The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us.

<!DOCTYPE html> <html prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#" lang="en"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=7YQSqjSh" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/","20181015031143","https://web.archive.org/","web","https://web-static.archive.org/_static/", "1539573103"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=p7PEIJWi" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us. – Foreign Policy</title> <meta name="wapoGroupsX" content="default"> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="7Z5A6Xlt7BhqqooipJUtw0cu2IjSQ-_RnNbEA2c6pfc"> <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=1034756405"> <meta name="pocket-site-verification" content="21de1071947281ccc893fa0bbfb1f6"/>  <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/"> <meta property="og:title" content="The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us."> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/"> <meta property="og:description" content="Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it."> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Foreign Policy"> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="107151292643652"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/>  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@ForeignPolicy"> <meta name="twitter:title" content="The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us."> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it."> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg"> <meta property="twitter:domain" value="foreignpolicy.com"/>  <meta property="article:author" content="Micah Zenko"> <meta name="author" content="Micah Zenko">  <link rel="preload" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/dist/fonts/dala-moa--normal--800.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin="anonymous"/> <link rel="preload" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/dist/fonts/solido--normal--400.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin="anonymous"/> <link rel="preload" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/dist/fonts/tiempos--normal--400.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin="anonymous"/> <link rel="preload" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/dist/fonts/tiempos--normal--600.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin="anonymous"/> <link rel="preload" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/dist/fonts/tiempos-headline--normal--200.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin="anonymous"/> <meta name="application-name" content="Foreign Policy"> <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="Foreign Policy"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#eb372e"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#eb372e"> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/logos/favicon-256.png"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="192x192" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/logos/favicon-192.png"> <link rel="icon" sizes="192x192" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/logos/favicon-192.png"> <link rel="icon" sizes="16x16 32x32" type="image/x-icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/logos/favicon.ico"> <script> window.FP = window.FP || {}; FP.Config = {"api":{"ip_access":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/r\/api\/ip-access\/","link_access":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/r\/api\/link-access\/{0}\/","users_by_id":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/r\/api\/users\/{0}\/","surveys_check":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/r\/api\/surveys\/check\/"},"context":{"is_home":false},"current_site_admin_hostname":"foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com","current_site_hostname":"foreignpolicy.com","fonts":[{"family":"Dala Moa","option":{"style":"normal","weight":800}},{"family":"Solido","option":{"style":"normal","weight":400}},{"family":"Tiempos","option":{"style":"normal","weight":400}},{"family":"Tiempos","option":{"style":"normal","weight":600}},{"family":"Solido","option":{"style":"normal","weight":800}},{"family":"Solido Condensed","option":{"style":"normal","weight":600}}],"is_production":true,"marketing":{"after_content_messaging":"<p>Like this article? Read an unlimited number of articles, plus access to our entire 47-year printed archive, the FP App, and the Digital Magazine when you <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=AMP%20-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=AMP&utm_campaign=Premium\">subscribe to FP Premium<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>","after_content_messaging_fbia":"<p>Like this article? Read an unlimited number of articles, plus access to our entire 47-year printed archive, the FP App, and the Digital Magazine when you <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=FBIA%20-%20Launched%2018_09_04&utm_medium=FBIA&utm_campaign=Premium\">subscribe to FP Premium<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>"},"misc":{"current_magazine_issue":{"isset":true,"link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/the-magazine\/"}},"referrers":["google.com"],"user":{"login_url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/fp-reg.onecount.net\/onecount\/login\/loginlogout.cgi","logout_url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/fp-reg.onecount.net\/onecount\/login\/loginlogout.cgi","edit_profile_url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/fp-reg.onecount.net\/onecount\/flexreg\/displayform.php?g=0&form=387","registration_url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/http:\/\/fp-reg.onecount.net\/onecount\/flexreg\/displayform.php?form=137&brand=fp","customer_service_url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/subscribe.foreignpolicy.com\/FRP\/?f=custcare","view_count_limit":null,"paywall_resource_id":null,"registration_product_ids":[34],"subscription_product_ids":[26,235],"premium_product_ids":[145],"newsletter_ids":[177,185,129,161,227]},"widgets":{"surveys":{"survey_id":"tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd_2BApu8f_2FfoD5Zo9JBww_2F0hZ7YK_2B_2FqaKjYeZpZ0E2z7bd","is_enabled":true,"is_homepage_excluded":false,"user_status_targeting":"all","user_domain_targeting":[],"user_country_targeting":[]}}}; window.lazySizesConfig = window.lazySizesConfig || {}; lazySizesConfig = {"lazyClass":"-lazy","preloadClass":"-preloaded","loadingClass":"-loading","loadedClass":"-loaded"}; </script> <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="CA23132DC6FC7456FB304159D5D7B6C8"/> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php?action=js&host=foreignpolicy.com&id=71129472&t=1539573103&back=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2F2018%2F10%2F03%2Fthe-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us%2F" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ if ( 'function' === typeof WPRemoteLogin ) { document.cookie = "wordpress_test_cookie=test; path=/"; if ( document.cookie.match( /(;|^)\s*wordpress_test_cookie\=/ ) ) { WPRemoteLogin(); } } /* ]]> */ </script> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://ajax.googleapis.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://validate.onecount.net/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://ap.lijit.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.googletagservices.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://cdn.taboola.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://c.jsrdn.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s1.wp.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s0.wp.com/"/> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com/"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Foreign Policy » The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us. Comments Feed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/feed/"/> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ function addLoadEvent(func) { var oldonload = window.onload; if (typeof window.onload != 'function') { window.onload = func; } else { window.onload = function () { oldonload(); func(); } } } /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/wpcom-smileys\/twemoji\/2\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/wpcom-smileys\/twemoji\/2\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/s1.wp.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?m=1532082729h&ver=4.9.8"}}; !function(a,b,c){function d(a,b){var c=String.fromCharCode;l.clearRect(0,0,k.width,k.height),l.fillText(c.apply(this,a),0,0);var d=k.toDataURL();l.clearRect(0,0,k.width,k.height),l.fillText(c.apply(this,b),0,0);var e=k.toDataURL();return d===e}function e(a){var b;if(!l||!l.fillText)return!1;switch(l.textBaseline="top",l.font="600 32px Arial",a){case"flag":return!(b=d([55356,56826,55356,56819],[55356,56826,8203,55356,56819]))&&(b=d([55356,57332,56128,56423,56128,56418,56128,56421,56128,56430,56128,56423,56128,56447],[55356,57332,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56418,8203,56128,56421,8203,56128,56430,8203,56128,56423,8203,56128,56447]),!b);case"emoji":return b=d([55358,56760,9792,65039],[55358,56760,8203,9792,65039]),!b}return!1}function f(a){var c=b.createElement("script");c.src=a,c.defer=c.type="text/javascript",b.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(c)}var g,h,i,j,k=b.createElement("canvas"),l=k.getContext&&k.getContext("2d");for(j=Array("flag","emoji"),c.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},i=0;i<j.length;i++)c.supports[j[i]]=e(j[i]),c.supports.everything=c.supports.everything&&c.supports[j[i]],"flag"!==j[i]&&(c.supports.everythingExceptFlag=c.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&c.supports[j[i]]);c.supports.everythingExceptFlag=c.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!c.supports.flag,c.DOMReady=!1,c.readyCallback=function(){c.DOMReady=!0},c.supports.everything||(h=function(){c.readyCallback()},b.addEventListener?(b.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",h,!1),a.addEventListener("load",h,!1)):(a.attachEvent("onload",h),b.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function(){"complete"===b.readyState&&c.readyCallback()})),g=c.source||{},g.concatemoji?f(g.concatemoji):g.wpemoji&&g.twemoji&&(f(g.twemoji),f(g.wpemoji)))}(window,document,window._wpemojiSettings); </script> <style type="text/css"> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 .07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link rel="stylesheet" id="all-css-0-1" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143cs_/https://s2.wp.com/_static/??