2021. January 6th. Trump’s Coup Attempt. (In Progress)
Since the 2016 US presidential election, reports have surfaced that Russia interfered in the US electoral process with the goal of destabilizing the country. According to the Washington Post, Putin's ultimate objective was to create chaos in the United States, sowing doubt in the democratic process and making the country ungovernable. The article notes that Russia's election interference campaign has been successful in this regard, as it has polarized the country and eroded the public's trust in institutions.
A 2020 report by the Brennan Center for Justice shows that Russia's election interference has grown more brazen, with the country employing a range of tactics to manipulate public opinion. These include the spread of disinformation and the use of social media platforms to amplify divisive content.
In July 2020, Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Trump, posted a video featuring QAnon slogans. QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that has been linked to Russian disinformation campaigns.
In September 2020, ABC News reported that the Department of Homeland Security had withheld an intelligence bulletin that called out Russia's attack on Joe Biden's mental health. The bulletin was reportedly suppressed due to political pressure.
That same month, ABC News also reported that an intelligence bulletin had warned that Russia was "amplifying" claims of mail-in voter fraud in an attempt to undermine the upcoming election. This claim was made despite the fact that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A November 2020 report by Reuters found that Russian accounts on Twitter had helped to boost QAnon's visibility on the platform. The report notes that the accounts had previously been linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian troll farm that was involved in the 2016 US presidential election interference campaign.
Foreign Policy published an article in November 2020 that examined the role of QAnon in the US election. The article notes that QAnon supporters were more likely to trust "the plan" (a reference to QAnon's belief in a secret plan to take down the deep state) than the polls.
In April 2021, CNN reported that China and Russia had "weaponized" the QAnon conspiracy theory around the time of the US Capitol attack. The report notes that both countries used social media to amplify conspiracy theories and sow confusion about the attack.
A March 2022 article by VICE explores why some QAnon followers view Vladimir Putin as a "good guy." The article notes that QAnon's conspiracy theories often align with Russian propaganda, and that Putin has been adept at exploiting this overlap to advance his own interests.
According to a July 2022 report by Brookings, misinformation is eroding the public's confidence in democracy. The report notes that conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns are contributing to a sense of political polarization and undermining the legitimacy of democratic institutions.
Written with ChatGPT on April 30, 2023