from ZeroHedge:

When it comes to spreading false-flag memes to try and sway a US elections, Democrats in Alabama are giving Russia a run for their money.

In an explosive report published Monday, the New York Times published new details about a Facebook “influence campaign” financed by progressive groups that sought to deter moderate conservatives from supporting Roy Moore by spreading misleading advertisements implying that Moore supported turning Alabama into a “dry” state.

Moore, the controversial Republican candidate, ultimately lost to Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in the special election to fill a seat previously held by former AG Jeff Sessions following speculation that he tried to solicit sex from underage girls when he was a young lawyer working in the state.

The tactics employed by the groups matched those employed by the Internet Research Agency – the alleged Russian troll farm indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller – to a tee. The progressive group, which was financed by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, spent $100,000 on salaries and ads during the final weeks of the campaign. They create a fake ‘conservative’ group called “Dry Alabama” that implored Alabama senate candidates to pledge to support making Alabama a “dry” state.

The Facebook page and an accompanying Twitter feed appeared to be the work of pro-Moore baptist ministers.

Along with a companion Twitter feed, the Facebook page appeared to be the work of Baptist teetotalers who supported the Republican, Roy S. Moore, in the 2017 Alabama Senate race. “Pray for Roy Moore,” one tweet exhorted.

In fact, the Dry Alabama campaign, not previously reported, was the stealth creation of progressive Democrats who were out to defeat Mr. Moore — the second such secret effort to be unmasked. In a political bank shot made in the last two weeks of the campaign, they thought associating Mr. Moore with calls for a statewide alcohol ban would hurt him with moderate, business-oriented Republicans and assist the Democrat, Doug Jones, who won the special election by a hair-thin margin.

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