-eJy1U9FO5DAM/CFMYI+7gwd0n4Lc1JuGOnEUZ6n69+du4YADKoTYl8p2Z8b2yHFTAS+5UW4uHaDwIcSsbipeEmiKTPN/2blXPXPv0ziOpO6eWkE/wjHbgnupZPVUsC2IRH1EYkoG26Kl8uuJtYSD9dpss47fdaWSKtg3xUOCNlijt7y17B5icc98KFiVeH4Rbu+Vlh1WA5wBX1dWanRZWjS2/gu2htmbVzFkKMLRz7C7uPztUJWauj5qc9pmNmiHSu4uYczfILaYLNm46nTASv0plAfCnuoplItY+QS6CTOGk7i8F2lf9UIb2hU9ig60dMFeAZlqU6BOZLTbnSdkhoYjyQNVhSSdvWrA/i5F9cAU0G/e9hT7sGjTwf7KGAkYJ9coFcZm4x37f0ZAxUdkWF/Ay2SLHEiAxdumkl8lsGeMdYtaqWMJFobji3xOPzJ6uHKBpUNeAH/S7eXPHze766vd9cX9X/n69EM=?cssminify=yes" type="text/css" media="all"/> <script type="application/javascript">var googletag=googletag||{};googletag.cmd=googletag.cmd||[];googletag.cmd.push( function(){googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad()});</script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.2.4/jquery.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s2.wp.com/_static/??-eJytkFEOgjAQRC9kWcEg8cN4llIWKCndZnetgdMLiRcQ/ZtMMm8mA69kHEXFqKAjziiQfYKeGP0QTaLg3WKqc9mAFUEVEHYgjn3adMbYEQPK1SSm2QsW9qlUTHKCf4D7DdBbh9QKckYuRG3sbKCIv3d8rL1DvqRtM9Q7mARGnUMto8+HCYySKHaH80Og1oa/XR7suohfcb/kMd/L+nKrmqaqy+kN5nPL/g=="></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://validate.onecount.net/js/all.min.js#d98c7c783d091f556b12685e1604e895b8253f83"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://ap.lijit.com/www/headerauction/headersuite.min.js?configId=1472"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js?ver=0.5"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/static/js/_proxy_access.js?m=1506688867h"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://c.jsrdn.com/s/cs.js?p=22420"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var FPSharesEndpoint = {"endpoint":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/_share_count\/"}; var ajaxurl = {"ajaxurl":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s0.wp.com/_static/??-eJydzFEKwyAQRdENdTpVCMlP6VpEpnEkUfFNLdl9ky3078KFw99GsRaTYmxJdgEPbfyuXXQt1Oqm8SD/cDPDgmnkDEYYWtZzwggpdME948b/UKHHpEMIchWd1Gezi3vtTze5ZXbT4n3+AS0DO/A="></script> <link rel="stylesheet" id="all-css-0-2" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143cs_/https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/highlander-comments/style.css?m=1530132353h&cssminify=yes" type="text/css" media="all"/>  <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd"/> <link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="https://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml"/> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress.com"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/"/> <link rel="shortlink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://bit.ly/2O3d3Cz"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://public-api.wordpress.com/oembed/?format=json&url=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2F2018%2F10%2F03%2Fthe-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us%2F&for=wpcom-auto-discovery"/><link rel="alternate" type="application/xml+oembed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://public-api.wordpress.com/oembed/?format=xml&url=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2F2018%2F10%2F03%2Fthe-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us%2F&for=wpcom-auto-discovery"/><link rel="openid.server" href="https://foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com/?openidserver=1"/> <link rel="openid.delegate" href="https://foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com/"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/osd.xml" title="Foreign Policy"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s1.wp.com/opensearch.xml" title="WordPress.com"/>  <meta name="wp-parsely_version" id="wp-parsely_version" content="1.13.0"/> <script type="application/ld+json"> {"@context":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/http:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2018\/10\/03\/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us\/"},"headline":"The Problem Isn\u2019t Fake News From Russia. It\u2019s Us.","url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/http:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2018\/10\/03\/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us\/","dateCreated":"2018-10-03T19:22:04Z","datePublished":"2018-10-03T19:22:04Z","dateModified":"2018-10-03T19:22:04Z","articleSection":"Voice","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Micah Zenko"}],"creator":["Micah Zenko"],"keywords":["propaganda","russia","united states","voice"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Foreign Policy","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""}}} </script>  <script type="text/javascript">var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime()</script> <style> .getty.aligncenter { text-align: center; } .getty.alignleft { float: none; margin-right: 0; } .getty.alignleft > div { float: left; margin-right: 5px; } .getty.alignright { float: none; margin-left: 0; } .getty.alignright > div { float: right; margin-left: 5px; } </style> <style type="text/css"> .recentcomments a { display: inline !important; padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } table.recentcommentsavatartop img.avatar, table.recentcommentsavatarend img.avatar { border: 0px; margin: 0; } table.recentcommentsavatartop a, table.recentcommentsavatarend a { border: 0px !important; background-color: transparent !important; } td.recentcommentsavatarend, td.recentcommentsavatartop { padding: 0px 0px 1px 0px; margin: 0px; } td.recentcommentstextend { border: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 2px 10px; } .rtl td.recentcommentstextend { padding: 0px 10px 2px 0px; } td.recentcommentstexttop { border: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; } .rtl td.recentcommentstexttop { padding: 0px 10px 0px 0px; } </style> <meta name="application-name" content="Foreign Policy"/><meta name="msapplication-window" content="width=device-width;height=device-height"/><meta name="msapplication-tooltip" content="the Global Magazine of News and Ideas"/><meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Subscribe;action-uri=https://foreignpolicy.com/feed/;icon-uri=https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/cropped-favicon-512_2017.png?w=16"/> <script type="text/javascript"> var _ipw_custom = { wordAds: '1', adSafe: '1', domain: 'foreignpolicy.com', pageURL: 'https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/' }; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s.pubmine.com/head.js"></script><link rel="amphtml" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/amp/"><style type="text/css" id="syntaxhighlighteranchor"></style> <link rel="icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/cropped-favicon-512_2017.png?w=32" sizes="32x32"/> <link rel="icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/cropped-favicon-512_2017.png?w=192" sizes="192x192"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/cropped-favicon-512_2017.png?w=180"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/cropped-favicon-512_2017.png?w=270"/>  <style>.async-hide { opacity: 0 !important} </style> <script>(function(a,s,y,n,c,h,i,d,e){s.className+=' '+y;h.start=1*new Date; h.end=i=function(){s.className=s.className.replace(RegExp(' ?'+y),'')}; (a[n]=a[n]||[]).hide=h;setTimeout(function(){i();h.end=null},c);h.timeout=c; })(window,document.documentElement,'async-hide','dataLayer',4000, {'GTM-NVLXP45':true});</script>   <script async src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-6874192-41"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); // GA set config and WP post content group // GA track page group - syntax: gtag('config', 'GA_TRACKING_ID', {'content_group5': '/news/sports'}); if ('undefined' !== typeof realReferer && '' !== document.referrer && realReferer !== document.referrer) { // ONECount tracking override gtag('config', 'UA-6874192-41', { 'optimize_id': 'GTM-NVLXP45', 'custom_map': { 'dimension2': 'LID', 'dimension3': 'RGRP', 'dimension4': 'VID' }, 'page_referrer': realReferer, 'content_group1': '"Argument, Voice, and Dispatch/Voice/Americas/Analysis"' }); } else { // Standard tracking gtag('config', 'UA-6874192-41', { 'optimize_id': 'GTM-NVLXP45', 'custom_map': { 'dimension2': 'LID', 'dimension3': 'RGRP', 'dimension4': 'VID' }, 'content_group1': '"Argument, Voice, and Dispatch/Voice/Americas/Analysis"' }); } // GA track page load time // Feature detects Navigation Timing API support. if (window.performance) { // Gets the number of milliseconds since page load // (and rounds the result since the value must be an integer). var timeSincePageLoad = Math.round(performance.now()); // Sends the timing event to Google Analytics. gtag('event', 'timing_complete', { 'name': 'load', 'value': timeSincePageLoad }); } </script>  <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-KVBCHJC');</script>  <script type="text/javascript">googletag.pubads().setTargeting("tags", ["Propaganda","Russia","United States","Voice","Voice"]);</script> </head> <body class="post-template-default single single-post postid-949787 single-format-standard site-root mp6 customizer-styles-applied highlander-enabled highlander-light">  <noscript><iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143if_/https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-KVBCHJC" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <div id="site-wrapper"> <header class="site-header"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/" class="logo"> <svg class="site-icon -inline -textonly" width="75" height="47.5" viewbox="0 0 75 47.5"><path fill="#EE3524" d="M39.4,8.7H40V0.5H0v0.8c4.5,0.2,7.4,0.8,7.4,4.9v36c0,4.2-2.9,4.8-7.4,4.9V48h26.2v-0.8c-5.2-0.3-9-0.8-9-4.9 V25.2h8.7c3,0,4.2,2.2,4.9,6.2h0.5V18h-0.5c-0.7,4-1.9,6.2-4.9,6.2h-8.7V1.3h13.3C35.9,1.3,37.7,2.8,39.4,8.7 M52.9,25.2h6.2 c11.1,0,15.9-5.8,15.9-13.1c0-6.4-4.5-11.7-17.3-11.7H40.9l0,41.8c0,4.2-2.9,4.8-7.4,4.9V48h27.3v-0.8c-5.2-0.3-9-0.8-9-4.9V1.5 h3.4c6.1,0,9.5,5.5,9.5,12c0,7.5-3.5,10.8-9.6,10.8h-2.4V25.2z"/></svg>  <span class="hide">Foreign Policy Magazine</span> </a> <div class="header-nav-wrapper"> <nav class="header-nav"> <ul class="header-menu -top"> <li class="header-menu-item"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/news/" class="navlink">News</a> </li> <li class="header-menu-item"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/analysis/" class="navlink">Analysis</a> </li> <li