She's right but it's not some ground breaking discovery when it's been known for a hundred years. She breaks it down so beautifully though.
1. Historical Soviet Strategy**
The Soviet Union actively used racial injustice in the U.S. as propaganda to undermine American credibility. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Comintern targeted African Americans in the South, advocating for “self-determination for the Black Belt” and even floated the idea of a “Southern Autonomous State.” Soviet propaganda highlighted cases like the Scottsboro Boys trial to portray the U.S. as hypocritical on human rights and to promote communism as a racial utopia.
2. Modern Russian Tactics
Russia revived these tactics in the digital age. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Kremlin-backed operations used social media to amplify racial tensions. Over half of the Facebook ads from the Internet Research Agency referenced race, aiming to deepen divisions and erode trust in democratic institutions.
Russian campaigns also leveraged movements like Black Lives Matter to sow discord and discredit U.S. moral authority, using “whataboutism” to highlight racial issues while masking foreign involvement.
3. Chinese and Iranian Influence
China’s “Dragonbridge” disinformation network has exploited racial strife and social injustice to criticize American society. Chinese officials and fake accounts have posted about racism in America, including during the Hong Kong protests and U.S. elections. In 2023, reports revealed China’s use of AI-generated images tied to Black Lives Matter to fuel division.
Iran has similarly used race-related narratives in online influence campaigns, mimicking Russian strategies to create divisions during U.S. elections.
4. Declassified Intelligence Assessments
Recent U.S. intelligence assessments confirm that foreign actors—including Russia, China, and Iran—view amplifying U.S. societal divisions as a strategic goal. These efforts aim to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and weaken U.S. global standing.