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By Jack Stubbs/Reuters
via European Press Centre Málaga
REUTERS Reports that the leak and distribution of classified British-U.S. trade documents online
resembles a disinformation campaign uncovered this year that originated in Russia, according to
experts who say it could signal foreign interference in Britain’s election.
The opposition Labour Party said on Nov. 27 the classified documents, which first appeared online
on Oct. 21, showed the ruling Conservatives were plotting to offer up the state-run National Health
Service for sale in trade talks with Washington.
The NHS is much loved by Britons and has become an important issue in the Dec. 12 election, in which Labour trails the Conservatives despite cutting its lead in some opinion polls.
Researchers at Britain’s Oxford and Cardiff universities, the Atlantic Council thinktank and social
media analytics firm Graphika said the way the documents were first shared online mirrored a campaign called Secondary Infektion.
Secondary Infektion, uncovered by the Atlantic Council in June, used fabricated or altered documents to try to spread false narratives across at least 30 online platforms, and stemmed from a network of social media accounts which Facebook said “originated in Russia.”
“It’s on the same set of websites (as Secondary Infektion), it’s using the same types of accounts and making the same language errors. It’s either the Russian operation or someone trying hard to look like it,” said Ben Nimmo, head of investigations at Graphika.
Reuters has been unable to verify whether the documents are genuine. Labour and the British government declined immediate comment. In Washington, the U.S. Trade Representative did not respond to requests for comment.
It is not clear who was behind either operation and cyber experts say it is hard to attribute malicious
actions online with certainty.
Moscow has denied allegations of election meddling and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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