class="header-menu-item"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/features/" class="navlink">Features</a> </li> <li class="header-menu-item"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/the-magazine/" class="navlink">The Magazine</a> </li> <li class="header-menu-item -parent"> <a class="navlink">Channels</a> <ul class="header-menu -top"> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/economics/" class="navlink">Economics</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/security-2/" class="navlink">Security</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/elephants-in-the-room/" class="navlink">Elephants in the Room</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/shadow-government/" class="navlink">Shadow Government</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <span class="close-nav"> <img draggable="false" class="emoji" alt="❌" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close.svg"/>  Close </span> <div class="header-mobile-subnav"> <ul class="manage-account account"> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/manage" class="navlink navlink-border">Manage Your Account</a></li> </ul> <div class="expando-search"> <div class="icon"> <svg viewbox="0 0 18 18"> <circle class="search-icon" cx="7.5" cy="7.3" r="6.5"/> <line class="search-icon" x1="12.1" y1="11.9" x2="17.5" y2="17.3"/> </svg> </div> <form role="search" method="get" id="searchform-mobile" class="searchform" action="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/"> <label class="hide" for="searchfield-mobile">Search</label> <input class="search" type="search" name="s" id="searchfield-mobile"/> <input type="submit" value="search-submit" style="display:none"/> </form> </div> <span> <ul class="mobile-subnav-menu"> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://fpgroup.foreignpolicy.com/" class="navlink">About FP</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/staff/" class="navlink">Meet The Staff</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/reprint-permissions/" class="navlink">Reprint Permissions</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://fpgroup.foreignpolicy.com/" class="navlink">Advertising</a></li> </ul> <ul class="mobile-subnav-menu"> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/writers-guidelines/" class="navlink">Writers’ Guidelines</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://fpgroup.foreignpolicy.com/news" class="navlink">Press Room</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/employment-opportunities/" class="navlink">Work At FP</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/subscription-services/" class="navlink">Subscription Services</a></li> </ul> </span> <span> <ul class="mobile-subnav-menu"> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fpguide.foreignpolicy.com/" class="navlink">FP Guides – Graduate Education</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/flexreg/displayform.php?utm_source=web&utm_medium=homepage%20footer&utm_term=academic%20services&utm_content=50%25%20off&utm_campaign=premium&g=0&form=161&pc=5EAH" class="navlink">Academic Program – FP Premium</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/magazine/" class="navlink">FP Archive</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/buy-back-issues/" class="navlink">Buy Back Issues</a></li> </ul> <ul class="mobile-subnav-menu"> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/privacy/" class="navlink">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li class="header-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/contact-us/" class="navlink">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> </span> </div> </nav> </div> <div class="header-subnav-wrapper"> <nav class="header-subnav"> <ul class="header-menu -top"> <li class="header-menu-item"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/login/loginlogout.php?return=http%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2F" class="navlink -top -user -signin FP-paywall--login">Sign In</a> </li> <li class="header-menu-item"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe?utm_source=Upper%20Right%20Hand%20Corner%20Link%20A-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=Link%20A%20-%20Subscribe&utm_campaign=Premium" class="navlink -top -user -emph"><span class="subscribe--long">Subscribe for $2.25/week</span><span class="subscribe--short">Subscribe</span></a> </li> </ul> <div class="expando-search"> <div class="icon"> <svg viewbox="0 0 18 18"> <circle class="search-icon" cx="7.5" cy="7.3" r="6.5"/> <line class="search-icon" x1="12.1" y1="11.9" x2="17.5" y2="17.3"/> </svg> </div> <form role="search" method="get" id="searchform-desktop" class="searchform" action="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/"> <label class="hide" for="searchfield-desktop">Search</label> <input class="search" type="search" name="s" id="searchfield-desktop"/> <input type="submit" value="search-submit" style="display:none"/> </form> </div> </nav> </div> <button class="hamburger-button"> <span class="line"></span> <span class="hide">Toggle display of website navigation</span> </button> <div class="header-alt-layout__title"> <p class="header-alt-title"> <span class="department-title"> Voice: </span> <span class="header-alt-title__desktop"> The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us. </span> <span class="header-alt-title__mobile"> The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It... </span> </p> <div class="header-social-shares"> <span class="share-title">SHARE:</span> <a data-endpoint="facebook" data-title="The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us." data-text="Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it." data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" onclick="socialshares.share(this);"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/facebook_blue.svg" alt="Share on Facebook" class="facebook-button"/> </a> <a data-endpoint="twitter" data-title="Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it." data-text="Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it." data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" onclick="socialshares.share(this);"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/twitter_blue.svg" alt="Share on Twitter" class="twitter-button"/> </a> <a data-endpoint="linkedin" data-title="The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us." data-text="Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it." data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" onclick="socialshares.share(this);"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/linkedin_blue.svg" alt="Share on LinkedIn" class="linkedin-button"/> </a> <a href="#" title="Print" onclick="window.print();"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/print_black.svg" alt="Print this page" class="print-button"/> </a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/mailto:/?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20on%20Foreign%20Policy&body=The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us.%20-%20https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/%2F" title="Share via Email"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/email_black.svg" alt="Share via Email" class="email-button"/> </a> </div> </div> </header> <div class="home-ad-region-1 _970"> <div id="div-gpt-ad-1452807828370-0"> <script type="text/javascript"> googletag.cmd.push( function() { googletag.display( "div-gpt-ad-1452807828370-0" ); } ); </script> </div> </div><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push( function() { window.FP_gtagBannerSlots = {}; googletag.defineSlot("/7971222/global_superleaderboard_top", [[970, 90], [728, 90], [970, 250]], "div-gpt-ad-1452807828370-0").addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.defineSlot("/7971222/homepage_fp2_leaderboard_top", [728, 90], "div-gpt-ad-1398442674485-0").addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.defineSlot("/7971222/default_fp2_bigbox_ATF", [[300, 250],[300, 600],[300, 1050]], "div-gpt-ad-1385102181603-0").addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.defineSlot("/7971222/default_fp2_bigbox_BTF", [[300, 250],[300, 600]], "div-gpt-ad-1385071228815-0").addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.defineSlot("/7971222/default_fp2_bigbox_CENTER", [[300, 250],[300, 600]], "div-gpt-ad-1390433129530-0").addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); } ); </script> <div id="main" data-context="article" class="default default_text_style text_above_photo "> <div class="post-content" data-post-id="949787" data-whitelist=""> <article class="article" data-post-id="949787" data-post-url="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" data-lfcollectionmeta="eyJ0eXAiOiJqd3QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJ0aXRsZSI6IlRoZSBQcm9ibGVtIElzblx1MjAxOXQgRmFrZSBOZXdzIEZyb20gUnVzc2lhLiBJdFx1MjAxOXMgVXMuIiwidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6XC9cL2ZvcmVpZ25wb2xpY3kuY29tXC8yMDE4XC8xMFwvMDNcL3RoZS1wcm9ibGVtLWlzbnQtZmFrZS1uZXdzLWZyb20tcnVzc2lhLWl0cy11c1wvIiwic3RyZWFtX3R5cGUiOiJsaXZlY29tbWVudHMiLCJjaGVja3N1bSI6IjdlZTAyNTdhNzJkZDU3ZWY0MTA1M2MzNjgwYjliZmM0IiwiYXJ0aWNsZUlkIjoiZm9yZWlnbnBvbGljeV93cF85NDk3ODcifQ.oPtbudcH3YPPUcwVaUT_ESaDPKopkzBQQjUU2zGdG0s" data-lfchecksum="7ee0257a72dd57ef41053c3680b9bfc4" data-lfarticleid="foreignpolicy_wp_949787"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/voice/" class="department-name"> <h3 class="department">Voice</h3></a> <span class="hed-heading" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/"> <h1 class="hed">The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us.</h1> </span> <h2 class="dek-heading">Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it.