The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Black voters are being targeted in disinformation campaigns, echoing the 2016 Russian playbook

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August 26, 2020 at 5:21 p.m. EDT
A Facebook post for a group called “Woke Blacks” was part of a Russian campaign in 2016 to discourage minority groups from voting. Race remains a key factor in disinformation campaigns as the 2020 presidential election approaches. (Jon Elswick/AP)

Four years after Russian operatives used social media in a bid to exacerbate racial divisions in the United States and suppress Black voter turnout, such tactics have spread across a wide range of deceptive online campaigns operated from numerous nations — including from within the United States itself.

The potency and persistence of the racial playbook was highlighted this week when Twitter deleted an account featuring a profile photo of a young Black man claiming to be a former Black Lives Matter protester who switched his allegiance to the Republican Party.