Peace Data or PeaceData is a
fake news website run by the
Internet Research Agency, a Russian outlet connected to the country's government, which publishes in English and Arabic.
History
Part of its object was to
interfere in the 2020 United States elections with the intention of helping
Donald Trump to be re-elected by defeating the
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
candidate
Joe Biden and his running mate
Kamala Harris.
The aim was to reduce support for the Biden-Harris ticket among liberal voters. According to Graphika, a social media analytics firm, only about 5 percent of the website's English-language content concerned the American elections, but "this facet of the operation suggests an attempt to build a left-wing audience and steer it away from Biden's campaign". It also targeted left-wing voters in the UK, and featured articles about Algeria, Egypt and Turkey.
The website hired unsuspecting journalists in the United States as well as inventing false personas with computer created avatars. These fake identities included the three permanent staff members listed on the website, according to Graphika.
On September 1, 2020,
Facebook and
Twitter announced they had been warned by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
about the
disinformation effort and said they had removed or suspended accounts associated with it.
''
The Daily Beast'' website reported that the operation tried and failed to place content with
''Jacobin'', ''
In These Times'' and
Truthout.
See also
*
List of fake news websites
Fake news websites are those which intentionally, but not necessarily solely, publish hoaxes and disinformation for purposes other than news satire. Some of these sites use homograph spoofing attacks, typosquatting and other deceptive strateg ...
*
Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections
Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections was a matter of concern at the highest level of national security within the United States government, in addition to the computer and social media industries. In 2020, the RAND Corporati ...
References
{{reflist
Fake news websites
Russian news websites