14th Annual Eugene J. McCarthy Lecture with Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Russian Hackers, Trolls and #DemocracyRIP

Written by Elliot Edeburn '21

On September 25, the McCarthy Center had the great privilege and honor of welcoming Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson to deliver the 14th annual McCarthy Lecture in a virtual format. Dr. Jamieson is a Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania ’ s Annenberg School of Communication and director of the University ’ s public policy center. Her extensive achievements include winning multiple awards for her sixteen authored or co-authored books and the National Academy of Science ’ s most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal. Dr. Jamieson offered a deeply engaging and thoughtful lecture as she discussed her most recent book Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President.

A graduate of Saint Benedict’ s High School in St. Joseph, Minnesota, Kathleen Hall Jamieson started by reminiscing on her many ties to the Saint John's and Saint Ben ’ s community. She recalled the beautiful fall season as well as campaigning for Eugene McCarthy during his bid for the 1968 Democratic nomination for President.

Dr. Jamieson ’ s lecture revolved around the central question: What can we learn about how foreign powers can influence our elections and us as voters? She encouraged the audience to recognize that her analysis of election interference is not a history lesson, but an analysis of tactics that continue to threaten our democracy today. She has the unique gift of synthesizing complex issues into palatable yet detailed analyses and pointed out that Russians wanted to make the United States look bad however they could, which is problematic regardless of political affiliation. In order to influence the 2016 election, Russians utilized several tactics: media sources, social media trolls, breaching election infrastructure, and sewing doubt in electoral integrity.

Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson

She outlined the specific goals of Russian election influencers such as demobilizing black voters through the propagation of misinformation and shifting young voters to vote for Jill Stein. Dr. Jamieson also outlined failures of the press to convey accurate information as the inundation of hacked materials and urge to release news quickly often resulted in the spread of inaccurate information through traditionally trusted media outlets.

After concluding her lecture, McCarthy Center Student Coordinator Laurel Poole ’21 facilitated an engaging question and answer session for members of the virtual audience to explore other areas, including how race and gender dynamics manifested themselves within the Russian election interference. Additionally, Dr. Jamieson told listeners about the ways that Russian interference sought to influence the 2020 election as Russian sources frequently denigrate Joe Biden, question the integrity of mail-in voting, and seek to hack critical election infrastructure.

Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson is an admirable model of courage and conscience in public life. In the lead-up to an election that will deeply influence the trajectory of the United States, her lecture helps us to understand the critical importance of electoral integrity and the democratic process as we move forward together. Free copies of Dr. Jamieson's book were available for students and community members in preparation for this event