FBI monitors social media on US election day for traces of Russia

The FBI monitored social media on US election day in 2016 to track down a suspected Russian-linked "disinformation" campaign.

FBI monitors social media on US election day November 8, 2016. Illustration photo: Washington Examiner.

On US election day, November 8, 2016, dozens of agents and analysts gathered in a command room at the headquarters of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, to monitor security threats, CNN reported on August 4, citing many anonymous sources.

The FBI also sent a team of cyber and counterintelligence analysts to monitor social media. The move comes after reports of "Russian interference in the US political system", from political parties, policy institutes to the presidential election system.

The FBI has identified social media accounts spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation, some of them based outside the United States. The FBI suspects they are linked to Russia, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

The FBI declined to comment on the information.

Teams at the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were in three-hour contact with the White House Situation Room on November 8 to discuss potential problems, the sources said. By the end of the day, top officials from those agencies were congratulating each other for the uninterrupted voting process.

According to VNE