How Putin's Goon Squad Used Mexican Gig Workers To Troll An American Election.
In March 2020, a freelance writer in Mexico City was browsing the internet at home when he saw an ad for a self-described "
social media" company that was looking for writers to post messages online. The company didn't appear to have a name. Instead, there was a WhatsApp number and an address for an account on an encrypted email service. "
Fluent English is a must," the ad emphasized.
Thousands of leaked Wagner Group documents reveal the shadowy shitposting empire of Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin.
www.businessinsider.com
The freelancer — I'll call him Carlos — thought the whole thing seemed sketchy. But he was a recent college graduate navigating the job market during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. He needed the money. Posting to social media sounded like an easy work-from-home gig, so he applied.
After a short interview over video chat with a woman named Vera, Carlos got the job. The company called itself "
Social CMS." Vera, a Venezuelan national working in Mexico, sent him a contract with a physical address connected to a coworking space in Germany. She also put him in touch with one of her managers — a man called Tom, who never revealed his last name, and claimed to be based in Poland. Tom communicated with Carlos exclusively through WhatsApp. (Vera did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)