Putin's Troll Factory



This page was started semi-seriously, as claims were disbelieved. It includes internal use of trolls in Russia, Shaltai-Boltai, and some half-serious general commentary. After Mueller indictment on February 16, 2018, a more robust section 'Internet Research Agency' (below) was added.

Western claims

 * Polishing Putin: hacked emails suggest dirty tricks by Russian youth group - The Guardian, February 7, 2012
 * Vladimir Putin's Army of Blog Trolls - The Observer, February 8, 2012
 * Russia's Online-Comment Propaganda Army - Olga KHAZAN, The Atlantic, October 9, 2013
 * ''It's like writing copy about hair dryers, one comment-shop explains, "The only difference is that this hair dryer is a political one."
 * Documents Show How Russia’s Troll Army Hit America - Max Seddon, BuzzFeed, June 2, 2014
 * ''The adventures of Russian agents like The Ghost of Marius the Giraffe, Gay Turtle, and Ass — exposed for the first time.
 * The Kremlin's Troll Army - DAISY SINDELAR, The Atlantic, August 12, 2014
 * Wikipedia: Web brigades
 * Inside Russia's internet 'troll factory' -CNN News, October 26, 2016
 * Consists of some annoying commercial followed by a meaningless 2:27 video, featuring Donald Trump, a Russian woman (Liudmila Savchuk), and visual garbage. (Here Liudmila Savchuk on earlier video, and here; some text).
 * Another Liudmila Savchuk video (Ukrainian TV) has towards the end that there are such factories in other Russian cities 'and all over the world'. She apparently means 'Putin-funded' trolls. While the reality seems to be, many players with different agendas employ paid trolls, with various degree of sophistication (and how much morally different is this from mainstream western media?)
 * Mixed impression from listening Savchuk. It may be true, partially true, or she can be a gold digger--there are plenty around, economic situation is tough. If she quit that factory, she would need other means of support as an aspiring journalist, and may be trolling for a different payer.
 * Her background? It is said that she is born in St Petersburg suburb (but appears to speak with one of Middle Asian republics, or Tatar, accent). She is fluent, not a newcomer. Tried journalism, local politics and some activism (ecology, etc).
 * She is suing for employment rights violation, while doing all those interviews.
 * Fake Russian Facebook Accounts Bought $100,000 in Political Ads -New York Times, September 6, 2017
 * ''Facebook officials said the fake accounts were created by a Russian company called the Internet Research Agency (profiled by NYT earlier), which is known for using “troll” accounts to post on social media and comment on news websites.
 * It appears to be based on apparent IP addresses, since:
 * ''In its review of election-related advertising, Facebook said it had also found an additional 2,200 ads, costing $50,000, that had less certain indications of a Russian connection. Some of those ads, for instance, were purchased by Facebook accounts with internet protocol addresses that appeared to be in the United States but with the language set to Russian.

"Nashi"
"Nashi" was a mass youth movement whose main role was, apparently, to support Putin reelection in 2012. Yakemenko is a leader, Krystina Potupchik a press secretary and a social media starlet. It appears that played some role on the Government side. A pro-Putin video illustrates the visual aspects of the approach. The movement has some success as a mass youth movement supporting reelection, and was not more than that. Opposition was critical/skeptical/ironic of the whole idea. In 2013, the movement was essentially closed in that form (as reflected in Russian Wikipedia), although there was no well-publicized announcement. Some projects, like Seliger, continued past 2013.

Marat Burkhard's claims

 * Безумие кремлевских троллей - Dmitry Volchek, Radio Svoboda, March 21, 2015
 * One Professional Russian Troll Tells All - Dmitry Volchek and Daisy Sindelar, RFE/RL, March 25, 2015
 * Salutin' Putin: inside a Russian troll house - Shaun Walker, The Guardian, 2 April 2015
 * The Agency - ADRIAN CHEN, The New York Times June 2, 2015
 * ''From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.
 * «Встречаются те, кто верит в то, что пишет. Это очень страшные люди» - Novaya Gazeta, June 5, 2015
 * My life as a pro-Putin propagandist in Russia’s secret 'troll factory' - Tom Parfitt, The Telegraph, June 24, 2015
 * Vladimir Putin's secret 'troll factory' and Lyudmila Savchuk who exposed its dirty tricks - Daily Mail, 25 June 2015
 * Russia's troll army: how the propaganda factory operates - The Week, August 18, 2015
 * ''Journalist posing as a pro-Kremlin employee wins case against shadowy agency known as Internet Research
 * Revealed: Putin's army of pro-Kremlin bloggers - Paul Gallagher, The Independent, 24 September 2015

