Is Russian social media meddling 'cyberwarfare'?

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US lawmakers say Russia's use of social media in the 2016 presidential election amounts to cyberwarfare. Sens Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Angus King (I-ME) both used that term to describe Russian accounts and advertising that sowed division among Americans by promoting fake news and even protests. "This country has to have some kind of cyberwarfare deterrent capacity," Sen King said. "Right now, there's no price to be paid for meddling in our democracy." But there's no explicit definition or legal framework in the United States for what constitutes cyberwar. So far, there are no reports of physical injury as a result of the Russian campaigns. Two protests organized by Russian trolls in Texas were reportedly non-violent. But they targeted American democracy by relying on Facebook and Twitter's power to share information to large audiences.


Is Russian social media meddling 'cyberwarfare'?