National security agencies tap Clemson professors Russian trolling research

Research by two Clemson University professors on Russian social media trolling has drawn the interest of U.S. agencies charged with protecting the country’s national security. Patrick Warren, associate professor in the John E. Walker Department of Economics and Darren Linvill, associate professor in the department of communication, have shared their research on Russian social media disinformation campaigns with the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, the Department of Homeland Security, other federal law enforcement agencies and more recently, U.S. Army Cyber Command. A spokesman for U.S. Army Cyber Command confirmed that Linvill and Warren have provided the Army’s cyber unit with valuable information on their research into foreign cyber saboteurs’ social media campaigns aimed at influencing U.S. political discourse and electoral processes. They were contacted by the Army Cyber Command while the agency was on campus recruiting. Since late 2017, the Clemson researchers have been compiling and analyzing the tactics and strategy of social media accounts created by a Russian agency whose goal is to interfere in the U.S. electoral process. The Russians’ “troll factory” is housed in St. Petersburg in the now-famous government-linked Internet Research Agency (IRA). Based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, U.S. Army Cyber Command defends Army communication networks and provides cyberspace protections against global adversaries. Its 24/7 global operations are conducted by 16,500 soldiers, civilian employees and contractors spread across four states, including Fort Gordon, near Augusta, Georgia. U.S. Army Cyber Command’s operational headquarters will move from Virginia to Fort Gordon in June of 2020.