Evidence
This blog post (2015-01-25 ) on the flcrbqrjn (RFE/RL says flcrbgrjn) blog has been copy-pasted to some local fora.

RFE/RL lists nine: Biysk, Bryansk, Veliky Novgorod (wrong link!), Vladivostok, Volgograd (wrong link), Voronezh, Chupakabra, Chita, Cherepovets Google finds a two more: Voronezh, Kirov

Marat Mindiyarov / Burkhard

 * Bilder: Feuer und Smog in Russland - Tages Anzeiger, 05.08.2010
 * ''Marat Mindiyarov is 35 years old and has lived 2006-2010 in Switzerland in the canton of Bern. He now works in Moscow in a hostel and as a tourist guide. His dream is to write a book about Switzerland.
 * Couchsurfing: Marat Mindiyarov Podolsk, Moscow Province, Russia
 * Maybe Accepting Guests, Last login about 2 years ago
 * Facebook: Marat Mindiyarov
 * Lives in St. Petersburg, Russia, From Moscow, Russia
 * VK: Марат Миндияров
 * Odnoklassniki: Марат Миндияров
 * Марат... - Блог Койраха, November 27th, 2012
 * ''blogger who on September 1 this year, began teaching in Orenburg childhood home ... well, having worked there for several days, accused the director Valentin Tazekenovu violations of children's rights and other irregularities ... and was fired ... and then Marat asked the Ministry of Education a statement on the restoration of the workplace, wrote about what was happening in his blog, and gave several interviews to local television stations
 * Не понимаю по-немецки (I do not understand German)
 * Links to www.gayforit.com/video/... and www.gaytube.com/media/ (not safe for work)
 * 1-1/2-Zimmer-Wohnung in der Matte - Ein Feldforschungstagebuch - Alexander Wild Origo-Verlag, Bern 2010

2017

 * ''See also Shaltai Boltai


 * Hacker Who Aided Russian Intelligence Is Sentenced to 2 Years - New York Times, July 6, 2017
 * A Brief History of the “Kremlin Trolls” - Scott Humor, The Saker, October 15, 2017
 * (Noted: One Shaltai Boltai member, Vladimir Anikeyev, was found guilty in illegal computer access. There is another man, Sergei Mikhailov of FSB, who was charged with treason. He may be Shaltai's point contact at the service. Shaltai's business was to sell hacked information).
 * «Фабрика троллей» потратила на работу в США около $2,3 млн ("Troll Factory" spent about $ 2.3 million to work in the US) - РБК, October 17, 2017
 * 'Our task was to set Americans against their own government': New details emerge about Russia's trolling operation - Sonam Sheth, Business Insider October 18, 2017
 * From Troll Farm to Trump - @DFRLab, October 20, 2017
 * Russian firm tied to pro-Kremlin propaganda advertised on Facebook during election - ''Washington Post, September 6, 2017
 * Jenna Abrams, Russia’s Clown Troll Princess, Duped the Mainstream Media and the World - Daily Beast, November 2, 2017
 * ''Congressional investigators working with social-media companies have since confirmed that Abrams wasn’t who she said she was. Her account was the creation of employees at the Internet Research Agency, or the Russian government-funded “troll farm,” in St. Petersburg.
 * According to Shaltai -Boltai claim, Internet Research Agency is The structure, founded in the summer of 2013 by a company of young St. Petersburg officials, entrepreneurs, it-specialists and other "Komsomol members" for the needs of Prigogine and by his order.  Also: Eugene Viktorovich Prigozhin, an extraordinary man, in his own way "talented." He who stood behind the "Chief" and poured into him so much favorite Madera and / or Sherry (we'll talk about it separately), "squeeze" multi-billion contracts in their favor with various state and okologosudarstvennye (near-state) structures.
 * Jenna Abrams, popular alt-right Twitter commentator, is actually a Russian troll - Immanuel Jotham, IBTimes, November 3, 2017
 * Twitter Told Congress This Random American Is a Russian Propaganda Troll - Louise Matsakis, Motherboard, November 3, 2017
 * ''Robert Delaware is now part of the Congressional record, despite having no apparent ties to Russia.
 * "Troll factory" moved to "Lakhta-2" -RBK, December 30, 2017
 * Gives names of some media companies possibly sharing office space but none of the official registered addresses match. Politexpert, Inforeactor, Newinform do give Optikov, 4 address on their websites (which does not imply any connection).

