The involvement of the Oxford University Computational Propaganda Project was not publicized in a recent “report” on Russian involvement in the 2016 election. This same group named conservative sites of being junk news.
Those sites include Drudge Report, NewsBusters, CNSNews, MRCTV, Breitbart, the Daily Caller, Free Beacon, LifeNews, National Review, the Federalist, and the Red State. The funny thing is the National Review is an anti trump publication that will soon go the way of the Weekly Standard. During the presidential election, they dedicated an entire magazine to venting their hatred for Donald Trump.
They bemoaned the fact that Trump was not a true conservative like Mitt Romney. (Thank God he isn’t)
The analyses looked at how the IRA accounts targeted conservative groups and minority groups. The reason for the Russian interference in minority groups, such as Muslim Americans and the LGBTQ community, was purportedly to “confuse, distract, and ultimately discourage members from voting.”
The Washington Post reported that the study was created to analyze the millions of posts “provided by major technology firms” to the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Sen. Richard Burr, (R-NC), and Sen. Mark Warner, (D-VA).
The Oxford University Computational Propaganda Project is a branch of the Oxford Internet Institute, which is heavily funded by tech companies, media and government agencies. Funders include: AOL, Google, BBC World Service Trust, eHarmony, and Virgin Media.
It’s also supported by government organizations such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), National Institutes of Health, British Telecommunications, and UNESCO. The liberal Rockefeller Foundation also funds this project.
“What is clear is that all of the messaging clearly sought to benefit the Republican Party — and specifically Donald Trump,” the report says. “Trump is mentioned most in campaigns targeting conservatives and right-wing voters, where the messaging encouraged these groups to support his campaign. The main groups that could challenge Trump were then provided messaging that sought to confuse, distract and ultimately discourage members from voting.”