Russian 'Flash Mob' Urges U.S. to Free Maria Butina (NYT)

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/world/europe/russia-social-media-maria-butina.html

Russian ‘Flash Mob’ Urges U.S. to Free Maria Butina
By Megan Specia
July 20, 2018

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has begun a social media campaign calling for the release of Maria Butina, whom American prosecutors accused this week of acting as a covert Russian agent.

Federal prosecutors say that Ms. Butina, 29, attempted to infiltrate political organizations and influence politicians while living in Washington on a student visa. Russia has denied the allegations.

Now, Moscow is using its formidable social media apparatus to press for her release. The Foreign Ministry posted a call to action on its Twitter account on Thursday, declaring that it was mobilizing a digital “flash mob” in support of Ms. Butina and urged supporters to change their profile pictures to that of Ms. Butina.

A similar message was posted to the ministry’s Facebook page, and both accounts switched over to an image of Ms. Butina, her red hair blowing in the breeze. The accounts also urged Russians to share messages under the hashtag #FreeMariaButina to voice their support.

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[spanone]

1. trump will grant her a pardon

[kysrsoze]

2. FFS. This is completely asinine. They should do a Russian dance too.

[Fred Sanders]

4. I have noticed an uptick in Russian propganda site Sputnik News infiltrating American social media

again just as they did in the months before the 2016 election...example...a vicious anti-Clinton article equating the things she said about Russia in 2010 to today...ignoring things have kinda changed since then regarding the whole cyberattacks and spies and money laundering stuff.

They are opening the floodgates again and Putinpublicans are good with it...so sad they do not se themselves as the world does...traitors to their own country.

[notdarkyet]

3. Go

Home. GEt out of our country.

[RainCaster]

5. Let her spend her time in our prison system "lobbying" for Putin

Our country is much better off if she is on her back in a cell block. Soon enough the GOP will be in there with her.

[Downtown Hound]

6. Dear Russian flash mob:

No.

Have a nice day.

[oberliner]

7. That's not what a flash mob is

[oasis]

8. Strike up the band maestro

[sdfernando]

9. Curious that the ruskies should spend so much resources

trying to get Maria Butina released. You'ld think she was some kind of a spy....Oh, wait!

[onecaliberal]

10. I really don't care, do you?

[smirkymonkey]

11. Perfect response!

[jpak]

12. Good - then we will know who all the FSB/GRU/RedSparrow/GOPRussian assets are

Lock them up.

yup

[StarryNite]

13. If she wasn't a spy...

they wouldn't bother doing this.

[H2O Man]

14. Yikes!

I hope there isn't a republican Flesh Mob forming in DC to protest for her release.

[Initech]

15. Go fuck yourselves, Russian douchebags!