Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

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The Russian government conducted foreign electoral interference in the 2016 United States elections with the goals of sabotaging the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. According to the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), the operation—code named "Project Lakhta"—was ordered directly by Russian president Vladimir Putin. The "hacking and disinformation campaign" to damage Clinton and help Trump became the "core of the scandal known as Russiagate". The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and described as a troll farm, created thousands of social media accounts that purported to be Americans supporting Trump and opposing Clinton. Fabricated articles and disinformation from Russian government-controlled media were promoted on social media, where they reached millions of users between 2013 and 2017. Hackers affiliated with the Russian military...

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