Using a Facebook group and website called “Don’t Shoot” / “Don’t Shoot Us,” Russia’s Internet Research Agency tries to organize a protest in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 10. The protest is in response to the police shooting of Philando Castile.
Their efforts fail.
Some local activists become suspicious of the event because St. Paul police were not involved in the shooting: Castile was shot by a St. Anthony police officer in nearby Falcon Heights. Local activists contact Don’t Shoot. After being pressed on who they are and who supports them, Don’t Shoot agrees to move the protest to the St. Anthony police headquarters. The concerned local activists investigate further and urge protesters not to participate after deciding Don’t Shoot is a “total troll job.” Don’t Shoot organizers eventually relinquish control of the event to local organizers, who subsequently decline to accept any money from Don’t Shoot.
Sources
https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/minnesota/2017/11/01/did-russian-hackers-organize-castile-protest-activists-say-no/820782001/
https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/12/media/dont-shoot-us-russia-pokemon-go/index.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20200926001817/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections_%28July_2016%E2%80%93election_day%29
Photo: Saundi Wilson
