Even Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey shared at least 17 tweets from a Russian troll between late 2016 and mid 2017.
Politically divisive messages posted by troll accounts like @Crystal1Johnson were occurring as recently as last month, the Wall Street Journal revealed Tuesday in an analysis of investigative documents and Twitter data.
More than 1,000 Russian troll Twitter accounts remained active well into 2018, despite increased efforts by the online community to remove these accounts from social media sites.
In the analysis, the Journal found that at least 17 Russian troll Twitter accounts were active this year.
One account, @KaniJJackson, which had more than 33,000 followers, posted tweets about comedian Roseanne Barr, whose show was canceled last month after posting a racist tweet aimed at former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett.
Another account, @wokelisa, had more than 55,000 followers and often tweeted about the controversy over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.
“Trying to figure out how #TakeAKnee is un-American but letting people die because of lack of health insurance is patriotic,” one tweet from @wokelisa read, which received more than 29,000 retweets.
A list of about 1,100 account names was released Monday by the House Intelligence Committee, which brings the grand total of known Russian troll accounts to 3,800.
“By releasing this Twitter data, we hope that researchers will continue their important work exposing any additional Russian operators who used similar tactics and themes,” ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff, D–Calif., said in a statement.
