Sunday, February 19, 2017

Reading the Fine Print: Russian Hacking

Today I read through the unclassified document from National Intelligence related to the Russian hacking of the 2016 Presidential election. It was a good read--a read that made me realize just how much Russia is involved in our social media interaction and our media actions in general

It was interesting to note that the President's claims about the media's unfairness were actually started by the Kremlin's news agency RT much before the President's latest discussion and comments about the topic.

It was disappointing to note the time and money RT invested in demeaning the reputation of Hillary Clinton.

I was left with a number of questions:
  • Of the Trump voters, how many regularly watch shows or read news that originates at the Kremlin sponsored news agency, RT?
  • Of those of us who use social media, how many of us are regularly and unknowingly interfacing with and influenced by Russian tweets, blog posts, news reports, and more?
  • In the face of this impact on our national voting system and democracy, what can we do to eliminate or at least lessen this influence as we think about the future of our country?
There's a lot to know out there and the worst thing any of us can do is to stay mired in the simple speak, read, and finger pointing instead of going deeper, discovering the details, and working for a better America.