</h2> <div class="meta-data "> <address class="author-list"> <span class="pre">By</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/micah-zenko/" rel="author" class="author"> Micah Zenko</a></address> <span class="separator">|</span> <time pubdate datetime="2018-10-03" title="October 3rd, 2018" class="date-time"> October 3, 2018, 3:22 PM</time> </div> <figure class="figure-image "> <span style="padding-bottom:66.666666666667%; " class="image-attachment -ratioscale horizontal-orientation"> <img data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=1500&h=1000&crop=0,0,0,0 1500w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=1125&h=750&crop=0,0,0,0 1125w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=750&h=500&crop=0,0,0,0 750w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=375&h=250&crop=0,0,0,0 375w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=1500&h=1000&crop=0,0,0,0" srcset="" src="/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" alt="An ice sculpture by the artistic duo Ligorano/Reese spells out the word “truth” in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 22. (Olivia Hampton/AFP/Getty Images)" style="width:auto;" class="image -fit -lazy"> <noscript> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=1500&h=1000&crop=0,0,0,0" alt="An ice sculpture by the artistic duo Ligorano/Reese spells out the word “truth” in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 22. (Olivia Hampton/AFP/Getty Images)" class="image -fit-3-2"> </noscript> </span> <div class="caption"> An ice sculpture by the artistic duo Ligorano/Reese spells out the word “truth” in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 22. (Olivia Hampton/AFP/Getty Images) <span class="attribution"></span> </div> </figure> <div class="post-content-main shares-position"> <p>In 1934, the investigative journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair ran in the California gubernatorial election as part of the End Poverty in California movement (EPIC). He proposed a sweeping progressive agenda that featured the introduction of pensions, increased income and property taxes on wealthy Californians, and the creation of a state-run network of cooperatives that put the unemployed to work. Business leaders and trade associations around the country, alarmed by the socialist elements of his agenda, put forth millions of dollars to support incumbent Gov. Frank Merriam.</p> <p>That outside money was used to promote <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.amazon.com/Campaign-Century-Sinclairs-Governor-California/dp/1468075721">lies and disinformation</a> through leaflets, radio spots, newspaper hits, and a new media invention: partisan attack ads disguised as newsreels that ran before motion pictures in California movie theaters. The clips featured actors who, posing as ordinary citizens, recited scripted lines containing falsehoods about the EPIC movement and Sinclair. Such fake news proved highly effective; Merriam handily beat his opponent. And even before the vote, Sinclair <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-raleigh-register-oct-29-1934-p-1/">wrote</a> to Congress demanding an investigation into what he called “false propaganda,” adding, “Whether or not you sympathize with me on my platform is beside the point.” If the motion picture industry, he continued, “can be used to influence voters justly, it can be used to influence voters unjustly.” No investigation ever occurred; influence campaigns and disinformation simply became a normal and tolerated part of U.S. elections.</p> <p>The role of disinformation in electoral campaigns, how it is transmitted and spread, and what influence it has on voters have appropriately been a matter of national debate since the 2016 presidential election. The most commonly identified perpetrators this time around are Russia, Iran, and China. The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/06/us/politics/document-russia-hacking-report-intelligence-agencies.html">U.S. intelligence community</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/final_russia_investigation_report.pdf">House</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.burr.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SSCI%20ICA%20ASSESSMENT_FINALJULY3.pdf">Senate</a> intelligence committees, and special counsel <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/us/politics/russians-indicted-mueller-election-interference.html">Robert Muller</a> have all exhaustively documented Russian-directed efforts to covertly undermine the election. In August, meanwhile, the cybersecurity company FireEye <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2018/08/suspected-iranian-influence-operation.html">detailed</a> with “moderate confidence” Iranian use of social media “to promote political narratives in line with Iranian interests.” Based on FireEye’s report, Facebook <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/08/more-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior/">removed</a> 652 associated pages, groups, and accounts for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Finally, speaking in front of the U.N. Security Council last week, U.S. President Donald Trump <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-united-nations-security-council-briefing-counterproliferation-new-york-ny/">claimed</a> that “we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election coming up in November against my administration.” When pressed later that day for evidence, he <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-conference-president-trump-2/">said</a>, “We have evidence. It’ll come out.” He puzzlingly added of Chinese President Xi Jinping, “He’s a friend of mine.”</p> <p><span class="pull-quote">When one dives into these allegations, what stands out is the lack of precision in identifying exactly what activities are troubling and thus should be prohibited.</span> Indeed, there is a blending of adversaries’ purported goals with their alleged actions. For example, the assessment from the U.S. intelligence community warns of Russia’s “desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order” as if that, in itself, is a crime. That is akin to saying an American leader who appeared to support the same objective by maligning security allies, implementing protectionist trade policies, fomenting nationalism, and publicly noting adoration for authoritarian leaders should be legally silenced.</p> <p>Similarly, the House intelligence committee report determined that since 2015, Moscow has “sought to sow discord in American society and undermine our faith in the democratic process.” Americans have already done the first to themselves. And shady political operatives have pursued the second goal since long before the widespread adoption of social media.</p> <p>Finally, in August, Facebook <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/08/more-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior/">declared</a> that it banned alleged Iranian-sponsored accounts “because we want people to be able to trust the connections they make on Facebook.” It is worth asking whether those who wrote the announcement had ever actually spent time on Facebook or Instagram.</p> <p>The internet as a tool for malignant—and occasionally positive—political and societal purposes is the focus of an excellent new book, <em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.amazon.com/LikeWar-Weaponization-P-W-Singer/dp/1328695743">LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media</a></em>, by the defense experts P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking. It is a deeply researched page-turner. Simply by cataloguing the hate, lies, state propaganda, and government monitoring that the internet makes possible, it is also incidentally alarmist. Yet since troubling stories are uncovered, reported, and forgotten so quickly, the authors write, it is hard to recognize the consequences that the internet has on our civil liberties, personal safety, polity, and even national security and foreign policy.</p> <p>It is within the domains of national security and foreign policy where the book makes its most far-reaching claim: The strategic use of the internet and, more specifically, social media is indeed like war. Subsequently, it is the world’s primary battlefield, and we are all witting or unwitting co-combatants and targets. This hypothesis may make those of us who grew up studying kinetic warfare and material balances of power uncomfortable, but internet-enabled information matters tremendously. The proof is that political and military leaders are constantly attempting and succeeding to use such information—to an extent and pace unprecedented in history—to achieve effects inside other countries. Those leaders can no longer disengage from foreign-directed attempts to influence their country’s population; they either shape perception or allow others to shape it.</p> <p>How one interprets such efforts depends on the source, the messaging intent, and one’s tolerance for hypocrisy. As Dov H. Levin, now an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0738894216661190">demonstrated</a> with his dataset that tracked great powers’ interference in foreign elections between 1946 and 2000, the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States meddled—primarily covertly—in 117 out of 938 elections around the world, with Washington doing so more than twice as often (81 interventions) as Moscow (36). Of course, all great powers espouse universal norms that they violate in practice, and this naturally extends to interfering in other countries’ domestic affairs.</p> <p>However, one person’s extremist fabulist is another’s brave truth-teller, just as one’s promotion of valid information is another’s weaponization of the same. <span class="pull-quote">The issue that Americans have chosen to ignore over the past 20 months is why the public has so deeply embraced and then spread alleged misinformation from China, Iran, or Russia.</span> Politicians and pundits have chosen to blame the United States’ divides on its adversaries, but that is like trying to curb illegal drug use by focusing solely on the foreign countries where the drugs are produced (forgetting, of course, that many drugs are produced at home). The appetite for selective, biased, or partisan information is growing, and it will continue to do so given apparent trends in the U.S. public’s information literacy, critical thinking, and partisanship. The country cannot merely wish away its confirmation biases.</p> <p>Shortly after his defeat at the polls, Sinclair published a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://www.amazon.com/Candidate-Governor-How-Got-Licked/dp/0520081986">book</a> detailing the attacks on his campaign and the refusal of media outlets to publish any of his factual, clarifying rebuttals. In specific reference to newspaper editors refusing to comprehend or publish details about his old-age pension plan, Sinclair wrote the memorable line: “I used to say to our audiences: ‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!’” Whether for ideological, tribal, partisan, financial, or other reasons, Americans may simply not be interested in truly understanding and critiquing the information that they receive through their phones and computers, both during their day-to-day lives and before the upcoming midterm elections. Because of that, they will be increasingly the targets of “like wars” by aggressors foreign and domestic.