Radio Liberty’s Russian Service accuses 'troll factory' of attacking its YouTube channel
Radio Liberty’s Russian Service has declared a potential cyberattack against its YouTube channel by so-called "Internet trolls" and bots. According to the report, signals indicating such a situation include a sharp increase in the number of negative reactions (dislikes) simultaneously on several of the channel’s recent video recordings.
According to statistics, the attack began on February 16 after the publication of a video news release that said that the US accused the Russian military of spreading the Internet virus NotPetya. Nearly 15,000 dislikes were collected in several hours after the publication of the news video about so-called "troll factory", whereas before the attack such news bulletins collected no more than a few dozen such "reviews".
The message says that some videos from the TV channel Current Time’s YouTube account, in particular the project "Elections Stories", also came under attack. There are more recorded dislikes than views for the video project, which may indicate a bot attack.
Employees of the so-called "troll factory" are known for writing messages on social media in support of the Kremlin, as well as carrying out attacks on independent media and opposition bloggers, in exchange for money. According to unconfirmed information, the "troll factory" is a project of Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been named as a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, the United States accused Prigozhin and 12 employees of the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency (IRA), which has been called a "troll factory," of interfering in the US presidential election. Moscow has repeatedly denied any of its influence on American public opinion.