[Washington Post] The strange birth, death and rebirth of a Russian troll account called "AllForUSA"
The strange birth, death and rebirth of a Russian troll account called “AllForUSA”
An Indiana man named Jesse D. Allen created a website in 2005 with the title AllForUSA.com, apparently to pursue some business interests, but he soon abandoned the site. A decade later, at the age of 80, Allen died.
But AllForUSA was just getting started.
As the 2016 presidential campaign heated up, AllForUSA.com suddenly bristled with what appeared to be news articles celebrating Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and bashing his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. “HILLARY MAY END UP in PRISON AFTER ALL,” read one headline.
On Reddit, the commenter “allforusa” posted similar messages and linked to headlines on AllForUSA.com. The following year, after Trump’s election, a Twitter account named “@allforusa11” retweeted the president before inexplicably changing subjects to tweet about feminism - in Japanese.
The final twist came a few months later when AllForUSA.com was reborn again - this time as a Russian online gambling site.
A clue to the mystery of this multilingual burst of activity appeared in a February indictment by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. It said the Russians who operated fake social media accounts to manipulate American voters used allforusa@yahoo.com to fraudulently access a PayPal account and to promote a “March for Trump” campaign rally in New York.
The other “AllForUSA” accounts probably were operated in tandem with this email address and with each other, according to a report Monday from cyberintelligence form GroupSense, whose researchers found a subtle tangle of connections left in records discovered online.
The report highlights how data breaches fuel nefarious online activity, giving criminal hackers and disinformation teams an endless supply of cheap accounts to use individually or for networks of “bots”, automated accounts controlled by a single operative. All this typically takes place without the original owners knowing what happened to their creations.
- troll:(n) [trəʊl; trɒl] Troll是一种网络俚语, 常见于任意英文网络论坛和其余英文文化圈中. Troll的原始含义是山怪以及一种名为撒网的钓鱼技术, 最初作为网络用语是描述在公共论坛等讨论区故意用激烈的言辞引起别人进行没有意义的争论的行为, 后来释义延伸为几乎所有做出令人厌恶举止的行为, 不论主动还是被动的. 这个词语若要翻译成中文, 会根据具体情况而指代中文网络文化圈的“钓鱼”、“引战”、“洗版”、“刷屏”、“菜鸟”、“小白”。 back
- apparently:(adv) [ə’pærəntlɪ] 據說, used to say that you have heard that something is true, although you are not completely sure about it. back
Apparently the company is losing a lot of money. 据说该公司目前亏损很大.
- pursue:(v) [pə’sjuː] 追求, to continue doing an activity or trying to achieve something over a long period of time. back
She plans to pursue a career in polictics. 她计划从政.
Students should pursue their own interests, as well as do their school work. 除了完成课业之外，学生也应该追求自己的兴趣
- abandon:(v) [ə’bænd(ə)n] 放棄, 中止, to stop doing something because there are too many problems and it is impossible to continue. back
The game had to be abandoned due to bad weather. 由于天气不好，比赛不得不中止.
- campaign:(n) 運動; 活動, a series of actions intended to achieve a particular result relating to politics or business, or a social improvement. [kæm’peɪn] back
Police have launched a campaign to crack down on drug dealers. 警方发起了一场严厉打击毒贩的运动
- heat up:(phrasal v) 加劇, 升溫, when a situation heats up, things start to happen much more quickly and with increased interest and excitement among the people involved. back
Then in the last couple of years, the movement for democracy began to heat up. 于是在过去几年里，民主运动开始升温.
Pipes expand as they heat up. 管子受熱就會膨脹.
The action really begins to heat up. 劇情真正開始緊張.
- bristle with sth:(phrasal v) [‘brɪs(ə)l] 充滿, 充斥著, to have a lot of something, or be full of something. back
a battleship bristling with guns. 布满大炮的战舰
The street bristle with armed guards after the latest terrorist attack. 最近一次恐怖分子攻击后，街道上武装警卫遍布.
- appear to be sth:(phrasal v) 似乎是; 彷彿, if you say that something appears to be the way you describe it, you are reporting what you believe or what you have been told, though you cannot be sure it is true. back
Some luxury brands in China appear to be following the reverse strategy. 但在中国，某些奢侈品牌似乎正在采取相反的策略.
But now those plans appear to be in peril. 但是现在，这些计划似乎都岌岌可危.
- celebrate:(v) [‘selɪbreɪt] 讚揚, to praise someone or something formal back
poems that celebrate the joys of love. 赞美爱之喜悦的诗歌.
- bash:(v) [bæʃ] 嚴厲批評, 猛烈抨擊, to criticize someone or something very strongly. back
He was always bashing the trade unions. 他动不动就大肆抨击工会.
