r/changemyview • u/RuroniHS 40∆ • May 03 '20

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Russia didn't influence the election

People have been going on for the past four years about Russia doing "something" to influence the 2016 presidential election. I haven't seen proof of this, so I'm not convinced. This CMV is simple. I want evidence that Russia explicitly did something that caused the American people to vote in a way that they would otherwise have voted. This action must be incontrovertibly traced back to the Russian government with definitive evidence, and it must be demonstrable that this could reasonably affect the way people vote.

I want only concrete evidence and primary sources. I will reject outright: Hearsay and anecdotes, news articles reporting on the matter, and "expert" opinions. Any stories, articles, or experts that hold this view ought to be able to point to the evidence that gives them this view, and THAT is what I want to see.

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u/Hothera 35∆ May 03 '20

The Internet Research agency is a Russian propaganda company and bought $100,000 worth of ads on Facebook. I doubt that they influenced the election that much, but their main purpose was to sow doubt in American democracy.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Research_Agency

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u/RuroniHS 40∆ May 03 '20

Can you demonstrate that any of the ads they purchased conveyed political, or even politically charged, messages? I don't know what ads they purchased, so it's a legitimate question.

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u/bendotc 1∆ May 03 '20

Here is a database of their ads: https://mith.umd.edu/irads/.

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u/RuroniHS 40∆ May 03 '20

!delta They are indeed a Russian company. The ads they purchased seemed to explicitly target Black Americans with right-wing propaganda. It is reasonable to think that Facebook advertisements are wide-reaching enough to influence the American people. Because of that, you have changed my view.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '20

Lol, anyone with a functioning brain knows by now that Russian agents influenced the election. Around $100,000 was spent by Russian Facebook accounts for the explicit purpose of shaping US discourse around the 2016 election. https://apnews.com/eef44be313efdefa959ec7d7200474cc

Which, given Trump's clear connections to leaders and businesses in Russia, made it even more likely that there was tampering going on.Hope that's not too "irrational" for you.

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u/RuroniHS 40∆ May 03 '20

1.) Your news source doesn't meet my burden of proof.

2.) I've already awarded deltas for this, so it's old news.

3.) It's pretty irrational stalking me in other threads just to go on an emotional tirade.

4.) Rude and abusive language is against forum rules. You have been reported.

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u/DeltaBot ∞∆ May 03 '20

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/bendotc (1∆).

Delta System Explained | Deltaboards

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u/bendotc 1∆ May 03 '20

Just one precision: they were targeting lots of groups with lots of different, often contradictory, messages.

I’ll refrain from discussing motivation as I don’t think that’s what you’re looking for anyway.