</p> <div data-fp-lazy-load-image></div> </div> <section id="author-bio" class="bio-photo"> <img id="author-image" class="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/micah_zenko.jpg" alt="Micah Zenko" style="display: none;"/> <p class="bio-photo--heading">About the Author</p> <p> Micah Zenko is Whitehead Senior Fellow at Chatham House and is the author of Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://www.twitter.com/MicahZenko" target="_blank">@MicahZenko</a> </p> </section> <section class="bio-no-photo"> <div class="last-author">  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://www.twitter.com/MicahZenko" target="_blank">@MicahZenko</a> </div> </section> <div class="the-comments"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/comments_view/?view_post_comments=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2F2018%2F10%2F03%2Fthe-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us%2F" style="color:#fff">View<br/>Comments</a> </div> <div class="the-tags"> <span class="title">Tags:</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/propaganda/" class="tag"> Propaganda</a><span class="separator">,</span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/russia/" class="tag"> Russia</a><span class="separator">,</span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/united-states/" class="tag"> United States</a><span class="separator">,</span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/voice/" class="tag"> Voice</a></div> <div class="taboola"> <div class="taboola--inner border-top"> <p class="taboola--heading">Trending Now <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://www.taboola.com/" class="taboola--subheading" target="_blank">Sponsored Links by Taboola</a></p> <div id="taboola-below-article-thumbs"></div> <div class="taboola--subheading taboola--subheading__right">By Taboola</div> </div> </div> <div class="taboola taboola__fp"> <div class="taboola--inner"> <p class="taboola--heading heading__red">More from Foreign Policy</p> <div id="taboola-below-article-thumbs_fp"></div> <div class="taboola--subheading taboola--subheading__right">By Taboola</div> </div> </div> <div class="fp-related-wrapper related-articles--no-video"> <div class="related-articles"> <p><span class="heading">Read More</span></p> <div class="blog-list-layout" data-post-id="947732"> <div class="excerpt-content--list --first-post content-block" data-post-id="947732"> <figure class="figure-image -nocaption"> <a style="padding-bottom:66.666666666667%; " href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/06/chinas-lessons-for-fighting-fake-news/" class="image-attachment -ratioscale horizontal-orientation"> <img data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/gettyimages-79146008.jpg?w=1534&h=1024&crop=0,0,0,1 1534w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/gettyimages-79146008.jpg?w=1151&h=768&crop=0,0,0,1 1151w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/gettyimages-79146008.jpg?w=767&h=512&crop=0,0,0,1 767w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/gettyimages-79146008.jpg?w=384&h=256&crop=0,0,0,0 384w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/gettyimages-79146008.jpg?w=1534&h=1024&crop=0,0,0,1" srcset="" src="/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" alt="A computer user in a net cafe in Chongqing Municipality on January 21, 2008. (China Photos/Getty Images)" style="height:auto;" class="image -fit -lazy"> <noscript> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/gettyimages-79146008.jpg?w=1534&h=1024&crop=0,0,0,1" alt="A computer user in a net cafe in Chongqing Municipality on January 21, 2008. (China Photos/Getty Images)" class="image -fit-3-2"> </noscript> </a> </figure> <div class="list-text"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/06/chinas-lessons-for-fighting-fake-news/"> <h3 class="hed">China’s Lessons for Fighting Fake News</h3> </a> <div class="dek-heading -excerpt"> <p class="dek">What Washington should—and shouldn’t—learn from Beijing’s example.</p> </div> <div class="meta-data -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/argument/" class="department-name -excerpt"> Argument </a> <span class="separator">|</span> <address class="author-list -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/maria-repnikova/" rel="author" class="author"> Maria Repnikova</a></address> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="blog-list-layout" data-post-id="941270"> <div class="excerpt-content--list content-block" data-post-id="941270"> <figure class="figure-image -nocaption"> <a style="padding-bottom:66.666666666667%; " href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/25/disinformation-wars/" class="image-attachment -ratioscale horizontal-orientation"> <img data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/gettyimages-961373088.jpg?w=1500&h=979&crop=0,0,31,0 1500w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/gettyimages-961373088.jpg?w=1125&h=734&crop=0,0,24,0 1125w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/gettyimages-961373088.jpg?w=750&h=490&crop=0,0,16,0 750w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/gettyimages-961373088.jpg?w=375&h=245&crop=0,0,8,0 375w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/gettyimages-961373088.jpg?w=1500&h=979&crop=0,0,31,0" srcset="" src="/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" alt="An activist protests in front of the European Union headquarters in Brussels, on May 22. (John Thys/AFP/Getty Images)" style="width:auto;" class="image -fit -lazy"> <noscript> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/gettyimages-961373088.jpg?w=1500&h=979&crop=0,0,31,0" alt="An activist protests in front of the European Union headquarters in Brussels, on May 22. (John Thys/AFP/Getty Images)" class="image -fit-3-2"> </noscript> </a> </figure> <div class="list-text"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/25/disinformation-wars/"> <h3 class="hed">Disinformation Wars</h3> </a> <div class="dek-heading -excerpt"> <p class="dek">The United States and Europe are ill-prepared for the coming wave of "deep fakes" that artificial intelligence could unleash.</p> </div> <div class="meta-data -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/argument/" class="department-name -excerpt"> Argument </a> <span class="separator">|</span> <address class="author-list -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/chris-meserole/" rel="author" class="author"> Chris Meserole</a><span class="separator">,</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/alina-polyakova/" rel="author" class="author"> Alina Polyakova</a></address> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="blog-list-layout" data-post-id="927159"> <div class="excerpt-content--list content-block" data-post-id="927159"> <figure class="figure-image -nocaption"> <a style="padding-bottom:66.666666666667%; " href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/12/the-pro-free-speech-way-to-fight-fake-news/" class="image-attachment -ratioscale horizontal-orientation"> <img data-srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gettyimages-98590925.jpg?w=960&h=460&crop=0,0,270,0 960w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gettyimages-98590925.jpg?w=720&h=345&crop=0,0,203,0 720w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gettyimages-98590925.jpg?w=480&h=230&crop=0,0,135,0 480w, https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gettyimages-98590925.jpg?w=240&h=115&crop=0,0,68,0 240w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gettyimages-98590925.jpg?w=960&h=460&crop=0,0,270,0" srcset="" src="/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/" alt="Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the f8 Developer Conference in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)" style="width:auto;" class="image -fit -lazy"> <noscript> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gettyimages-98590925.jpg?w=960&h=460&crop=0,0,270,0" alt="Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the f8 Developer Conference in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)" class="image -fit-3-2"> </noscript> </a> </figure> <div class="list-text"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/12/the-pro-free-speech-way-to-fight-fake-news/"> <h3 class="hed">The Pro-Free Speech Way to Fight Fake News</h3> </a> <div class="dek-heading -excerpt"> <p class="dek">Most cures for fraudulent news threaten to be worse than the disease. There’s at least one exception.</p> </div> <div class="meta-data -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/voice/" class="department-name -excerpt"> Voice </a> <span class="separator">|</span> <address class="author-list -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/suzanne-nossel/" rel="author" class="author"> Suzanne Nossel</a></address> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> <div class="sidebar"> <div> <div class="channel-sidebar-big-box-ad _300"> <div id="div-gpt-ad-1385102181603-0"> <script type="text/javascript"> googletag.cmd.push( function() { googletag.display( "div-gpt-ad-1385102181603-0" ); } ); </script> </div> </div> <div class="sidebar-list"> <h2 class="title">Latest</h2> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/12/erdogan-frees-u-s-pastor-while-still-managing-to-embarrass-trump/"> <h3 class="hed">Erdogan Frees U.S. Pastor While Still Managing to Embarrass Trump</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -ago"> <time pubdate datetime="2018-10-12" title="October 12th, 2018" class="date-time"> October 12, 2018, 6:14 PM</time> </div> </div> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/12/mapped-the-absent-ambassadors-united-states-embassy-trump-appointments/"> <h3 class="hed">Mapped: The Absent Ambassadors</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -ago"> <time pubdate datetime="2018-10-12" title="October 12th, 2018" class="date-time"> October 12, 2018, 6:04 PM</time> </div> </div> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/12/in-negotiations-with-iran-theres-always-one-more-thing/"> <h3 class="hed">In Negotiations With Iran, ‘There’s Always One More Thing’</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -ago"> <time pubdate datetime="2018-10-12" title="October 12th, 2018" class="date-time"> October 12, 2018, 5:51 PM</time> </div> </div> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/12/has-trump-read-his-own-counterterrorism-strategy/"> <h3 class="hed">Has Trump Read His Own Counterterrorism Strategy?