'Internet Research Agency' (Mueller, 2018)
'Internet Research Agency' was among those indicted by Mueller on February 16, 2018

Location? Here, and the same info can be found here (Name: ОБЩЕСТВО С ОГРАНИЧЕННОЙ ОТВЕТСТВЕННОСТЬЮ "АГЕНТСТВО ИНТЕРНЕТ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ"; ОГРН 1137847282462 ИНН/КПП 7805627478/781101001), registered on 26.07.2013, liquidated 28.12.2016, but this is a different address (Olminskogo 1/81, not Savushkina 55), and an the owner, Кухтин Владимир Константинович, unknown here, got everything in his name closed down. (Some other Vladimir Kukhtin shares a piece on Russian interference in US elections, FWIW).

A company on Savushkina, 55 is called 'Glavset', its CEO, Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, is named in the Mueller indictment. There is another internet/media/IT company in the same building, NEVNOV. (All of that may be of no relevance to anything).

In the Mueller indictment we have: Internet Research Agency, LLC (above), a.k.a MediaSintez, LLC,(different address and CEO) a.k.a 'Glavset', LLC, (above) a.k.a 'Mixinfo', LLC (different address and CEO), a.k.a Azimut, LLC (long list; search on egrul and limit search to St. Petersburg; no Savushkina 55 found), a.k.a 'Novinfo'  LLC (different address and CEO).

Mueller, in item 10, also lists 'Internet Research'. There is a separate company "ИНТЕРНЕТ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ", different address and CEO, registered 26.03.2014, liquidated 02.09.2015

'Tennessee GOP'
Mueller, (36). Examples of those twitter posts here

Sources?

 * Юристы из России требуют от EX.ua удалить архив с перепиской «кремлевских троллей» (Lawyers from Russia require EX.ua to delete the archive with the correspondence of "Kremlin trolls")- AIN.ua, 5 Aug. 2014 (ex.ua link does not work)
 * Shaltai Boltai (26 May 2014, with mega link which doesn't work), part 2, 28 May 2014, with mega link which doesn't work (25 July 2014, with link which doesn't work)
 * Western sources quote some rather boring stuff by somebody Svetlana Boiko (e.g. buzzfeed)

Search Engine Optimization
Sputnik exposes Putin's Troll Army
 * It's Worse Than You Thought: The 'Kremlin Troll Army' Exposed - Sputnik, 28.03.2015
 * ''Radio Liberty did discover something, but it's quite the opposite from an ominous troll army which works around the clock to convert the entire world to a Putin-based religion. They found a search engine optimization (SEO) company, likely subcontracting for a political consultancy firm.
 * ''Considering the extremely low impact of such posting, the goal appears to be not to convert public opinion, but rather search engine optimization (SEO): search engines such as Google crawl the web for keywords and links, which are then used to give weight to certain web pages when search terms are entered.

Fake news sites
Russian opposition blogger Ruslan Leviev explains how fake internet sites created by Russian Troll factories work: Summary here:
 * Debunking the fake article on 2000 Russian soldiers killed in Donbas everyone fell for
 * Russian Blogger Critical of War in Ukraine Says Article on "2,000 Soldiers Killed" is Fake - Interpreter Mag, 28 August 2015
 * ''He points out that this site is a typical "web site in a box" made from a template using the Russian equivalent of Squarespace. We could note that its name is similar to many such instant sites mean to drive traffic to click ads and make revenue for their owners -- a bright green dollar bill sign shows up on its URL in the browser. This particular site was described as making $6 a day from Google AdSense even before their sensational publication about the death benefits.