“I’ll help you bash them in the media,” he said. “我会帮助你在媒体上痛击他们.” 他说.
For Trump, of course, bashing the press is a sport akin to professional wrestling. 當然, 對 Trump 來說, 抨擊媒體是和職業摔跤類似的運動.
Democratic:() [demə’krætɪk] 民主黨的 back
rival:(n) [‘raɪvl] 對手, 競爭者, a person, group, or organization that you compete with in sport, business, a fight etc. back
This gives the company a competitive advantage over its rivals. 这使该公司与其对手相比具有一项竞争优势.
- inexplicably:(adv) [in’eksplikəbli] 令人難以理解地, 莫名其妙地 back
I am five months pregnant, and is inexplicably depressed, angry quarrel with her husband. 我怀孕五个月了，也是莫名其妙的郁闷，跟老公吵架生气.
- feminism:(n) [‘femɪnɪz(ə)m] 女權主義, the belief that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. back
What about how your experience reporting on sex work influenced your view of feminism? 报道性工作的经历，是如何影响你对女权主义的看法的？
- twist:(n) [twɪst] 意外轉折, an unexpected feature or change in a situation or series of events. back
By an amazing twist of fate, we met again in Madrid five years later. 命运的安排让人惊奇，五年后我们在马德里又相遇了.
- gambling:(n) [‘ɡæmblɪŋ] 賭博, when people risk money or possessions on the result of something which is not certain, such as a card game or a horse race. back
The lottery is probably the most popular form of gambling. 彩票可能是最普遍的一种赌博形式.
- burst:(n) [bɜːst] 爆發, the act of something bursting or the place where it has burst. back
a burst in a water pipe. 水管上的裂缝
- indictment:() [ɪn’daɪtm(ə)nt] 控告, the act of officially charging someone with a criminal offence law. back
This led to his indictment on allegations of conspiracy. 这件事最终使他被控犯有共谋罪.
Brown said Tuesday that the indictment was unsurprising and appropriate. Brown 在週二表示指控是情理之中, 恰如其分.
- fraudulently:(adv) [‘frɔdjuləntli] 欺騙地, in a dishonest and fraudulent manner. back
We are not three children, can be so free of charge fraudulently deceived! 我们不是三岁小儿，可以被那么免费地骗来骗去！
- march:(n) [mɑːtʃ] 示威遊行, an organized event in which many people walk together to express their ideas or protest about something. back
I went on a lot of peace marches when I was a student. 学生时代我参加过好多次和平示威游行
- rally:(n) [‘rælɪ] 集會, a large public meeting, especially one that is held outdoors to support a political idea, protest etc. back
We decided to hold a rally to put pressure on the government. 我们决定举行集会来对政府施压.
- in tandem:(adv) [‘tændəm] 同步, 協同工作, 一起工作, doing something together or at the same time as someone or something else. back
The two companies often work in tandem. 两家公司经常合作
- subtle:(a) [‘sʌt(ə)l] 微妙的, not easy to notice or understand unless you pay careful attention. back
The pictures are similar, but there are subtle differences between them. 这些图片很相似，但它们之间有细微的差别.
- tangle:(n) [‘tæŋg(ə)l] 糾紛, 錯綜複雜, a twisted mass of something such as hair or thread. back
Her hair was full of tangles after being out in the wind. 在外面吹了风之后，她的头发变得乱糟糟的.
- data breach:(n) [briːtʃ] 數據外洩 back
Verizon’s recent data breach investigation shows 76% of hacks are caused by weak or stolen passwords. Verizon最近发布的数据泄露调查显示，76%的黑客入侵是帐户密码太弱或被窃造成的
On Friday an armored vehicle breached the front door. 週五一輛武器載具突破了前門.
- fuel:(v) [fjʊəl] 助長, 惡化, to make something, especially something bad, increase or become stronger. back
His words fuelled her ander still more. 他的话火上浇油，使她更愤怒了
- nefarious:(a) [nɪ’feərɪəs] 不法的, 惡意的 criminal, immoral. back
Why make a whole village prisoner if it was not to some nefarious purpose? 如果不是出于某种恶毒的目的，为什么把整村人囚禁起来？
- disinformation:(n) [,dɪsɪnfə’meɪʃ(ə)n] 造謠, 假消息 back
The government has been involved in a disinformation campaign, deliberately misleading and harassing its citizens. 政府已经卷入了一场造假运动，他们有意误导和扰乱民众生活.
- take place:(n) 發生(主要用于事先计划好的事情) back
The meeting will take place as planned. 会议将按预定的计划进行.