Alabama AG targets possible 'false flag' operation against Roy Moore in last year's Senate race

Alabama may be on the verge of its own disinformation investigation.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) narrowly beat Republican Roy Moore in the deep-red state's U.S. Senate race last year. But after a New York Times report detailed how Democrats led a social media disinformation campaign against Moore during the race, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has decided to probe further, The Washington Post reports.

Moore's tight loss is largely attributed to multiple credible allegations of sexual predation levied against him as the race went on — allegations which Moore denied. But the Times detailed how "Democratic tech experts" deployed a Russia-style deception campaign on Facebook and Twitter to influence the race in Jones' favor. The project was an "elaborate 'false flag' operation" that made it look as if Moore's social media accounts were flooded with Russian bot followers, the report says. The follower count gained national attention, and so did the race. LinkedIn co-found Reid Hoffman was named in the article and said Wednesday he didn't know his money would fund disinformation.

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"The secret project ... was likely too small to have a significant effect on the race," the Times wrote. But Marshall countered, telling the Post on Thursday that the "impact it had on the election is something that's significant for us to explore." Marshall didn't commit to a full investigation into the project, but said his office would "explore the issue further." Jones called on federal investigators to probe the disinformation campaign after the Times report surfaced, and Hoffman agreed in his Wednesday statement.

Spokespersons for Moore and Jones did not immediately respond to the Post's requests for comment. Read more at The Washington Post.