Examples

 * "Russian TV stations broadcast secret nuclear torpedo plans", The Guardian, 12.11.2015
 * Video material. Announcer: "deployment of anti-missile shield in Europe is nothing but an attempt to neutralize nuclear potential of other countries, primarily Russia". Putin: "we have said many times that Russia will take necessary steps in response".
 * Guardian users contributed over 10 pages of comments, in English. (12.11.2015).


 * An illustrated calendar with a modern (Syria-themed) rendering of a classical movie  "White Sun of the Desert" (graphics) has attracted some popular following.

Theoretical Foundations
If every single word of that is true, still this is probably a cartoon (or somewhat inferior) version of how Western media operates anyway. Brief sketch of the argument: "...Much of the news people read or watch on television is manufactured by PR firms and specialists, rather than discovered by journalists..."
 * The Engineering of Consent, by P.R. father Edward L. Bernays. Further expanded in Necessary Illusions, Thought Control in Democratic Societies, by Noam Chomsky South End Press, 1989. "The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest. The freedoms of speech, press, petition, and assembly, the freedoms which make the engineering of consent possible, are among the most cherished guarantees of the Constitution of the United States. With pressing crises and decisions to be faced, a leader frequently cannot wait for the people to arrive at even general understanding. In certain cases, democratic leaders must play their part in leading the public through the engineering of consent to socially constructive goals and values..."
 * Moulding and Manipulating the News, by Sharon Beder
 * More on the issue and some historical background in Moulding Minds: Foreign Policy And The Manipulation Of Public Opinion, Josh Watts, 2014

Analysis

 * Manufacturing Consensus: Why the Western Media Fears 'Russian Trolls' - Sputnik, 04.04.2015
 * The Kremlin’s comment trolls are real — as is the media’s amnesia about them - Mark Ames, Pando, April 2, 2015
 * Western Hypocrisy, Social Media Manipulation - Jennifer Cohagen, Thick Toast, 2 April 2015 (Russia Insider)
 * Kremlin Troll Army Myth Deconstructed - Mark Chapman, Russia Insider, 13 April 2015
 * The Campaign To Rein In the Internet - Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, October 5, 2017

NATO's war on social media
See also: World Socialist Web Site vs. Google
 * CIA Trolls Infect the Net - Susanne Posel, Occupy Corporatism, December 1, 2012
 * British army creates team of Facebook warriors - Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, January 31, 2015
 * ''The British army is creating a special force of Facebook warriors, skilled in psychological operations and use of social media to engage in unconventional warfare in the information age. The 77th Brigade, to be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, in Berkshire, will be about 1,500-strong and formed of units drawn from across the army. It will formally come into being in April.
 * ''The brigade will be responsible for what is described as non-lethal warfare. Both the Israeli and US army already engage heavily in psychological operations. Against a background of 24-hour news, smartphones and social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, the force will attempt to control the narrative. The 77th will include regulars and reservists and recruitment will begin in the spring. Soldiers with journalism skills and familiarity with social media are among those being sought.
 * British Army Creates Facebook Soldiers - Thomas Tamblyn, The Huffington Post UK, February 2, 2015
 * ''The British Army has announced the creation of a brand new brigade whose sole task will be to wage a war on social media. The 77th Brigade will comprise of 1,500 specially trained soldiers who have been hand-picked from regular service and will begin waging a war of words on Facebook and Twitter.
 * ''CIA-Sponsored Trolls Monitor Internet & Interact With Users to Discredit Factual Information
 * New British Army unit 'Brigade 77' to use Facebook and Twitter in psychological warfare - INDEPENDENT.CO.UK
 * ''The British military is setting up a specialist force modelled on the Chindits, the commandos who gained renown through their daring missions behind enemy...


