trolls
![Image courtesy of Lorenzo Cafaro via Pexels Computing Language](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/pexels-photo-239898.jpeg?itok=nGl-bb7V)
Chris Hensman & Shawn Powers discuss how the rise of digital technology poses a threat to PD practitioners.
In addition to formal public diplomacy mouthpieces like Russia Today and Sputnik, Russia employs armies of paid trolls and botnets to generate false information that can later be circulated and legitimated as if it were true. Then, in 2016, Russian military intelligence went a step further, by hacking into the private network of the Democratic National Committee, stealing information, and releasing it online to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy.
![Photo reprinted courtesy Georgia National Guard via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/nYis2p Joint Operations train against cyber war](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/14420620353_a86a2be33e_k.jpg?itok=YKwY3X10)
David S. Jackson on when trolling gets real.
David S. Jackson on the strange phenomenon of pro-Russian Internet commenters.