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Biden Is Trying To Capitalize On Reports That Russian Trolls Are Targeting His Campaign

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Chris White Tech Reporter
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Former Vice President Joe Biden is developing a new strategy ahead of the 2020 election and it involves fundraising off of recent reports that Russian trolls are targeting his campaign for president.

“The Russian Facebook trolls are back — and this time, they’re going after my campaign. We cannot let 2016 repeat itself,” Biden wrote on Twitter Monday after Facebook reportedly stopped a Russian troll outfit from meddling in the 2020 election. He then asked his supporters to “chip in $5” to help fight back.

Facebook pulled down Russia-linked accounts that criticized Biden and praised Trump. The social media company said the campaign was similar to that used by the Kremlin ahead of the 2016 election. (RELATED: Here’s The Twist Facebook Says Russia Is Putting On A Revamped Misinformation Campaign)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the annual F8 summit at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. Facebook is leaping into the world of cryptocurrency with its own digital money, designed to let people save, send or spend money as easily as firing off text messages."Libra" -- described as "a new global currency" -- was unveiled June 18, 2019 in a new initiative in payments for the world's biggest social network with the potential to bring crypto-money out of the shadows and into the mainstream. Facebook and an array of partners released a prototype of Libra as an open source code to be used by developers interested in weaving it into apps, services or businesses ahead of a rollout as global digital money next year. (Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the annual F8 summit at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.  (Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the report in an NBC interview Monday.

“They are highly sophisticated,” he said, referring to the Internet Research Agency, which meddled in the 2016 race and is suspected of doing the same in the upcoming election. “They signal that these nation-states intend to be active in the upcoming elections.”

Biden thanked Facebook for shutting down the accounts but questioned Facebook’s willingness to secure future elections.

“Unfortunately, like the Kremlin, Donald Trump continues to benefit from spreading false information, [and] all the while Facebook profits from amplifying his lies and debunked conspiracy theories on their platform,” TJ Ducklo, a Biden campaign spokesman, said in a press statement.

Ducklo added: “If Facebook is truly committed to protecting the integrity of our elections, they would immediately take down Trump’s ads that attempt to gaslight the American people.”

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