Posted on 08/24/2018 2:22:01 PM PDT by Drew68
Russian bots pushed out tweets about the death of Mollie Tibbets, the University of Iowa student who was missing for several weeks, just after the news broke regarding the verdict of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of the president’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, according to a new report.
The Independent reports that bots believed to be linked with Russia began posting about Tibbets’ death just minutes after Manafort was found guilty on eight counts of fraud on Tuesday.
The tweets were analyzed by the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a group that is known for tracking Russian-linked accounts, and found that “thousands” of tweets were being sent on Tuesday as the news of Manafort and Cohen—whose plea may have implicated President Donald Trump—became widespread.
The #MollieTibbetts hashtag was shared the most among Russia-linked accounts on Tuesday, according to the Independent.
Tibbets’ death became a lightning rod earlier this week after it was discovered that her suspected murderer, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, is believed to be an undocumented immigrant. His attorney has disputed those claims
The widespread push of the Tibbets story as the news of Cohen and Manafort came out may not be an accident, the Independent reports.
“But I do think there is also some sort of distraction element as well,” Bret Schafer, a social media analyst for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told the news outlet. “They’re discussing Mollie Tibbetts instead of Paul Manafort, and they’re shining a light on her death in a way we rarely see.”
You can read all of the Independent‘s report here.
Russian bots are Everywhere
Yeah. I didn’t give a crap about mollie tibbetts until I read it in the original Russian.
If the killer had turned out to be a Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat, the media would be a lot more interested in the story, to say the least, and this “Russian bot” story never would have been published. Guaranteed.
Well, at least somebody is giving us real news.
Who knew? Russian bots care more about American lives than the media and the Democrat party (but I repeat myself).
I have it on good authority that global warming caused Mollie to bump Cohen and Manafort off the front burner.
Americans aren't willing to shut up about it anymore.....thanks in part to a President who isn't afraid to talk about subjects that the Socialists tried to make universally taboo.
Anyone believe this sh**? Russians......again?
What a joke! People all over the country were transfixed by the case when no one I saw remotely suspected an illegal. About 99% of such cases have a background that makes the case not too big a mystery; drugs, repeated runaways, shady boyfriends, stalkers, etc. This was the thankfully rare case.
I’m beginning to think MSM will blame Russian Trolls for Climate Change soon
Wow. And here I thought her death was the fault of an illegal alien.
Now I see it Russia’s fault?
I guess so. Everything is Russia’s fault.
OMG, I feel so deceived! I thought i was angry because a Mexican killed yet another nice little American Girl out for a jog. But the Russians are the ones who put that thought in my head!? Curses, foiled again.
Yeah, because normal Americans would never otherwise care about the fate of “some white girl,” but they’re just parked by the TV waiting for the latest in the fabulous Mueller investigation.
Good! Then the Russians (if they were Russians) were doing the right thing!!!!
May Mollie Tibbetts’ Memory be Eternal!!!!
We are all Russian Bots now.
Who knew?
The Silicon Valley kids think they invented everything. So they think this is a new game,,, to justify internal suppression of dissent by pointing to scary Outsiders
My online Russian girlfriend, Ivana Spankyu, has told me all about this Molly Tibbetts case. She keeps Me updated on everything
Manafort and Cohen brought their issues on themselves
Mollie was another totally innocent victim
Libs just have such a hard time with facts, logic and reality
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