelle did not endorse Edwards or (V)itter," Fletcher wrote in a reply to Baton Rouge Voice in
Fletcher said he's baffled by the exchange now knowing that it was a Russian agent's speculation about Angelle that prompted him to set the record straight.
"It's pretty damn freaky," Fletcher said.
A review of other Twitter exchanges with users shows both Baton Rouge Voice and
Fletcher said he doesn't remember what prompted him to follow the account, but he said he likely saw it shared in his timeline.
"It never dawned on me that they could be Russian," he said. "I didn't know what a Russian bot account was or that they were out there."
___
(c)2017 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
Visit The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. at www.theadvocate.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Louisiana officials scurrying to stop ‘drastic’ insurance rate increases for retirees
Federal tax bill almost included elimination of adoption tax credit
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News