In attempt to sow fear, Russian trolls paid for self-defense classes for African Americans

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/18/media/black-fist-russia-self-defense-classes/index.html

by Donie O'Sullivan, Drew Griffin and Curt Devine @CNNMoney October 18, 2017

A group linked to the Russian troll farm behind thousands of fake Facebook ads paid personal trainers in New York, Florida, and other parts of the United States to run self-defense classes for African Americans in an apparent attempt to stoke fear and gather contact details of Americans potentially susceptible to their propaganda.

"Be ready to protect your rights... Let them know that black power matters," the group, known as Black Fist, wrote on its website promoting the events.

The group appears to have been set up in January 2017, and it ran events before stopping at some point this year, evidence that Russia's attempts to use social media to meddle in American affairs have extended far beyond the 2016 presidential election.

The events, which appear to have been designed to suggest a connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, were -- unbeknownst to the trainers who led them -- likely conceived by the Russian government-linked Internet Research Agency.

The site lists Facebook and Instagram pages that CNN is told were removed as part of Facebook's investigation into Russian meddling in U.S. politics, a source familiar told CNN.

The mysterious effort matches other previously discovered Russia-connected efforts to engage in U.S. social issues, including promoting rallies for a fake secessionist group in Texas and protests and demonstrations that were, like Black Fist, supposed to seem connected to Black Lives Matter.

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Black Fist is one of a series of campaigns run from Russia designed to look like part of the American Black Lives Matter movement. CNN first reported last month on Blacktivist, a campaign whose Facebook page had more than 300,000 followers on Facebook.

Black Fist's use of Eventbrite and MeetUp adds the two companies to a growing list of organizations utilized by Russian trolls in their attempt to sow discord in the U.S. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and even Pokemon Go were also employed in various ways.