This is a detailed account of the career of a single Russian troll account. It shows a small sliver of how badly Americans were played by the Russian propaganda campaign.
@TEN_GOP was a heavyweight voice on the American far right. It had over 130,000 followers; it was retweeted by some of Trump’s aides. When it was suspended, in July 2017, voices across the American far right protested….
@TEN_GOP’s brief, but spectacular, career, shows how open America remains to foreign influence efforts. It was an anonymous account with no connection to the Republican party it linked itself to, yet it gained immense credence, first on the far right, and then in the main stream, entirely because of its partisan posts. Far-right commentators supported it; mainstream outlets and politicians quoted it; liberals attacked it; all were fooled by it.