</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -ago"> <time pubdate datetime="2018-10-12" title="October 12th, 2018" class="date-time"> October 12, 2018, 5:45 PM</time> </div> </div> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/12/trumps-latest-china-salvo-could-hurt-u-s-nuke-industry/"> <h3 class="hed">Trump’s Latest China Salvo Could Hurt U.S. Nuke Industry</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -ago"> <time pubdate datetime="2018-10-12" title="October 12th, 2018" class="date-time"> October 12, 2018, 12:43 PM</time> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sidebar-list-more"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/category/latest/">See All Stories</a> </div> </div> <div class="fp-trending-wrapper trending-articles--no-video"> <div class="trending-articles"> <p><span class="heading">Trending</span></p> <ol> <li class="fp-trending-content"> <div class="fp-trending-count">1</div> <div class="title"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/05/bolsonaros-model-its-goebbels-fascism-nazism-brazil-latin-america-populism-argentina-venezuela/">Jair Bolsonaro’s Model Isn’t Berlusconi. It’s Goebbels.</a> <span class="fp-trending-shares">51579 Shares</span> </div> </li> <li class="fp-trending-content"> <div class="fp-trending-count">2</div> <div class="title"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/25/taiwan-can-win-a-war-with-china/">Taiwan Can Win a War With China</a> <span class="fp-trending-shares">20276 Shares</span> </div> </li> <li class="fp-trending-content"> <div class="fp-trending-count">3</div> <div class="title"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/02/what-sort-of-world-are-we-headed-for/">What Sort of World Are We Headed for?</a> <span class="fp-trending-shares">642 Shares</span> </div> </li> <li class="fp-trending-content"> <div class="fp-trending-count">4</div> <div class="title"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/top-fifty-schools-international-relations-foreign-policy/">The Best International Relations Schools in the World</a> <span class="fp-trending-shares">11802 Shares</span> </div> </li> <li class="fp-trending-content"> <div class="fp-trending-count">5</div> <div class="title"> <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/10/isiss-new-plans-to-get-rich-and-wreak-havoc/">ISIS’s New Plans to Get Rich and Wreak Havoc</a> <span class="fp-trending-shares">638 Shares</span> </div> </li> </ol> </div> </div> <div class="ad-container _300"> <div id="div-gpt-ad-1390433129530-0"> <script type="text/javascript"> googletag.cmd.push( function() { googletag.display( "div-gpt-ad-1390433129530-0" ); } ); </script> </div> </div> <div class="sidebar-list"> <h2 class="title">Voices</h2> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/09/jamal-khashoggis-disappearance-is-even-stranger-than-it-seems/"> <h3 class="hed">Jamal Khashoggi’s Disappearance Is Even Stranger Than It Seems</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -excerpt"> <address class="author-list -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/steven-a-cook/" rel="author" class="author"> Steven A. Cook</a> </address> </div> </div> <div class="excerpt-content"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us/"> <h3 class="hed">The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us.</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -excerpt"> <address class="author-list -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/micah-zenko/" rel="author" class="author"> Micah Zenko</a> </address> </div> </div> <div class="excerpt-content last"> <a class="hed-heading -excerpt" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/02/what-sort-of-world-are-we-headed-for/"> <h3 class="hed">What Sort of World Are We Headed for?</h3> </a> <div class="meta-data -excerpt"> <address class="author-list -excerpt"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/stephen-m-walt/" rel="author" class="author"> Stephen M. Walt</a> </address> </div> </div> </div> <div class="channel-sidebar-big-box-ad _300"> <div id="div-gpt-ad-1385071228815-0"> <script type="text/javascript"> googletag.cmd.push( function() { googletag.display( "div-gpt-ad-1385071228815-0" ); } ); </script> </div> </div></div> </div> </div> <div class="sticky_content"></div> <footer class="site-footer-wrapper"> <div class="site-footer"> <div class="logo"> <a style="padding-bottom:42%; " href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/" class="image-attachment -ratioscale"> <img data-srcset="" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/logos/FP.svg" alt="Foreign Policy Magazine" class="image -lazy -fit"> <noscript> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/logos/FP.svg" alt="Foreign Policy Magazine" class="image -fit"> </noscript> </a> </div> <nav class="nav"> <ul id="menu-footer-column-1" class="footer-menu"><li id="menu-item-660877" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-660877 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://fpgroup.foreignpolicy.com/" class="navlink">About FP</a></li> <li id="menu-item-783354" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-783354 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/staff/" class="navlink">Meet the Staff</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660950" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-660950 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/reprint-permissions/" class="navlink">Reprint Permissions</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660880" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-660880 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://fpgroup.foreignpolicy.com/" class="navlink">Advertising</a></li> </ul><ul id="menu-footer-column-2" class="footer-menu"><li id="menu-item-939400" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-939400 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.submittable.com/submit" class="navlink">Writer’s Guidelines</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660882" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-660882 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/http://fpgroup.foreignpolicy.com/news" class="navlink">Press Room</a></li> <li id="menu-item-927639" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-927639 footer-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/employment-opportunities/" class="navlink">Work At FP</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660957" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-660957 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/subscription-services/" class="navlink">Subscription Services</a></li> </ul><ul id="menu-footer-column-3" class="footer-menu"><li id="menu-item-927960" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-927960 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fpguide.foreignpolicy.com/" class="navlink">FP Guides – Graduate Education</a></li> <li id="menu-item-927640" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-927640 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/flexreg/displayform.php?utm_source=web&utm_medium=homepage%20footer&utm_term=academic%20services&utm_content=50%25%20off&utm_campaign=premium&g=0&form=161&pc=5EAH" class="navlink">Academic Program – FP Premium</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660886" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-660886 footer-menu-item"><a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/magazine" class="navlink">FP Archive</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660961" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-660961 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/buy-back-issues/" class="navlink">Buy Back Issues</a></li> </ul><ul id="menu-footer-column-4" class="footer-menu"><li id="menu-item-927961" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-927961 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/privacy/" class="navlink">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li id="menu-item-660967" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-660967 footer-menu-item"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/contact-us/" class="navlink">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> <span class="powered-by-wpcom--parent"> <div>Powered by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://vip.wordpress.com/?utm_source=vip_powered_wpcom&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=VIP%20Footer%20Credit&utm_term=foreignpolicy.com" rel="generator nofollow" class="powered-by-wpcom">WordPress.com VIP</a></div> <div>© 2018, The Slate Group</div> </span> </nav> </div> </footer> </div> <div data-campaign="HSBC ROS nd Econ" data-stay-closed="false" data-mobile-ad="div-gpt-ad-1453402331387-0" data-refresh="30000" data-closeable="false" class="FP-mobile-ad FP-mobile-ad_fixedbottom"></div> <script id="template-mobile-regwall" type="text/template"> <div id="paywall_bg" class="mobile-regwall"> <div id="paywallWrapper"> <h1 class="medium_header" style="color: #fff;"> Please Log In / Register </h1> <h2>Returning Users</h2> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/login/loginlogout.cgi" class="overlay-button-large m-regwall-link FP-paywall--login" data-gael="MobiRegwallLogin">Log in</a> <h2>Want Unlimited Access?</h2> <a href="javascript:void(0);" class="overlay-button-large m-regwall_sublink" data-gael="MobiRegwallSub">Subscribe — 20% Off</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/" class="paywall_close_btn" data-gael="MobiRegwallClose"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/static/images/articlecounter-close.png" class="paywall_close simplemodal-close" alt="[X]"> </a> </div> </div> </script> <script id="template-ip-access" type="text/template"> <div class="overlay-container-dark overlay-the-week"> <button class="overlay-close"> Close this window <span></span> </button> <div class="overlay-content"> <h1 class="overlay-title">Welcome to <cite>ForeignPolicy.com</cite></h1> <div class="overlay-body"> <p> Your FP All Access subscription is provided by US Department of State, Bunche Library. </p> <p> Click <a class="overlay-close-link" href="javascript:void(0);">here</a> to access <cite>ForeignPolicy.com</cite>. </p> </div> </div> </div> </script> <script id="template-paywall-a" type="text/template"> <div id="paywall_bg" class="updated_paywall"> <div id="paywallWrapper"> <div id="paywall_header"> <h1> Great choice of article! Want to finish it? </h1> <h2>Support FP to keep reading.