Kremlin troll? Probably not, but all's fair in love and Infowars.
The Capital Gazette shooting spawned various #FalseFlag theories. Here's a look at a Twitter account promoting them: @truthismaster. We aren't 100% sure this is an agitprop account, but it sure acts like one.
Hopefully this thread provides some insight into the process of investigating suspicious social media activity.
What does @truthismaster tweet about? 52.5% of the account's tweets contain one or more of the terms shown in this chart. The keywords included are a combination of common agitprop themes and terms found while researching this particular account.
A number of the themes of @truthismaster's tweets are consistent with Kremlin propaganda. Here are some examples related to Ukraine, Crimea, and NATO.
Some more examples of @truthismaster's tweets - conspiracy theories and the stoking of extreme viewpoints/polarization are major themes.
The political attitudes expressed by @truthismaster have evolved (or something) over the years. Prior to the 2012 election, they advocated challenging Obama from the left, but have since moved on to a form of Christianity-infused nationalism = reminiscent of the alt-right.
Among @truthismaster's specialties: a fondness for Internet Research Agency troll accounts. Here are some examples of their interactions with TEN_GOP and Pamela_Moore13; there are quite a few more.
What media sources does @truthismaster promote? Mostly right-wing conspiracy theory sites (there's also a follower tracking app in there). They do link RT, Sputnik, and Russia Insider, but less frequently than the websites shown in this figure.
.@truthismaster doesn't have much in the way of personal backstory, but there's enough to find contradictions. The tweet about Pope John XXIII makes them 8 in 1958, which is inconsistent with being 65 in 2017, and both are inconsistent with a 50-year voting history in 2016.
Many thanks in the general and specific direction of @ZellaQuixote for research assistance with this thread.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.