Malcolm Nance: Russian Twitter Accounts Were Supporting the ‘Pro-Trump’ Side Even When They Used #TakeaKnee

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” MSNBC terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance reacted to a report that Russian Twitter accounts posted tweets opposing about the NFL national anthem protests by saying that even when the Russian accounts were using the #takeaknee hashtag, they were taking a “pro-Trump” stance against kneeling.

Nance said, “Well, the biggest takeaway is that the Russians have completely weaponized the Internet. And they certainly have used Twitter with great effectiveness. I know the Senate Intelligence Committee is just starting to take a look at Twitter and their ads during the campaign. I can personally tell you there were thousands of Russian Twitter bots putting out the exact same data every day. And it was no surprise that the #takeaknee was being used, as well as #boycottnfl. But they weren’t putting out different messages. They were using an anti-NFL, anti-take a knee stance, even when they were using the #takeaknee hashtag. So, all they were doing right there was harnessing our campaign and the information that was going out about the opposition to the anthem, and weaponizing that for their own purposes, not to create chaos, but to actually push one side of that argument, which was the pro-Trump side.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett