Russia Sparks Protests Amid Texas Border Crisis, Calls for ‘Civil War’

A comprehensive Russian disinformation operation is dividing Americans with the help of powerful state-run media, lifestyle influencers, and bots.

Dive into the complex web of Russian disinformation and protests surrounding the Texas border crisis. Explore how Russia’s tactics are fueling tensions and inciting talk of civil war in the United States. Stay vigilant against foreign interference and misinformation.

A Russian disinformation campaign is deploying everything from high-ranking lawmakers and government officials to lifestyle influencers, bloggers, and powerful state-run media outlets to stoke divisions in the United States around the Texas border crisis.

Additionally, The Fox Daily has unique access to data from two different disinformation research groups that show a concerted Russian campaign to foment unrest on Telegram and X (previously Twitter) by spreading the myth that a civil war is breaking out in the US.

When Russian politicians spoke out, the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision and sided with President Joe Biden’s administration, allowing US Border Patrol officers to remove razor-wire fencing that had been erected by the Texas National Guard. This marked the beginning of the disinformation campaign, which intensified in late January. Dmitry Medvedev, a former prime minister of Russia and the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, stated that the Texas border conflict is “another vivid example of the US hegemony getting weaker” after Texas governor Greg Abbott declined to resign a few days later.

On X, Medvedev stated, “The establishment of a People’s Republic of Texas is becoming more and more real.” He further asserted that the scenario might result in “a bloody civil war which cost thousands upon thousands of lives.”

Others weighed in: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on Telegram, “It’s high time the American president, following in his predecessor Obama’s footsteps, declares ‘Texas must go’ and assembles an international coalition to liberate its residents in the name of democracy.” Even Texas received assistance from Russian senator Sergey Mironov, who said, “We are ready to help with the independence referendum if necessary.” And of course, we will recognize the People’s Republic of Texas if there is one,” Mironov wrote on X.

Bloggers, influencers, and state media all became engaged shortly after these remarks. The conflict between the Texas governor and the Biden administration has been dubbed a “constitutional crisis” and a “unmitigated disaster” by state-run media outlets such as Sputnik and RT over the past two weeks. One Sputnik correspondent even posted a video on the outlet’s X account with the caption, “There’s a big convoy of truck drivers going down there.” Thus, things can easily spiral out of control. It has the potential to turn into a real civil war in which US soldiers fight against people of the US.

Logically, a startup that tracks disinformation campaigns with artificial intelligence, exclusively revealed analysis of a concerted effort to increase talks about the Texas issue on Telegram with WIRED.

According to Kyle Walter, director of research at Logically, “the idea of targeting highly contentious US domestic issues and amplifying them via their own channels—it’s the standard Russian playbook for disinformation.” Walter makes this statement to WIRED.

TV hosts, blogs covering Russia’s military, and social media influencers with thousands of followers each are among the channels available on Telegram. Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian TV personality with over 1.2 million followers, made the allegation that “the US was close to civil war” on one of the accounts.

Walter tells WIRED, “I need to understand the initial signals and ideas that Russian state media and influencers are sharing when I’m trying to identify disinformation operations in the wild.” “Overnight, Russian Telegram channels became extremely active, with messages focusing on the potential for Texas to become an independent state and the potential for a US civil war.”

These assertions were supported by Russian official media, which rushed to print a plethora of pieces titled “Civil War 2.0.” They also spread conspiracies claiming that “US elites will keep the border wide open.”

The “Take Our Border Back” convoy, which was led by far-right extremists, sovereign citizens, QAnon supporters, and anti-vaccine conspirators, started receiving support last week from the Russian Telegram channels and state media. The convoy had gone from Virginia to the border in Texas to support Abbott. One headline on Sputnik last week said, “Fears of FBI Spying on ‘Take Our Border Back’ Convoy Show US Democracy Dying.”

Russian accounts also gained access to the convoy’s official Telegram channels; however, some of these accounts were either deactivated or exposed by the group’s US-based members. In answer to a query on Telegram regarding the group’s membership of Russians, a member going by the handle “Eat Putin’s Heart” stated, “They are in every single group on any social media.” More than anything, they desire chaos and a civil war. Russia benefits greatly from what is bad for America.

A network of bot accounts previously connected to the Doppelganger campaign has been deployed online in the last week to discuss the Texas issue, according to data exclusively shared with WIRED by researchers at Antibot4Navalny, a Russian anti-disinformation research group that has been closely monitoring a Russian disinformation network known as Doppelganger on X.

Similar to other Doppelganger tactics, this one disseminated links to phony websites that appeared authentic but actually included phony articles intended to disparage the United States. For instance, one piece claimed that Texas “has become a battleground symbolizing the clash between state and federal authorities” and was posted on a fictitious website named Warfare Insider.

The bots have also started bringing up the border crisis in response to posts that have nothing to do with Texas in recent days.

This campaign has been connected by some observers to earlier Russian disinformation initiatives. It already has similarities to the 2016 election-related episode in Texas where Russian agents were suspected of planning an anti-immigrant demonstration and a counterprotest event to their own gathering.

In her newsletter Weaponized, Caroline Orr, a behavioral scientist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland who studies misinformation online, stated that Russian accounts connected to the infamous Internet Research Agency—which was the host of the 2016 election interference operation—were using the term “Free Texas” extensively [on X] and almost exclusively.

The IRA was a troll farm with ties to the Kremlin that was established in St. Petersburg and became well-known for its attempts to sabotage the 2016 US presidential election. It was led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin who, until his untimely death in a helicopter crash last year, was also in charge of the Wagner mercenary squad.

In a further echoe of 2016, when an account purporting to be managed by Tennessee Republicans was exposed as being run by Russians, there also seem to be a number of Russian accounts on X impersonating pro-Texas organizations.

The Texan Independence Supporters account is among the dubious ones; it has previously been criticized for misspellings and for making repeated references to Russia and Ukraine. The account stated on Sunday that “we are a Texan organization, not Russian.” We can definitely assure ya’ll [sic] that we’re not Russian.”

Although Russia has previously been charged with meddling in the 2024 US presidential election, including supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign, Walters claims that the Kremlin’s activities have intensified in light of the effort to promote the Texas crisis narrative.

“It is an area [where] they could fairly easily cause more divide in the US, so this is the first thing that I see as a potentially significant concern to look out for,” the man states.

Conclusion

Russia’s concerted effort to stoke protests and spread disinformation amidst the Texas border crisis underscores the ongoing threat of foreign interference in American politics. As tensions escalate, it is imperative to remain vigilant against manipulation and propaganda. The proliferation of misinformation not only threatens the integrity of democratic processes but also fuels division and instability. Safeguarding against external influence is crucial to preserving national unity and sovereignty.