Yes there are bigger problems in America than Russian interference in our election. And yes, Russia didn't create the problems they just took advantage of a flawed system. I think it's good that we look at the system set up by youtube, google, facebook, twitter et. al. and what part they played in not just Russian interference but in the propagation of fake news and sensationalistic news that leaves vast numbers of Americans under informed or incorrectly informed. Long before the 2016 election I was reading and worrying about social media spreading false, trivial, and sensationalistic stories. There's always been an attraction to weird, sensationalistic, and extreme partisan news. The social media companies pushed the worse of the "news" by prioritizing clicks with no editorial checking at all of the truth of value of the stories pushed.

But that doesn't mean the Russian effort had no effect. It annoys me when articles keep making this claim. I don't believe that conclusion is justified.  A drop in a bucket can be the drop that causes the bucket to overflow. These stories didn't just target the most partisan. They had ripple effects that reached even those we'd like to think of as rational folks.

A striking example, which Prier documents in detail, came during the November 2015 protests at the University of Missouri. A dispute over benefits for graduate teaching assistants had escalated into broad allegations of racism on campus. Spotting the trending hashtag #PrayforMizzou, a Russia-linked Twitter account, @Fanfan1911, tweeted a photo of a bruised African American youth that was lifted from an unrelated story. “The cops are marching with the KKK!” the tweet declared. “They beat up my little brother! Watch out!” This untrue message, signed “Jermaine,” was retweeted hundreds of times by Russian bots — enough to unleash it as a viral contagion among duped Americans, including Missouri’s student body president.

As other accounts in the orbit of @Fanfan1911 added fake details, Jermaine demanded the news media cover the nonexistent Klan rampage. Twitter-obsessed reporters ran in search of a story. Though the facts eventually came limping onto the scene, lasting damage was done. Morale and enrollment sagged at the university. Trust in media and police took another hit. The reputation and economy of Missouri absorbed a blow.

I don't like to blame any one thing for Trump's electoral college win. But with an election this close any one thing, even the smallest of influences, could be to blame. So I don't discount anything either. Could be the Russian effort is one of the smallest of influences but even so it needs to be confronted and dealt with. Better yet if we start there and it leads to confronting social media's focus on clickbait over truth and quality in the news they promote.