Russians Used Freddie Gray To Influence Baltimore Voters: Report

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore residents were among the key targets of a years-long Russian social media campaign aimed at influencing the 2016 presidential elections, according to a report released this week by Democrats in the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. Many of the ads sent to Baltimoreans appear to reference Freddie Gray, who died in police custody in April 2015.

The Russian efforts appear to have been directed through a group called the Internet Research Agency (IRA). The group created nearly 3,400 posts on Facebook. More than 11.4 million Americans nationwide were exposed to the IRA's advertisements and posts, revealed a U.S. investigation into the Russian organization.

Three cities were primarily targeted in the first quarter of 2015 by the IRA, according to the new report:

• Baltimore, Maryland
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Ferguson, Missouri

All three areas were undergoing unrest after the police-involved deaths of black residents.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election," stated an Intelligence Community Assessment released by House Democrats this week."Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency."

Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said that Russia promoted divisiveness among Americans.

"There's no question that Russia sought to weaponize social media platforms to drive a wedge between Americans, and in an attempt to sway the 2016 election," Schiff said in a statement on Thursday. "They did this by creating fake accounts, pages and communities to push divisive online content and videos, and to mobilize real Americans, unwittingly, to sign online petitions and join rallies and protests. Russia sought to divide us by our race, by our country of origin, by our religion, and by our political party."

Contrary to popular belief though, the advertisements were not solely propaganda for Donald Trump or Republican officials. Rather, the social media posts appear designed to drive a wedge between Americans of differing political views. While some of the released advertisements stoke anti-Hillary, or anti-Democrat sentiment, others, like the ones targeting Clevelanders, seem to flame rage in Americans.

Digging through the advertisements released by the Intelligence Committee is an endurance test. Some of the Russian ads cite the good deeds of the Confederate army and urge people to join rallies preserving statues of Confederate figures like General Robert E. Lee.

But the IRA also created ads promoting gay and black rights pages and groups that claim to work on behalf of minorities in America.

"They attempted to hijack legitimate events meant to do good – teaching self-defense, providing legal aid – in support of their malign object," Schiff said. "They sought to harness Americans' very real frustrations and anger over sensitive political matters in order to influence American thinking, voting and behavior. This was accomplished by engaging in online communities built around common interests and that appeared organic and American, but were actually run by a troll farm in St. Petersburg."

– By Patch Editor Chris Mosby

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