Report: Suspected Russian-backed Facebook pages were pushing tags like "Abolish ICE"

Brett T. | 5:19 PM on July 31, 2018

Here’s another one of those instances where you have to click through the tweet and read the related article … and then read another article to confirm that article.

The Hill’s tweet certainly is tantalizing and teases that Russia is meddling with the 2018 midterm elections via Facebook; however, The Hill’s article is based around a statement by Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Top Intel Dem: Facebook's discovery of effort to influence midterms "further evidence" of Russian meddling https://t.co/1yuxtr9biG pic.twitter.com/y0IjcMa32J

— The Hill (@thehill) July 31, 2018

CNN’s Jeremy Herb reports that Facebook has taken down “a network of suspected Russian-linked accounts and pages.”

Facebook has taken down a network of pages involved in "coordinated inauthentic behavior." FB briefed Congress it suspects the accounts Russian and pushed political causes including anti "Unite the Right" march and "Abolish ICE" hashtag. Latest w/ @donie https://t.co/Kr3LzoF4ST

— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) July 31, 2018

Wait, what’s that? The suspected Russian-backed sites were pushing tags like “Abolish ICE” and opposing the “Unite the Right” march? If Trump is Putin’s puppet, he’s pulling the wrong strings. Herb writes:

In briefings on Capitol Hill, Facebook has told lawmakers that it suspects a Russian group is behind more than 30 pages advocating US political stances, according to a congressional source briefed on the matter. One page promoted a “No Unite the Right 2” march — a counter demonstration to a planned “Unite the Right” event to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the march in Charlottesville in which a woman was killed. There was also an effort to amplify the “Abolish ICE” message pushed by liberals, the source said.

…

Facebook said the “Resisters” page, which organized the “No Unite the Right 2” event, recruited real activists who “unwittingly helped build interest in” the event” and posted information about transportation, materials, and locations so people could get to the protests.”