Reddit Links The Leak of US-UK Trade Document to Russian Influence Campaign

Reddit said that account activity including the leak and amplification of delicate UK-US trade talks took place in its platform was the work of Russian operatives part of a long-running political impact project.

Or in a simple way, the platform believes that Russian operatives lag the leak of delicate trade information. The leakage took place in late October when a Reddit user, Gregoratior published multiple files. These files consist of the contents of the continuous US-UK trade talks taking location in the Trade and Financial Investment Working Group (TIWG).

Reddit has composed in a post going over the “Suspected project from Russia”:

We were just recently made aware of a post on Reddit that included dripped documents from the UK. We investigated this account and the accounts linked to it, and today we think this became part of a project that has been reported as originating from Russia.

Previously this year Facebook discovered a Russian campaign on its platform, which was additionally analyzed by the Atlantic Council and dubbed “Secondary Infektion.” Believe accounts on Reddit were just recently reported to us, along with indications from law enforcement, and we had the ability to verify that they did indeed show a pattern of coordination. We were then able to utilize these accounts to recognize additional suspect accounts that belonged to the project on Reddit. This group offers us important attribution for the recent posting of the leaked UK files, as well as insights into how foes are adapting their techniques.

The UK’s General Election

It is proven that the dripped files are authentic after the UK Labour Celebration used excerpts from the 451-page release in its project for the UK general elections.

According to AFP, there are more than 400 polling stations in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They were simultaneously opened at 7 am, amid the freezing winter season weather. This is the first time in nearly a century that the UK held the basic elections in December. The freezing temperature level with rain and snow may impact the number of voters voting.

The UK has been in the political deadlock circumstance given that the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union. The minority Conservative federal government has struggled to work out a Brexit offer that parliament backs.

With more 9 seats, Boris Johnson and the Conservative party can impulse the Brexit agreement with Brussels. Johnson said that the December 12 election is an opportunity to end more than 3 years of deadlock and political unpredictability.

The Results of The Leaked Files

The dripped file has revealed that the UK Conservative Celebration has the objective to offer the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) to US private medical insurance firms and drug companies. That is a substantial advantage for the opposing Labour celebration, who utilizes the leak to improve its pre-vote standings.

After holding the leak, Labour celebration leader, Jeremy Corbyn, showed a heavily redacted variation of the document during a TV leaders debate. Then, he called a press conference to reveal a completely unredacted variation of the data. Leveraging the document, Corbyn tries to prove that the NHS remains in severe danger if the Conservatives are re-elected.

Although the Conservative party leader Johnson has rejected Labour’s allegation, the dripped document itself is real. It provides the details of preliminary conferences between the UK and United States trade negotiators, which occurred between July 2017 and July 2019. In the files, the info about the discussion of the NHS does happen, along with other concerns such as food standards.

Nevertheless, it appears that the leaked files can not alter the outcomes of the UK general election. Post-election survey results show that the Conservative celebration of Boris Johnson will win extremely in the election in England.

The Responses of Reddit

Reddit says that an account, called Gregoratior, initially published the leaked trade talks record. Then, a second account, Ostermaxnn, reposted it. The company likewise found a “pocket of accounts” that worked together to manipulate votes on the initial post in an effort to amplify it.

“As a result of this examination, we are prohibiting 1 subreddit and 61 accounts under our policies against vote control and abuse of the platform,” the company said.

In addition, the platform said Gregoratior and the other 60 banned accounts link to a Russian impact operation. That is “Secondary Infektion”, which involved the leakage of fake files on multiple online platforms. Facebook recognized and banned that operation in May.