NPR has discovered the online messaging emerging from the National Rifle Association and the Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency during the 2016 election often turned out to be the same.
What isn't clear is whether there was any relationship between the social media users or whether the duplication was done without the other's awareness, part of the broader tide of advocacy about gun rights.
What is clear is that, at times, the Russians followed so closely behind the American gun rights group that it duplicated its content word for word.
(...)
In one instance, the Internet Research Agency copied the description of Democratic National Committee deputy chairman Keith Ellison, originally made by the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.
In another case, the Internet Research Agency created a graphic, complete with the NRA logo, that copied the NRA-ILA's promotion of a story titled "NRA Scores Two Victories Against California Gun Control Laws."
And both the NRA and the Internet Research Agency posted the same story about a homeowner shooting a suspected burglar in Louisiana.
The St. Petersburg, Russia-based Internet Research Agency also posted an image celebrating NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre's visit to the White House in February 2017.
In another case, the Russian social media account directed its followers to an NRA Institute for Legislative Action alert.
(...)
Separately, NPR also found overlapping content posted by the NRA and Internet Research Agency on Twitter.
The accounts have generated tweets mentioning the @NRA, @NRANEWS, or @NRAILA accounts a total of 199 times. Dana Loesch, an outspoken supporter of gun rights who would become a spokeswoman for the NRA in 2017, was tagged 77 times on her Twitter handle "@DLoesch."
The National Rifle Association, on at least 90 occasions, promoted Twitter content similar to that of the Internet Research Agency, in some cases after that group had gone first.
On at least 62 occasions, the Internet Research Agency shared the same content as the National Rifle Association after an original NRA post.
(...)
The mirroring continued after the 2016 elections ...
(...)
Most of the NRA tweets that followed a similar tweet by the Internet Research Agency were like the following example — that of a headline:
"Seattle City Council president proposing tax on gun sales #local," wrote an Internet Research Agency account, @Seattle_Post, on July 8, 2015. The next day, the NRA posted the same wording, while also adding a link to a Seattle Times article.
Russia's Pro-Gun Influence Accounts Copied The NRA — And Sometimes, Vice Versa (NPR)