STAT

Opinion: Russian bots are taking aim at U.S. public health

Our military is no longer enough to protect U.S. national safety and public health. We now need cyberdefenses against Russian bots as well.
Source: Matt Rourke/AP

It almost makes sense, in a most devious way, that the Russian government used a disinformation campaign to try to sway the 2016 elections. That campaign has been front and center in many news cycles. But a disinformation campaign that has garnered little attention was aimed at the public health of the United States.

This week nearly 600 Russia-linked Twitter accounts broadcast disinformation aimed at seeding dissent and confusion about insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This campaign not only sought to exacerbate political tensions, but it was also implicitly aimed at

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