Claims of Russian interference in the general election campaign are “gravely concerning”, the deputy prime minister has said.
Mr Dowden told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that Moscow allegedly using Facebook pages to spread support for Nigel Farage “is a classic example from the Russian playbook”.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says it has been monitoring five co-ordinated Facebook pages which have been spouting Kremlin talking points, with some posting in support of Reform UK.
Mr Dowden, who has called the ABC report “gravely concerning”, told Sky News: "This is something that I’ve warned about for some time.
"There is a threat in all elections, and indeed we see it in this election, from hostile state actors seeking to influence the outcome of the election campaign.
“Russia is a prime example of this and this is a classic example from the Russian playbook.”
He added that this was a “low-level use of bots”.
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The broadcaster also reportedly found most of the administrators for each page are based in Nigeria, which is a significant connection as previous online Russian propaganda networks were found to have been operating from Africa.
The reports come after Mr Farage faced a backlash for saying he blames the West and NATO for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Farage called it “cobblers” to claim bots generated by foreign state actors could interfere with the election outcome - as he launched a personal attack on Mr Dowden.
If I were a politician and found out a malicious actor like russia or china supports me, I would re-evaluate my whole campaign, plans and program. It’s an indicator there’s something in it that will harm my country.
Unless you were a corrupt politician whose aim was self-enrichment by looting the country, in which case you may be reassured that you are on the right track
I think it’s bold to assume that Russia has decided to support Farrage and not that they paid him to stand in the first place.
However, as Farage has already been spouting pro-Putin rhetoric, he’d probably see it as a great endorsement.
On the plus side, at least it is a lot clearer that voting for Farage is really furthering Putin’s agenda to erode Western democracy (not that we needed the help).