Russian operatives got more than 62,000 Facebook users to confirm they were attending sham events during the 2016 election


Russian agents managed to get fake Facebook events in front of the eyes of almost 340,000 users during the 2016 election, with 62,500 users going as far as to confirm their plans to attend. The numbers reflect Russian trolls' startling ability to physically mobilize Americans through social media, a development that former FBI agent Clinton Watts told The Washington Post was "unprecedented."
The Russian operatives "just did it persistently, and they did it well," Watts said.
Facebook previously admitted that an estimated 126 million people saw free posts made by Russian operatives, and another 10 million saw ads paid for by the St. Petersburg "troll farm" known as the Internet Research Agency. It isn't clear how many people actually showed up for any of the 129 events pushed by Russian agents, and Facebook won't confirm a full list of events.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Despite the lack of transparency, Facebook has previously disclosed that Russian-controlled accounts were behind two dueling rallies at the same place and time in Houston, "Stop Islamization of Texas" and "Save Islamic Knowledge," which serve as an example of "how Russians hoped to turn divisions into open conflict," The Washington Post writes.
"This was … about measuring individual motivations to translate online signals into real-world behaviors," said Columbia University journalism research director Jonathan Albright. Read more about Russian agents' efforts to physically motivate Americans during the election at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Easy listening: the best audiobooks
The Week Recommends Swap hefty hardbacks for hands-free reading this summer
-
Sharenting: does covering children's faces on social media protect them?
In The Spotlight Privacy trend has 'trickled down' from celebrity parents but it may not protect your kids
-
Syria's returning refugees
The Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump