The best way to stop Russian trolls is to ignore them

Almost from the moment the polls closed in the 2016 US presidential contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, accusations emerged of Russian interference in the election. Now it appears to have been confirmed from the horse’s mouth: Russian trolls recruited by the Putin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin have meddled in multiple US elections. Prigozhin, known for supplying catering contracts to the Kremlin, openly admitted as much.  

‘Gentlemen, we interfered, we are interfering and we will interfere,’ he boasted on the eve of Wednesday’s US midterm elections. He had been asked to confirm findings published by US social media analysis firm Graphica that showed Russian operatives had posted racist cartoons and memes featuring Democratic candidates on pro-Trump platforms in an attempt to influence voters. 

Few authentic users bothered to engage with the posts. Nevertheless, this news – and Prigozhin’s confirmation of Russian meddling – will certainly be enough to ensure that the American media will be on the case.