It turns out that fake news disseminated by Russia infiltrated more than just Facebook and Twitter—it also thrived on Tumblr.
Tumblr released the names of 84 accounts they’ve found linked to the Russian government through the Internet Research Agency which were used in a disinformation campaign throughout the 2016 U.S. election.
“After uncovering the activity, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts,” Tumblr said in a statement. “Behind the scenes, we worked with the Department of Justice, and the information we provided helped indict 13 people who worked for the IRA.”
Under its “account security” tab, Tumblr listed the accounts they found guilty of disinformation. Even though accounts have been taken down, reblogged content remains on Tumblr users’ blogs. To further combat the disinformation, Tumblr said it plans to email every account that reblogged, favorited, or followed a propaganda account.
Folks on Twitter say they’ve already started to receive the emails.
https://twitter.com/jennygzhang/status/977209251738382337
This is wild pic.twitter.com/56znAAs4tT
— Cleolinda Jones (@cleolinda) March 23, 2018
📡 https://t.co/mm29wPKApL
— Martin, Regulus of Tithonium 👽 (@tithonium) March 23, 2018
It’s a weird day when you wake up to email from Tumblr saying “You reblogged russian disinformation agents!”
“Democracy requires transparency and an informed electorate, and we take our responsibilities very seriously,” Tumblr said. “We aggressively monitor Tumblr for signs of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and take the appropriate action when we uncover anything. As part of our commitment to transparency we will be maintaining this list of usernames that we have determined were engaged in state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda campaigns.”
Some of account names listed, such as “aaddictedtoblakk” and “postingwhileblack” show how these accounts may have preyed on vulnerable black online communities. And while other account names seemed downright ridiculous, like “bastardpigeon” and “bellygangstaboo”, others—such as “voteforwest2020” and “bestofninegag”—show how Russian propagandists were eerily good at posing as young millennial Americans. Ironically, there was even an account named “stopropaganda.”
Here’s the full list, as of Friday.
- 1-800-gloup
- 4mysquad previously known as: thomascestevez
- aaddictedtoblackk previously known as: kathyzunigaoverhere, soaddictedtoblackk
- artautumn
- awesomelizzyjenningsthings
- bastardpigeon previously known as: pigeonbastard
- belindadoingitgood
- bellaxiao previously known as: blogmadworldlove
- bellygangstaboo
- best-usa-today
- bestofninegag previously known as: apolicethepolicethings
- black-to-the-bones
- blackness-by-your-side previously known as: black-galaxy-magic, fullyfurrymiracle, u4guy, ufo-pilot-and-his-sexy-spouse
- blacknproud previously known as: in-the-mirror-world, indiebirdsblog, no-place-for-homophobia
- blacktolive
- bleepthepolice
- cartnsncreal previously known as: feelmydragonballs
- chantelreneeblm
- coldfirefan
- coolmagnificentbets
- cybercollectionnerdstuff
- delroyheater previously known as: delroyheater32, mastercucumber, scrumptiousluminarytimemachine, sexinstructor666, sexintructor
- destinyrush previously known as: delightfullyghostlysong
- down-to-venus previously known as: teenageflowerluminary
- eugeny-a-antonov
- everydaycutenesstherapy
- fedupwithlying previously known as: badgyalforyou
- funkycodex previously known as: craftykryptonitedelusion
- gentlexnoise previously known as: slakerglitch, superblydopepatrol
- getaninspiration
- gogomrbrown previously known as: go-mrbrown, infectedv0ice, todd-la-death
- gottimechillinaround previously known as: howardhenderson
- guns4l1fe previously known as: 4lifeme, guns4lifeme, unabashedpolicerunaway
- honestlyyoungpersona
- honeyjenna
- hustleinatrap previously known as: thenaturecanpost, tumblercube
- ineverstopexploringblog previously known as: charlenefletcher
- info-mix previously known as: americanstatistics, crazypolitician, girlsagainst, illegalmom, just-stat, rochelbarr
- itwontbeeasyme
- jamesjdelvecchio
- jenningsmiracle
- joycherryblossom previously known as: joyfullyhappycherryblossom
- justmarilynadventure previously known as: justmarylinthings
- kingbeardplayer previously known as: kirksgossplayer, placeofminimalthings
- kirstenbrownstories
- lagonegirl
- lamcbride
- loveboholiveboho
- massivelydopepolice
- massmedear previously known as: massblog021
- melanin-diary previously known as: blackjourney2justice, dontshootus, jusslittlestoner
- missberrianstuff
- mooseblogtimes
- morningwoodz previously known as: 5cubes, bangbangempire, empireofweird, gifemprireohh, innerpicsempire, picsempire
- nadiquitegoodatit previously known as: runlovernad
- nevaehtyler previously known as: laserenita
- noteverythingiswhite previously known as: ashleyfsilver
- poligraphme previously known as: poligraphmy
- postingwhileblack previously known as: ghettablasta, heygeraldmartinjohanssen, honestinjun, nativewolveshere
- rebellloudwiththecrowd previously known as: massivelystrangetyrant
- ricordio
- rikki-ri
- sassydreamlandcloud
- scentedballoonpanda
- sergpolozov
- shoutoutworldwide previously known as: blackprideworldwide, krispymentalitycowboy
- shyshannonstuff
- skullofjustice previously known as: naughtykermit, ryanbutlersstuff, usnationaldebt
- skwad55
- somestuff4ya previously known as: somestufffoya, unitedposters
- starling-all-black-all-day
- stopropaganda
- sumchckn previously known as: blondeinpolitics, blvckcommunity, classylgbthomie, hwuudoin, politixblondie
- summerinsomniac
- superblygun
- swagintherain previously known as: blacklivesmatterusa, carzwithgirlz
- the-real-eye-to-see
- thetrippytrip previously known as: matrixpath, themostpost
- thingstolovefor previously known as: the-inner-mirror
- this-truly-brutal-world previously known as: awesomewhitepearl, free-mind-and-soul
- voteforwest2020 previously known as: mrbadasscat
- weproudto2black
- wevanessastewartstuff
- Yanbig
Additionally, Tumblr released recommendations for its users to help stop the spread of disinformation, including to be aware that people try to manipulate the conversation, to be skeptical of content users reblog, and to correct the record when users see disinformation being spread. Furthermore, Tumblr recommends its users vote.
“Transparency won’t mean a thing if we don’t participate in the process,” Tumblr said. “Whatever your political stance, voting ensures a government that represents your interests.”