Look at these dumb email accounts Russian trolls made to influence the 2016 election

Yours truly, [email protected].
 By 
Jack Morse
 on 
Look at these dumb email accounts Russian trolls made to influence the 2016 election
Today I will be... [email protected]! Genius! Credit: RichVintageGetty Images

We can't say they didn't have a sense of humor.

Today, the U.S. Justice Department brought detailed charges against the Russian Internet Research Agency for its attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. With those charges, we were gifted with a detailed look at the inner-workings of the Russian "troll farm" that has shaped our national discourse over the past year and a half — and it's surprisingly funny.

The Russian group has been accused of creating social media accounts tied to fake persons and paying to promote their various pro-Trump shenanigans. To accomplish this, IRA employees obtained "fraudulent bank account numbers for the purpose of evading PayPal's security measures."

The charging document lists out the "[emails] used to acquire account [numbers]," and oh man are they something to behold.

There are, of course, what you would expect to be pro-Trump tolling standards — things like "[email protected]," "[email protected]," and "[email protected]."

But then things take a turn for the absurd.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

For example, on approximately Nov. 11, 2016, someone used the email address "[email protected]" in the course of obtaining or using a bank account.

Just in case that didn't establish the requisite law-and-order Trump Country bonafides, on or around the same day someone used the email account "[email protected]" in the course of opening or using another account.

Other choice selections include "[email protected]" and "[email protected]."

Trolling is most definitely an art form (granted, not one of the higher ones), and the Russians working at the Internet Research Agency clearly had a little fun while screwing around with our democracy.

It's just too bad we're left holding the Trump-shaped bag.

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Jack Morse

Professionally paranoid. Covering privacy, security, and all things cryptocurrency and blockchain from San Francisco.

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