Report finds Russian agents used social media to disrupt U.S. energy policy, markets

Russia has used social media to spread propaganda designed to disrupt U.S. energy markets and influence U.S. energy policy, according to a report released by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Thursday.

Russians posted on social media about U.S. energy policy or happenings within the energy sector 9.097 times from 2015 to 2017. Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA), which leads the Kremlin’s cyber efforts, has 4,334 social media accounts and 4 percent of all IRA tweets were related to energy or environmental issues, according to data provided by Twitter.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the committee’s chairman, said the report reveals Russian agents have created and spread propaganda on U.S. social media platforms in “an obvious attempt to influence the U.S. energy market.”

“Russia benefits from stirring up controversy about U.S. energy production. U.S. energy exports to European countries are increasing, which means they will have less reason to rely upon Russia for their energy needs,” Smith said. “This, in turn, will reduce Russia’s influence on Europe to Russia’s detriment and Europe’s benefit. That’s why Russian agents attempted to manipulate Americans’ opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels, fracking and climate change. The American people deserve to know if what they see on social media is the creation of a foreign power seeking to undermine our domestic energy policy.”

IRA social media activity targeted pipelines, fossil fuels, climate change and other contentious issues surrounding U.S. energy policy. Last July, Smith requested a Treasury Department investigation into reports of Russian interference in U.S. energy markets. In September, Smith requested information from Twitter and Facebook about Russian agents purchasing energy-related advertisements on the platform.