We have all heard our fair share of conspiracy theories surrounding the involvement of Facebook in the latest presidential election. The popular social media site has been blamed for spreading a lot of false information as well as hate speech. What is even more surprising is that the U.S. government has found that Russia may have played a role in this as well.
Evidence has shown that some fake accounts created in Russia had been used to spread support for Donald Trump. By using the fake accounts to create support groups and share false information, it seems Russians had a creative influence in this election.
While using fake accounts for promotion is nothing new, it is certainly something that does not have a place in the presidential election. Special counsel Robert Mueller has officially indicted 3 Russian entities and 13 Russian nationals for interfering with the 2016 election.
With official charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States being filed (in addition to some several other charges), it will be an interesting international event evaluating the responsibility of technology in foreign relations. Although there is nothing set in stone quite yet, this controversial announcement will redefine how we see social media.