Understanding the Methods and Assessing the Impact of Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election and Beyond

Prompt: Your assignment is to research and write a paper that addresses the following five questions: What specific cyber methods did the Russians use in their attempt to disrupt the 2016 presidential election and what were their goals? What social media platforms did they use to sow disinformation to undermine the legitimacy of the election and how did they use them? What cyber methods did they use to hack and distribute stolen campaign emails and documents and how did they use them? Which candidates did the Russians appear to support and work against? What effects did the Russian meddling actually have? Be specific and use data to support your assertions, such as: The numbers of sponsored ads and posts on the different social media platforms, The number of followers Russian social media accounts accumulated and the number of viewers potentially reached, The number and locations of physical rallies that were organized and the number of people who attended those rallies, The number of stolen emails and documents released and the number of viewers, The timing of the stolen document and email releases in relation to key events in the campaigns. Did the attempts by Russians to interfere with the election have actual influence on voter behavior and/or the outcome of the election? What meddling did the Russians continue to do in the lead up to the 2018 midterm election (please be specific)? What specific things should we do as individuals and as a country to protect ourselves against the effects of continuing foreign interference leading up to the 2020 election? ****Primary vs. Secondary Sources. It is important to use a combination of primary and authoritative secondary sources in your research. The Mueller report and the two indictments are primary sources–they are the original documents. Newspaper and internet-based articles that comment on or attempt to summarize Mueller’s work would be considered secondary sources. Please be sure to include one or more primary sources in your paper.