 * America Goes Large: Obama Wants Huge Budget for His Anti-Russian Troll Army - Sputnik, 14.04.2015
 * EU declares information war on Russia Task force will start trying to win hearts and minds in eastern partnership countries next month, James Panichi, Politico.eu, August 27, 2015
 * BBC to face down Vladimir Putin with plan for new World Service Russian TV channel, The Independent, September 5, 2015
 * A troll story in 4 screenshots - OffGuardian, September 29, 2015
 * NATO looks to combat Russia's 'information weapon': document, Reuters, Jan. 27, 2016.
 * Examples?
 * This is a comment of a pro-Ukrainian Russian speaker on a Ukrainian mirrored version of the recent BBC Panorama (failed) attempt:
 * Well, I think that any vatnik knows about this, but they perceived it quite well, on the contrary, they are proud of their king that he is so rich. Vatnik is in shit up to his ears, yet can feel the happiness of contemplating the splendor and majesty of the king! And there is no greater joy for a slave than this! (NATO psy-op committee may need to carefully study this comment )


 * Cold War Scare: US Propaganda Budget Reaches All-Time High, Sputnik, February 13, 2016
 * Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) budget to increase by $27 million to $778 million, after 2015 increase by $30 million.


 * Hamilton 68 A DASHBOARD TRACKING RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA ON TWITTER, August 2017 (about)
 * Mission statement: In 2016, American democracy came under unprecedented attack. The government of the Russian Federation attempted to weaken the pillars of our democracy and undermine faith and confidence in our society’s most fundamental right — the ability to choose our own leaders ....(etc)
 * Q. How does Russian influence online work? There are three types of accounts promoting Russian influence online:
 * Attributed accounts that clearly state they are pro-Russian or affiliated with the Russian government.
 * Accounts (including both bots and humans) that are run by troll factories in Russia and elsewhere.
 * Accounts run by people around the world who amplify pro-Russian themes either knowingly or unknowingly, after being influenced by the efforts described above.
 * The accounts tracked by the dashboard include a mix of such users and is the fruit of more than three years of observation and monitoring.We believe this sample network is representative of a specific Russian campaign targeting Americans.
 * FBI tracked 'fake news' believed to be from Russia on Election Day -CNN, 4 August, 2017
 * ''For the FBI, this was uncomfortable territory, given the First Amendment's free speech protections even for fake news stories. "We were right on the edge of Constitutional legality," a person briefed on the investigation said. "We were monitoring news."
 * ''"Are you kidding?" that official recalled saying to others at the White House as they celebrated a successful election. "What they did worked!"
 * Apparently automatic monitoring (Hamilton 68 and the like) provides a fix for 'the edge of Constitutional legality'
 * Reporter says ‘Russian propaganda outlet’ pushed him to cover conspiracy theory at the center of a White House lawsuit - Yahoo News, August 2, 2017

Hollywood
NATO assault team fly choppers across the border to rescue CIA covert outpost in a pro-Russian rebels town in LPR, and commented by opolchenie member nickname 'Vatnik'

Olgas on Volgas

 * ГОЛЬЯНОВО - самый опасный район мира / GOLYANOVO - the most dangerous place in the world, July 6, 2014
 * Crimea for Dummies -RT Documentary, September 12, 2014

Social Media War on Social Media
I don't think social media is really placed out there for the benefit of the flow of ideas. It is an advertising net run by major players, governed by profits, on one side, and a self-propelled  information collector on the  other. Putin will know a thing or two about the latter. So does Snowden and co. The rest of all that works in less obvious ways, as some sort of self-focusing optics to increase traffic and profit of a few players in that game at expense of others. For example, why exactly is that Anatolii Sharii is getting 20 thousand euros per month out of youtube (as he bragged in one of his videos--I did not bother to save it). He is alright, no complaint here, but somebody else may be alright or even better too, yet lucky to generate 20 pesos per year. Marketing schemes and laws (on copyright, etc) are designed by corporate giants are for their profit, not for promoting truth. As a result, content is not judged by its truth or its depth, or making anything better, but rather by some coherent noise (or groove) they are all making. One step out of there and you are in nowhere. --Resup (talk) 04:45, 29 December 2015 (UTC)
 * ... and this is even without worse and obvious sponsorship phenomena like Bellingcat (we discussed the latter elsewhere)... 'Putin trolling',  if that exists, needs to be seen in this overall context, not as an  isolated 'Russian horror/Putin bad/we good' story  as it is presented in Western corporate news.  Not seeing that broader context and focusing on their assignment in those Putin trolling reports by itself illustrates how things work (horror stories will sell, but no corporate moneys will be made by saying and we are bad too). --Resup (talk) 13:12, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

