Russian operatives attempting to discourage U.S. energy production posted thousands of messages on social media supporting environmental activists in their campaign to limit oil and gas projects, a report by Republican lawmakers said on Thursday.
On Facebook and Instagram, for example, a picture of a real protester fighting against Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access Pipeline was presented with a panel written by Russian operatives that said "Americans have been stealing from Native Americans for more than 500 years."
The lawmakers' report linked some 9,100 posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram between 2015 and 2017 to operatives including the St. Petersburg, Russia-based Internet Research Agency, a Russian propaganda arm known for its trolling on social media.