Russians Ran Fake Tenn. Republican Twitter Account: Indictment

WASHINGTON -- An combative and controversial Twitter account purporting to represent the Tennessee Republican Party was run by Russian operatives engaged in an elaborate plot to meddle in the 2016 United States presidential election, according to an indictment released Friday.

Thirteen Russians are accused of attempting to "sow discord in the U.S. political system" by running scores of fake social-media accounts, staging rallies and paying Americans to promote or disparage candidates. The indictment, brought by the Office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, says the group spread misinformation on social media.

One of the ways they did that, according to the indictment, was through the @TEN_GOP account on Twitter, which eventually had more than 100,000 followers and was frequently retweeted by duped journalists, supporters of then-candidate Donald Trump and activists all along the political spectrum.

Among the account's dubious claims was that the state of North Carolina was investigating voter fraud in the months leading up to the November 2016 election. The actual Tennessee Republican Party --which uses the handle @TNGOP -- repeatedly complained to Twitter about the account but was told by the social-media company that @TEN_GOP did not violate its terms of service.

In a statement sent to Fox 17, Tennessee Republican Party executive director Michael Sullivan excoriated both Twitter and the operators of the fake account.

"The Tennessee Republican Party’s official Twitter handle has always been @TNGOP. We have never interacted, supported, or promoted the @TEN_GOP account. The content produced by that account was never representative of the views of the Tennessee Republican Party, and often times was divisive and appalling.
As such, the Tennessee Republican Party, on multiple occasions, filed official reports with Twitter regarding the @TEN_GOP account. Each report was either dismissed by Twitter or never responded to. It is deeply disappointing knowing the true intentions and depth of deception this account was created for, and that despite our multiple attempts to have the account suspended by Twitter, it remained active on the social media’s website.
It is our hope that Twitter, and other social media websites, enforce stricter verification rules, and take more seriously the impersonation of political parties, organizations, and candidates in the future."

Friday's indictment represents the most direct accusation that Russians attempted to influence the election in favor of Trump against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Additional reporting from the Associated Press

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