How can a friends count jump by 5000 - 500 in a single day ? --Resup (talk) 18:56, 9 January 2016 (UTC)

Gizmodo on FB 'trending news' robo-humans, May 3, 2016
 * Present market capitalization (value) FB : 340 bn USD; Gazprom: 58 bln USD (and what is it good for?)

"Putilovgate" (aka idealistic dissident?)

 * How the Russian opposition in exile begin to love their homeland-by Israel Shamir, KP, 27 Oct. 2016
 * I do not share Shamir views and (rightly or wrongly) consider him an untrustworthy author. However the gist of the article, that Russian dissidents have idealistic motivations but the reality is that they have Western support and funding for as long as what they say fits set political agenda, is IMO basically correct. Andrei Babitsky is one such example; Alexey Sakhnin and "Egor Putilov"= Tobias Lagerfeld = Alexander Fridback -the latter two persons discussed in the article--perhaps fits this framework, though real details of their cases are quite messy and I did not look into those. Israel Shamir feels that he fits the overall 'idealistic dissident' framework himself, too. (Do not have enough information to comment on that).
 * The story in KP briefly goes, Alexey Sakhnin had a nice job in Sweden as a Russian dissident criticizing Putin regime in Russia; but when in 2014 he became critical of Ukraine and supportive of Russia, he was replaced by "Egor Putilov". That second guy had a nice job while writing stuff as desired, but than at some point became to be against increased immigration to Sweden from places like Syria. There was not enough space in the paper for such article; but he wrote under a different name an article supporting immigration and space for that other one was found by a miracle. "Egor Putilov" than criticized (his own) article under his initial name, and allegedly had secretly taped discussion with his bosses  of this whole sore affair (vindicating him and showing bosses in bad light, in Shamir version of events). Some other sources addressing the story are below. --Resup (talk) 02:23, 28 October 2016 (UTC)


 * "Putilovgate", by Alexey Sakhnin, liva.com.ua, Sept. 6, 2016
 * Alexander, 34, is SD's secret desinformator-Aftonbladet, Sept. 3. 2016
 * Mysterious Russian journalist or a member of the Swedish right-populist party?, Swedish news in Russian, Sept. 5, 2016

Pussy Riot for Hillary

 * US produced (Ricky Reed) pro-Hillary Pussy Riot video
 * (probably the dumbest tasteless awful pussy exploitation video around --Resup (talk) 11:09, 28 October 2016 (UTC))
 * HOW PUSSY RIOT ROBBED ME TO PROMOTE HILLARY CLINTON THIS ELECTION, by Luke Rudkowski

Paid trolls in USA elections?

 * "Reddit Users Declare War On Hillary’s Paid Internet Trolls" -Daily Caller, 27 Oct. 2016
 * In a non-descript office in central London... Donald Trump's mind readers try to win him voters -CNN, November 4, 2016

Veterans today
On September 21, 2016, veterans today unloads something titled "Russia Govt. Report: Snowden, Greenwald are CIA frauds", with some text of unknown provenance and more links inside (on the topics of court corruption and stuff about journalists covering the above mentioned persons). No way for me to know who is planting what on whom here so I stay out of this --Resup (talk) 15:28, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

Social media censorship war

 * Putin's Kremlin Bots Boot Thousands of Ukrainian Accounts Off Twitter - Korrespondent, January 9, 2016

'Useful Idiots': the list
According to http://www.europeanvalues.net/rt/, it includes: ....
 * Politicians: Ron Paul, Paul Ryan, Michelle Obama, John McCain, Donald Rumsfeld, Donald Trump; Boris Johnson, ....
 * Academics: Stephen Cohen, Freeman Dyson, ....
 * Journalists: Robert Parry, Paul Craig Roberts (listed among academics/experts)