House Committee Staff Report Russia’s IRA Tried to Influence Energy Debate in 2015-17

Russian agents spread social media propaganda in an attempt to divide U.S. opinion on energy issues between 2015 and 2017, said a majority staff report released by House Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, Thursday. The report said Russia spread about 9,000 posts and tweets across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in the two-year span, and Russia’s Internet Research Agency held 4,334 social media accounts. Smith suggested Russia’s energy interests in Europe were motivation for manipulating opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels, fracking, climate change and other hot-button issues. The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington did not comment.