Read more in my analysis!

In the few instances English-language accounts focused on human rights, there was often a pro-Trump bent, such as amplifying conspiracies that the Biden administration trafficked migrant children.

There was a stark contrast in how often Russian state media’s English and Spanish-language accounts framed Trump’s border policies around the theme of human rights. In our data set, 32% of Spanish-language posts and 7% English-language posts, respectively, focused on human rights.

This was most apparent when an outlet covered identical issues in both languages.

In the example below RT en Español posted a video of a crying refugee to emphasize despair. RT posted the same video but mocked refugees for “not making it in time”.

Spanish-language accounts across all themes posted more content that was critical of Trump’s border policies than their English-language counterparts. Similarly, English-language accounts across all themes posted more content that was supportive of the policies.

Read more in @etiennesoula.bsky.social, @benzoni.bsky.social, and my new analysis for @securedemocracy.bsky.social ⤵️

Russian influence actors also leveraged conspiracies to stoke further outrage, including echoing false claims that protesters were “paid” and claiming the demonstrations were “planned in advance” to initiate a Maidan revolution.

In one case, Sputnik even suggested that “pallets of bricks” were being dropped off at protest sites, amplifying an image that fact-checkers have proven isn’t even of LA.

Russian state media exploited the unrest in LA to slander Democrats, blaming them for creating an atmosphere of “lawlessness and chaos” and to paint protestors as violent.

Russian accounts tried to portray LA as a “war zone”, characterizing protesters as “rebels” and claiming the US is in the midst of a “civil war” between coastal and interior states.