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37 B.U. Int'l L.J. 183 (2019)
Fake News: The Legality of the Russian 2016 Facebook Influence Campaign

handle is hein.journals/builj37 and id is 189 raw text is: FAKE NEWS: THE LEGALITY OF THE RUSSIAN 2016 FACEBOOK INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN ALLISON DENTON ABSTRACT From the Internet Research Agency's office building in Saint Petersburg, Russia, a number of Russian hackers created fake Facebook profiles of American citizens and used these profiles to purchase and design politically divisive Facebook advertisements. Likely backed by the Russian government, Agency hackers intended to use the fake advertisements to promote the 2016 presidential election ofDonald Trump, to cause political division in America, and to foster distrust of the American media. Using Facebook's Core Audience and Custom Audience tools exactly as they are supposed to be used, the Agency'sfake advertisements reached 126 million Facebook users. This note will first paint a picture of Russia's motives and methodologies with respect to the 2016 influence campaign. It will then analyze the Facebook influence campaign as a violation of domestic law and of international law. Concluding that the influence campaign is a violation of domestic law but not international law, this note will finally discuss the policy implications of these conclusions. INTRODUCTION................................................... 184 I.RuSsIAN MOTIVATIONS AND METHODOLOGY BEHIND THE 2016 FACEBOOK INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN ........................... 185 A. Russian Motivations Behind the 2016 Facebook Influence Campaign ......................................... 186 B. Russian Methodology Behind the Influence Campaign.......... 188 II.RuSSIAN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN AS A VIOLATION OF DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ............................. 193 A. Domestic Legal Framework.................. ....... 193 B. International Legal Framework............... ...... 195 1. Armed Attack and Use of Force....... ............. 196 2. Norm of Nonintervention........... ............... 198 3. Violation of U.S. Sovereignty ........................... 200 III.POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF THE LEGALITY OF THE FACEBOOK INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN. ............................. ......... 202 A. Domestic Criminalization......................... 203 183

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