美国国家公共电台 NPR New Reports Detail Expansive Russia Disinformation Scheme Targeting U.S.

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Two reports out today provide the clearest picture yet of the extent to which Russia went to influence voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The reports focus on a Russian troll factory's use of nearly every major social media platform from Facebook to YouTube. NPR justice reporter Ryan Lucas has combed through the documents and joins us now. Hey, Ryan.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE¹: Hi there.

CHANG: So who exactly authored these reports?

LUCAS: Well, this is the work of private researchers and cybersecurity experts. And what they did is examine the activities of this Russian troll farm that we've talked a lot of bit about. That's the Internet Research Agency or the IRA. This is a Russian-based company that has been charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation². Now, the reports are based on data that the social media companies and the Senate Intelligence Committee provided them - important to remember that that committee is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

CHANG: Right.

LUCAS: It views its role as getting to the bottom of what the Russians did and then explaining that to the American public. That's why we're able to see these reports. That of course stands in contrast to the special counsel's investigation, which is focused on criminal conduct and prosecuting³ those who broke the law.

CHANG: OK, so we have been talking so much since the election about Russia's manipulation of social media. What do these new reports add that is actually new?

LUCAS: Right, well, first off, what they confirmed bottom line is the big-picture conclusions that the U.S. intelligence community came to, which is that Russia's social media manipulation was designed to sow discord⁴, to divide Americans and to hurt Hillary Clinton and ultimately to help Donald Trump⁵. But they also provide a greater level of detail than we previously⁶ had. They show that the IRA built up fake personas across all sorts of social media platforms. That lent them legitimacy⁷. They then used those to target specific audiences. Think of right-wing, anti-immigration folks or some left-leaning groups.

But what's really interesting is the research shows that the Russians specifically targeted African-American communities at a higher rate than any other. And the Russians also pushed a voter suppression narrative⁸ to a degree that social media companies themselves have played down.

CHANG: OK, so you say the Russians targeted African-American communities more than any other community. How did they do that?

LUCAS: Well, these efforts were focused on developing an audience and even recruiting assets - so people to act in the real world to, say, stage rallies. Now, one of the reports says that a main message that was pushed to African-American voters was that it was best to sit out the election, to boycott⁹ the election; that served their interest.

CHANG: And this is to suppress turnout.

LUCAS: Right. And then one example of a fake persona that was created by the IRA that got a lot of traction¹⁰ is an Instagram account set up with the username blackstagram. And it had more than 300,000 followers¹¹.

CHANG: It is worth pointing out that much of the focus up until now has been on Facebook and Twitter. But these researchers are saying that the Russians also use Instagram and other social media platforms, right?

LUCAS: Right. One of the things that these reports made clear is that the Russians leveraged¹² every major social media platform. Instagram had largely stayed under the radar¹³. That's no longer the case. These reports say that Instagram was actually a huge part of Russia's efforts online. For example, one of the reports says that fake Russian content on Facebook received 76.5 million engagements. On Instagram, fake Russian content earned more than two times as many engagements as that.

CHANG: Wow.

LUCAS: And researchers say, importantly, looking ahead, that the Russians have shifted a lot of their activity to Instagram since the election.

CHANG: Which is an important point. The Russians are still using social media to try to influence Americans, right?

LUCAS: That's absolutely right. And it's a really important point to make that Russians continue to use fake accounts on these platforms for nefarious¹⁴ purposes.

CHANG: So you mentioned that the Senate supplied the data these researchers used. Is Congress planning to do anything more to stop Russia or any other country from using social media to influence U.S. voters?

LUCAS: Well, there's certainly been chatter¹⁵ from lawmakers about possible legislation. Social media companies would prefer to deal with this without any sort of legislation, regulation of course. But look. One of the reasons that we are talking about this and this report is out is it puts the public's attention on material online and with the hope that Americans will be more judicious¹⁶ about what they're engaging with online.

CHANG: That's NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thanks, Ryan.

LUCAS: Thank you.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

4 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

8 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

9 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

10 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。

13 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

14 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

15 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

16 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。