My takeaways from the DOJ Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova document.

1/ A goal of the Russian operation: To spread distrust toward candidates and the political system in general. Basically, Russians, posing as Americans, posted on social media. Americans engaged with them not knowing they were Russian.

2/ Another goal: “To aggravate the conflict between the minorities and the rest of the population.” Some Russians posed as Trump critics, posting things intended to rile the Trump critics.

3/ Others posed as Trump supporters saying things like “If only media had been as bothered by Obama’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood as they are by Trump’s fake ties to Russia.” The Russians have become very sophisticated at targeting their message to specific populations.

4/ Basically, as I read this, the Russians are manipulating us via what psychologists call confirmation bias—they tell people what they want to hear and what confirms their existing biases. psychologytoday.com/us/blog/scienc… At the same time, the messages rile us against each other.

5/ To counter this attack, we must resist by not playing into Russian hands. This means retaining faith in our form of government. Democracy can win. Take the example of Chile pulling itself back from Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship and reinstating a representative democracy.

6/ Putin & his minions—not Trump supporters—are the enemy. Many Trump supporters are victims of effective propaganda. Others are single issue voters (they want conservative judges) without fully understanding what Trump stands for. Or we disagree about what’s best for the US

.7/ Be careful on social media. You never know who is Russian trying to manipulate you with a message that confirms your biases. Most distressing for me is how Trump is doing Putin’s work for him. Now he said anyone who votes Democrat is “crazy”