On May 21, 2016, a handful of people turned out to protest the opening of a library at an Islamic Center in Houston, Texas. Two held up a banner proclaiming #WhiteLivesMatter. A counter-protest began across the street; video shows a noisy but non-violent confrontation.
The rally -- called “Stop Islamization of Texas” -- was organized and promoted by a Facebook page called Heart of Texas, which had wrongly alleged that the Islamic library had received public funding. But the Heart of Texas page listed no contacts in the Lone Star state. In fact, it was operated by a “troll factory” called the Internet Research Agency thousands of miles away in St Petersburg, Russia, CNN has learned.
The Houston rally sheds light on an effort originating in Russia to sow discord in the US through social media; in this case it had real impact on the ground.
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