Millions of Americans are looking forward to the return of Sunday NFL football this weekend. And somewhere in St. Petersburg, a group of Russian trolls likely is too.

The same Kremlin-linked group that posed as Americans on social media during the 2016 US presidential election has repeatedly exploited the controversy surrounding the NFL and players who have protested police brutality and racial injustice during the National Anthem, playing both sides in an effort to exacerbate divides in American society.

 The debate is almost certainly an irresistible one for the Russians, given that it includes issues of race, patriotism, and national identity — topics the Russian trolls sought to exploit during the run-up to the election, and have continued to focus on in the two years since.

Source: CNN Technology News

Date: September 13th, 2018

Link: https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/08/technology/nfl-national-anthem-russia-trolls/index.html

Discussion

1) First off, in what way are Russian internet trolls even a discussion topic for a Management Information Systems class?

2) How might the likes of Twitter correctly identify a Russian troll posting and then effectively deal with it?