[brerlapn]

The US, Israelis, and Saudis, among plenty of others, have engaged in campaigns to influence foreign elections, no doubt. I think lumping them all in as information warfare campaigns with the most recent Russian activity is misleading, though - information warfare is more about seeking advantage and spreading disinformation. I doubt the Israelis are both lobbying for their interests with US policy as well as simultaneously running campaigns advocating for Palestinian or Iranian support. Likewise with the Saudis. America has no doubt influenced foreign elections- I've read an autobiography of a CIA case officer describing in detail such activity in the Philippines prior to Marcos' ascendence. Again, though, we were not also simultaneously running campaigns stoking advocacy for Philippine communist groups.

The Russian campaign here is as much about increasing chaos and discord in our civic sphere as it is about trying to push specific positions that favor Russia. Their goal appears less at getting our government to take specific pro-Russian stances as it is to weaken our society as a whole so that we are less able to act as foils to whatever Putin wants to do.

[scottlocklin]

Yes, I'm aware of this theory.

How would you distinguish between such a "sowing chaos" campaign and random Russian people/groups who have different interests in the US?

I'd also wonder why an intelligent person might think this is worse than, say, Saudis and Israelis formenting US wars in the middle east, which we know they have actually done in the corporeal world, rather than the fever dreams of conspiracy theorists.

[dragonwriter]

> How would you distinguish between such a "sowing chaos" campaign and random Russian people/groups who have different interests in the US?

In the latter, superficially opposing strands of propaganda wouldn't trace back to the same actors.

> I'd also wonder why an intelligent person might think this is worse than, say, Saudis and Israelis formenting US wars in the middle east,

Because it's worse—for Americans—to have foreign powers trying to manipulate America into tearing itself apart than to have them trying to manipulate America to use its power on behalf of those foreign powers.

[scottlocklin]

>> How would you distinguish between such a "sowing chaos" campaign and random Russian people/groups who have different interests in the US?

>In the latter, superficially opposing strands of propaganda wouldn't trace back to the same actors.

You mean like "propornot," a cia affiliated group of "Ukrainian nationalists" who published enemy lists of American media sources as being Russian agents of influence ... via establishment mouthpiece Washington Post? BTW does this foreign interference in the US political process, possibly with CIA aid concern you at all?

> Because it's worse—for Americans—to have foreign powers trying to manipulate America into tearing itself apart ...

Citations needed. When in the history of the human race has anything like this ever been effective? Let alone something like this which seems to have more or less completely taken place ... on twitter.

Meanwhile, the Saudis and Israelis have fomented actual wars, where people, including American people, actually die, interfering with the US electoral process, and limiting the Overton window of acceptable discourse to basically be "some wars" or "more wars." They continue to do so. Seems more dangerous to me than some silly conspiracy theory about "sowing chaos." The only chaos sown is that people like me are off the reservation.