Russia Used Pokémon Go To Spread Hate During 2016 Elections

The matter of the Russian election tampering has just gotten a little more insidious thanks to news that Kremlin-backed efforts to interfere with US democracy involved Pokémon Go. The massively popular smartphone app was apparently used by Russia to spread hate and racial tensions. What’s worse is that the agents involved actually posed as members of the Black Lives Matter movement.

This discovery was first reported by CNN, detailing how a campaign titled “Don’t Shoot Us” was created by Russian agents in order to sow discord among Americans. The campaign actually spanned several platforms, including Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. However, it’s the part about the agents using Pokémon Go that is really dominating the headlines.

Social media antics have become a dime a dozen in recent months, with the involvement of Facebook and even Google are already seen as stale news. On the other hand, Pokémon Go still represents a positive image to a lot of people, such as bringing various groups and ethnicities together in a way that is rarely seen. To use such a platform to spread hate, therefore, is seen as a complete pollution of the game.

As for how this was done, the campaign created a contest encouraging players to catch Pokémon in or near spots where police brutality occurred. This might seem like nothing more than a way to spread the message of fighting racism, but sources indicate that it was actually meant to fan the flames of discord between African-American protesters and other citizens who view them as dangerous.

Winners of the contest would apparently be given Amazon gift cards, The Verge notes, but there has been no evidence to suggest that anyone participated in the contest or that the cards were given out. What this new development does suggest is how sinister the Russian plot to divide America was and continues to be.