</h2> </div> <div class="paywall_text"> <p>Get access to all of Foreign Policy's content, subscriber-only newsletters, and the digital version of FP's award-winning magazine with our Basic subscription.</p> <div class="sub_btn_wrapper"> <a href="javascript:void(0);" data-action="Sub" class="sub_btn"> Keep reading for $2.25/week </a> </div> <p class="learn-more">Learn More</p> <div class="learn-more-content"> <p><strong>INCLUDED:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Unlimited access to articles</li> <li>Four FP email newsletters</li> <li>Digital access to FP's print edition</li> </ul> <p class="close-learn-more"><img draggable="false" class="emoji" alt="❌" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close-black.svg">  Close</p> </div> </div> <p class="paywall_footer_cta"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/login/loginlogout.php" data-action="Log" class="already_sub_link FP-paywall--login"> Already a subscriber? <strong>Sign in to keep reading</strong>. </a> </p> <a href="javascript:void(0);" data-action="Close" class="paywall_close_btn"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close-white.svg" class="paywall_close simplemodal-close" alt="[X]"> </a> </div> </div> </script> <script id="template-paywall-b" type="text/template"> <div id="paywall_bg" class="updated_paywall"> <div id="paywallWrapper"> <div id="paywall_header"> <h1> Great choice of article! Want to finish it? </h1> <h2>Support FP to keep reading.</h2> </div> <div class="paywall_text"> <p>Get access to all of Foreign Policy's content, subscriber-only newsletters, and the digital version of FP's award-winning magazine with our Basic subscription.</p> <div class="sub_btn_wrapper"> <a href="javascript:void(0);" data-action="Sub" class="sub_btn"> Subscribe Today </a> </div> <p class="learn-more">Learn More</p> <div class="learn-more-content"> <p><strong>INCLUDED:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Unlimited access to articles</li> <li>Four FP email newsletters</li> <li>Digital access to FP's print edition</li> </ul> <p class="close-learn-more"><img draggable="false" class="emoji" alt="❌" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close-black.svg">  Close</p> </div> </div> <p class="paywall_footer_cta"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/login/loginlogout.php" data-action="Log" class="already_sub_link FP-paywall--login"> Already a subscriber? <strong>Sign in to keep reading</strong>. </a> </p> <a href="javascript:void(0);" data-action="Close" class="paywall_close_btn"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close-white.svg" class="paywall_close simplemodal-close" alt="[X]"> </a> </div> </div> </script> <div class="overlay-container-dark login-modal-container"> <div class="login-modal"> <span class="close-button"></span> <div class="sign-in"> <h3>Welcome back</h3> <p>Sign in to your <span class="fp-red">Foreign Policy</span> account</p> <form action="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/login/loginlogout.php" method="POST" name="loginform"> <label for="loginlogout_username">Email Address</label> <input type="text" name="loginlogout_username" id="loginlogout_username" placeholder="Enter your Email Address"/> <a class="show-sign-in--step-2 modal-button">Next</a> <div class="sign-in--step-2"> <label for="loginlogout_passwd">Password</label> <input type="password" name="loginlogout_passwd" id="loginlogout_passwd" placeholder="Enter your Password"/> <a href="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://fp-reg.onecount.net/onecount/login/forgotpassword.php?return=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2F&brand=fp" class="small-link" target="_blank">Forgot Password?</a> <input type="submit" class="button" value="Sign In" name="loginlogoutSubmit_login"/> </div> </form> </div> <div class="create-account"> <div class="create-account--step-1"> <h4>Need an account?</h4> <p>Sign up for free access to 3 articles per month and weekly email updates from expert policy analysts</p> <a class="show-create-account--step-2 modal-button">Sign Up</a> </div> <div class="create-account--step-2"> <p class="sign-in--option">Already have an account? <a class="show-sign-in--step-2">Log in</a></p> <h3>Sign Up</h3> <p>Create a <span class="fp-red">Foreign Policy</span> account to access 3 articles per month and free newsletters developed by policy experts</p> <div id="oc-create-account-form"></div> <script> // Initialize OneCount sign up form iframe embed var option = { "containerid" : "oc-create-account-form", "domain" : "fp-reg.onecount.net", "type" : "form", "formid" : 379 }; GCN.onecount.form.embed(option); </script> </div> </div> <div class="callouts"> <p>Want unlimited access? <a href="/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe">Subscribe today</a>.</p> </div> <div class="back"> <span class="show-sign-in--step-1">Go Back</span> </div> </div> </div> <script id="marketing-takeover__anon" data-template="default" data-close-text="" type="text/template"><div id="paywall_bg" class="updated_paywall takeover_paywall"> <div id="paywallWrapper"> <div id="paywall_header"> <h1>We connect the dots among politics, places, and people.</h1> </div> <div class="paywall_text"> <h2>Support Foreign Policy by becoming a subscriber today:</h2> <div class="learn-more-content"> <ul> <li>Unlimited access to articles</li> <li>Four FP email newsletters</li> <li>Digital access to FP’s print edition</li> </ul> </div> <div class="button button_black"> <a href="/subscribe">View Subscription Offers</a> </div> <p class="footer_cta">Not ready to subscribe? <a href="?modal=login&form=signup" class="FP-paywall--login FP-paywall--login--signup">Sign up</a> to enjoy three free articles, on the house.</p> </div> </div> <p><a class="paywall_close_btn"><br /> <img class="paywall_close simplemodal-close no-lazy-load" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close-white.svg" alt="[X]" /><br /> </a></p> </div> </div> <div></div></script> <script id="marketing-takeover__print" data-template="default" data-close-text="" type="text/template"><div id="paywall_bg" class="updated_paywall takeover_paywall"> <div id="paywallWrapper"> <div id="paywall_header"> <h1>We connect the dots among politics, places, and people.</h1> </div> <div class="paywall_text"> <h2>Support Foreign Policy by becoming a subscriber today:</h2> <div class="learn-more-content"> <ul> <li>Unlimited access to articles</li> <li>Four FP email newsletters</li> <li>Digital access to FP’s print edition</li> </ul> </div> <div class="button button_black"> <a href="/subscribe">View Subscription Offers</a> </div> <p class="footer_cta">Not ready to subscribe? <a href="?modal=login&form=signup" class="FP-paywall--login FP-paywall--login--signup">Sign up</a> to enjoy three free articles, on the house.</p> </div> </div> <p><a class="paywall_close_btn"><br /> <img class="paywall_close simplemodal-close no-lazy-load" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/themes/vip/foreign-policy-2017/assets/src/images/icons/close-white.svg" alt="[X]" /><br /> </a></p> </div> </div> <div></div></script> <script> var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "18406752" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); </script> <noscript> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=18406752&cv=2.0&cj=1" alt="pixel"> </noscript> <script> !function(e,t,n,s,u,a){e.twq||(s=e.twq=function(){s.exe?s.exe.apply(s,arguments):s.queue.push(arguments); },s.version='1.1',s.queue=[],u=t.createElement(n),u.async=!0,u.src='//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://static.ads-twitter.com/uwt.js', a=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0],a.parentNode.insertBefore(u,a))}(window,document,'script'); // Insert Twitter Pixel ID and Standard Event data below twq('init','nzlz2'); twq('track','PageView'); </script> <script> window.onload = function() { var userStatus = FP.Singletons.User.isStatus().then(function (is) { var userStatus = 'anon'; if(is.sub) { userStatus = 'paid'; } else if(is.prem) { userStatus = 'paid'; } else if(is.reg) { userStatus = 'lgdin'; } var _sf_async_config = _sf_async_config || {}; /** CONFIGURATION START **/ _sf_async_config.uid = 62828; _sf_async_config.domain = 'foreignpolicy.com'; _sf_async_config.useCanonical = true; _sf_async_config.sections = "Voice"; _sf_async_config.authors = "Micah Zenko"; _cbq = window._cbq = (window._cbq || []); _cbq.push(['_acct', userStatus]); /** CONFIGURATION END **/ (function() { function loadChartbeat() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript'); e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); e.setAttribute('src', '//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js'); document.body.appendChild(e); } var oldonload = window.onload; window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ? loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); }; })(); }); } </script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/http:\/\/schema.org","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Foreign Policy","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":60,"url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/04\/logo.png","width":74}},"@type":"BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2018\/10\/03\/the-problem-isnt-fake-news-from-russia-its-us\/"},"headline":"The Problem Isn\u2019t Fake News From Russia. It\u2019s Us.","description":"Propaganda has long affected elections around the world because publics have an appetite for it.","datePublished":"2018-10-03T15:22:04+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-03T15:22:04+00:00","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Micah Zenko"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/10\/gettyimages-1038063180.jpg?w=1500","height":1000,"width":1500}}</script>   <div id="parsely-root" style="display: none"> <div id="parsely-cfg" data-parsely-site="foreignpolicy.com"></div> </div> <script data-cfasync="false"> (function (s, p, d) { var h = d.location.protocol, i = p + "-" + s, e = d.getElementById(i), r = d.getElementById(p + "-root"), u = h === "https:" ? "d1z2jf7jlzjs58.cloudfront.net" : "static." + p + ".com"; if (e) return; e = d.createElement(s); e.id = i; e.async = true; e.setAttribute('data-cfasync', 'false'); e.src = h + "//" + u + "/p.js"; r.appendChild(e); })("script", "parsely", document); </script>  <script type="text/javascript"> var _sf_async_config={}; _sf_async_config.uid = "62828"; _sf_async_config.domain = "foreignpolicy.com"; _sf_async_config.useCanonical = "true"; _sf_async_config.authors = "Micah Zenko"; _sf_async_config.sections = "Voice"; (function(){ function loadChartbeat() { window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime(); var e = document.createElement('script'); e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript'); e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); e.setAttribute('src', "\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js" ); document.body.appendChild(e); } var oldonload = window.onload; window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ? loadChartbeat : function() { try { oldonload(); } catch (e) { loadChartbeat(); throw e} loadChartbeat(); }; })(); </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s0.wp.com/_static/??-eJzTLy/QzcxLzilNSS3WzwKiwtLUokoopZdVrKOPT4FubmZ6UWJJql5uZh5QsX2uraGJmZmpkbGluUUWACWqILk="></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://0.gravatar.com/js/gprofiles.js?ver=201842y"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var WPGroHo = {"my_hash":""}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s1.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/gravatar-hovercards/wpgroho.js?m=1380573781h"></script> <script> //initialize and attach hovercards to all gravatars jQuery( document ).ready( function( $ ) { if (typeof Gravatar === "undefined"){ return; } if ( typeof Gravatar.init !== "function" ) { return; } Gravatar.profile_cb = function( hash, id ) { WPGroHo.syncProfileData( hash, id ); }; Gravatar.my_hash = WPGroHo.my_hash; Gravatar.init( 'body', '#wp-admin-bar-my-account' ); }); </script> <div style="display:none"> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var HighlanderComments = {"loggingInText":"Logging In\u2026","submittingText":"Posting Comment\u2026","postCommentText":"Post Comment","connectingToText":"Connecting to %s","commentingAsText":"%1$s: You are commenting using your %2$s account.","logoutText":"Log Out","loginText":"Log In","connectURL":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com\/public.api\/connect\/?action=request","logoutURL":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicymag.wordpress.com\/wp-login.php?action=logout&_wpnonce=aa8df2b22f","homeURL":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/","postID":"949787","gravDefault":"identicon","enterACommentError":"Please enter a comment","enterEmailError":"Please enter your email address here","invalidEmailError":"Invalid email address","enterAuthorError":"Please enter your name here","gravatarFromEmail":"This picture will show whenever you leave a comment. Click to customize it.","logInToExternalAccount":"Log in to use details from one of these accounts.","change":"Change","changeAccount":"Change Account","comment_registration":"","userIsLoggedIn":"","isJetpack":"","text_direction":"ltr"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s2.wp.com/_static/??/wp-content/js/jquery/jquery.autoresize.js,/wp-content/mu-plugins/highlander-comments/script.js?m=1521806916j"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var fpUtilsLoc = {"isDev":"","redirectUri":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/share_redirect\/"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s1.wp.com/_static/??-eJylkMEOwjAMQ3+IkpUNOCG+pQthy+iaqglF/D2VOHBGO9kXP9mGV3YoySgZ2EwrKVTOcJdCPCWXJTK+3aHzZwiqZApaEBQL5+ZHmkNlKQqp6RSMJe0X3cEmaqV0kwIYdP4TptYqICwKT+OoEAVDVJMSJtqG2r7q9xWKPJhcy+u313W9+GPf++Hku2H5ABSik7s="></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/foreignpolicy/loader.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var FPMarketingSettings = {"_preview":null,"sponsored":null,"anon":{"ID":946872,"campaign":"8_23_18"},"anon_b":{"ID":null,"campaign":"8_23_18"},"print":{"ID":946872,"campaign":"8_23_18"},"print_b":{"ID":null,"campaign":"8_23_18"},"premium":null,"__meta":{"disable_paywall":false,"localdata_prefix":"__FPMarketingTakeover_","tracking_prefix":""}}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var myFpAlertsLoc = {"isVIPEnv":"1"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var fpIPAccessState = {"printArchiveUrl":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/print-archive\/","ipAccessEnabled":"1","fpAnalyticsUrl":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/fp-insights\/"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var fpPaywallAfterArticle = {"links":["https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/www.foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=Sticky%20%231_A%20-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=Sticky%20%231_A&utm_campaign=Premium","https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/www.foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=Sticky%20%232_A%20-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=Sticky%20%232_A&utm_campaign=Premium","https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/www.foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=Sticky%20%233_A%20-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=Sticky%20%233_A&utm_campaign=Premium"],"links_text":["<b>Thank you for reading Foreign Policy<\/b>.<br \/>You\u2019re almost out of free articles this month; subscribe for unlimited content.","<b>Thank you for reading Foreign Policy<\/b>.<br \/>You\u2019re almost out of free articles this month; subscribe for unlimited content.","<b>Thank you for reading Foreign Policy<\/b>.<br \/>You\u2019re almost out of free articles this month; subscribe for unlimited content."],"offers_text":["Subscribe for $2.25\/week","Subscribe for $2.25\/week","Subscribe for $2.25\/week"],"links_b":["","",""],"links_b_text":["","",""],"offers_b_text":["","",""]}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var fpPaywallPopup = {"links":{"links":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/www.foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=Sticky%20%233_A%20-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=Sticky%20%233_A&utm_campaign=Premium","links_text":"<b>Thank you for reading Foreign Policy<\/b>.<br \/>You\u2019re almost out of free articles this month; subscribe for unlimited content.","offers_text":"Subscribe for $2.25\/week","links_b":"\/subscribe","links_b_text":"","offers_b_text":"","popup":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe?utm_source=Paywall_A%20-%20Launched%2018_08_23&utm_medium=Paywall_A&utm_campaign=Premium","popupB":""}}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var fpPaywallRegwall = {"link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20181015031143\/https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/?modal=login&utm_source=web&utm_medium=takeover%20launched%2018%2F08%2F23&utm_term=mobile%20reg%20wall&utm_content=99%20cent%20first%20month&utm_campaign=premium"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var zMoatADVERTISER = {"moatPassback":"editorial"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://s2.wp.com/_static/??-eJy11s1OwzAMAOAXooQNoYkD4sILwImrl5nWnRNnsdtpb09AICY2ofWHU6JK/uQ6dlO3T5WXaBjNWYMB1fWU3JtkpDpWSZj8oVreLFYOVNHUafZOfaZU9j3GjWRnsBZhuG71yl3uqYGRd626dtdhPlx7kS3hQOVMVp0Rq0tZAulsnFqmWE/XtCiMJrHAinmu9GgzXVpjAz1JVueBfcdguKmMimIQ0tTTfeuiL9jwIp5IDalJWScySiExBtkAT+/crKMNYMyl+u3zJ/X6JAEovmCR1UajpFWQNfHQ/j8SUgXeow59sT8bi6WmWI2p+Rk2wWEPzI4pbmfNEnKpAWO1B/PNHDP6nenX+n9wCVeocYZq/JaTpG7oN+ACNmP9sU6HDbYoPeaj3XTUS0gSS2x53OUeD+OnPHXMu05shgvptFFTOfPRmQUB+46a7bYUT8DaQB7ciz+JYfmr+Bzsx/CwuLu9X65Wy7tF+w7W8jlm"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> // <![CDATA[ (function() { try{ if ( window.external &&'msIsSiteMode' in window.external) { if (window.external.msIsSiteMode()) { var jl = document.createElement('script'); jl.type='text/javascript'; jl.async=true; jl.src='/wp-content/plugins/ie-sitemode/custom-jumplist.php'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(jl, s); } } }catch(e){} })(); // ]]> </script><script src="//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143js_/https://stats.wp.com/w.js?56" type="text/javascript" async defer></script> <script type="text/javascript"> _tkq = window._tkq || []; _stq = window._stq || []; _tkq.push(['storeContext', {'blog_id':'71129472','blog_tz':'-4','user_lang':'en','blog_lang':'en','user_id':'0'}]); _stq.push(['view', {'blog':'71129472','v':'wpcom','tz':'-4','user_id':'0','post':'949787','subd':'foreignpolicymag'}]); function st_vt() {var x=document.createElement("img");x.src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://pixel.wp.com/g.gif?blog=71129472&v=wpcomvt&tz=-4&user_id=0&post=949787&subd=foreignpolicymag&rand="+Math.random();} _stq.push(['extra', {'crypt':'UE5tW3cvZGRlby1IQz1KU25CUU90fDJnTXl0ZC58TGsublNtWkhSRV9CLkI9Zjd8SnBDK2NHVSw4b3ctVGs9azh3a2oldmw2cltlUGx6fkIranBOR353cUFSUF1KMDdEW3p4fFdmODIxZ0JWYlExTThUT00wK353WXlGflhIaDgxZDRzRk16fnloOEsrZW0yN3U3NGU3dywtK3BzVDItaE41elphfltGP24/eXRJLXYtYzhBdHo1NH4mZGg='}]); _stq.push([ 'clickTrackerInit', '71129472', '949787' ]); </script> <noscript><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181015031143im_/https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" style="height:0px;width:0px;overflow:hidden" alt=""/></noscript> <script> if ( 'object' === typeof wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info ) { wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.init(); var mobileStatsQueryString = ""; if( false !== wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedPlatformName ) mobileStatsQueryString += "&x_" + 'mobile_platforms' + '=' + wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedPlatformName; if( false !== wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedUserAgentName ) mobileStatsQueryString += "&x_" + 'mobile_devices' + '=' + wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedUserAgentName; if( wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.isIPad() ) mobileStatsQueryString += "&x_" + 'ipad_views' + '=' + 'views'; if( "" != mobileStatsQueryString ) { new Image().src = document.location.protocol + '//web.archive.org/web/20181015031143/https://pixel.wp.com/g.gif?v=wpcom-no-pv' + mobileStatsQueryString + '&baba=' + Math.random(); } } </script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

The Problem Isn’t Fake News From Russia. It’s Us. – Foreign Policy