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FBI and CIA give differing accounts

  • Ellen Nakashima and Adam Entous (December 10, 2016), "FBI and CIA give differing accounts to lawmakers on Russia's motives in 2016 hacks", The Washington Post, retrieved December 11, 2016, The competing messages, according to officials in attendance, also reflect cultural differences between the FBI and the CIA. The bureau, true to its law enforcement roots, wants facts and tangible evidence to prove something beyond all reasonable doubt. The CIA is more comfortable drawing inferences from behavior. 'The FBI briefers think in terms of criminal standards — can we prove this in court'" one of the officials said. 'The CIA briefers weigh the preponderance of intelligence and then make judgment calls to help policymakers make informed decisions. High confidence for them means 'we're pretty damn sure.' It doesn't mean they can prove it in court.'

This article explains some of the cultural differences between the FBI and CIA.

They may have similar information, just different standards.

FBI must prove its conclusions in a court of law.

CIA just thinks about what it can state with "high confidence" and deliver as an analysis to the President. Sagecandor (talk) 04:08, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Rex Tillerson

If Rex Tillerson is widely being reported as Trump's choice for the next secretary of state. If that does occur, this article should provide a quick summation of his links to Russia and a link to his page.Casprings (talk) 05:04, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Yeah sure of course if secondary sources start talking about that in depth, which I imagine they would. Sources are also reporting on intelligence analysis about whether in the Republican National Committee emails the Russian government hacked and chose not to leak as they did with the D.N.C. -- the Russian government now has leverage over Trump. Sagecandor (talk) 05:13, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Sagecandor, Misplaced Pages is not a Forum, please refrain from posting conspiracy theories on the talk pages of the articles.--MyMoloboaccount (talk) 15:35, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Please don't assume bad faith. I specifically noted secondary sources are discussing this. Sagecandor (talk) 17:45, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

"Skepticism" or "denial"?

With regard to this edit, I understand that there are references specifically referring to Russia's "denial," but "skepticism" is arguably a better and more neutral term for the section in question, because it covers much more than Russia's official line. Moreover, "denial" is often used as a pejorative term to denigrate individuals that refuse to accept facts despite overwhelming evidence (Holocaust denial being the classic example). Given that the CIA leaked these allegations to the press before the inquiry ordered by Obama had even begun, and no hard evidence is currently available, it would be desirable to avoid the implication that Greenwald et al. are "deniers."TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 12:03, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

One is not 'skeptical' about ones participation or non-participation in an action. Being skeptical implies doubt without absolute certainty. Presumably, one knows with certainty whether or not they have done a certain thing, and to say they are 'skeptical' about their participation would be incorrect. That they are 'denying' involvement is the better and accurate term. Marteau (talk) 12:32, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
I agree. Denial is undeniably the correct word to use. - MrX 13:50, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Yes, sure. "Denial" means that a person or organization tells assertively: "I did not do it". Skepticism means "I do not know". But I have another related question. It tells: "The RNC has denied any intrusion into its servers". ??? Do they still deny it? My very best wishes (talk) 16:43, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
@My very best wishes: Yes, they do, having consulted with the FBI on December 9. See Reince Priebus: 'RNC Was Not Hacked'. (Note that ABC, like the NYT, corroborated Priebus's account: "One person with direct knowledge tells ABC News there is no doubt senior GOP officials were hacked, but that there is no evidence the RNC as an organization was seriously compromised." Why the CIA is so much more confident than the FBI remains a mystery.)TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 02:42, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
This article talk page is not the place to speculate or offer OR as to the mysteries of the subject. If you do not understand the distinction between the domains of the CIA and the FBI, please re-read the mainstream sources on this matter. SPECIFICO talk 03:07, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Regarding Russian statements, WP:CLAIM states, "be judicious in the use of admit, confess, and deny, particularly for living people, because these verbs can inappropriately imply culpability." The Russian government is not a living person, but the verb "deny" may imply culpability. So, "Russian government response" or something like that is fine, and avoids the editorial suggestion that they are "guilty."

More importantly however the majority of this section currently deals with other voices that are skeptical of the allegations made by U.S. officials. "Denial," even beyond the POV issue raised above, doesn't describe them, and therefore mischaracterizes the majority of the section. It should be renamed. -Darouet (talk) 19:22, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

How about "dispute"?TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 23:26, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
@TheTimesAreAChanging: I actually think that Russian government and intelligence statements deserve their own section, "Response by Russia," and that other skepticism or controversy should be in its own section. -Darouet (talk) 23:53, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Shouldn't this be "alleged involvement"?

Since no evidence was provided for this particular conspiracy theory ? I also note that the article is highly biased towards one side here, without any criticism of lack of evidence to claims by supporters of this theory in the article.--MyMoloboaccount (talk) 15:38, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

The sources are clearly cited and represented. There is evidence to support the statements and that is given.Casprings (talk) 15:44, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
It's not a theory; it's a conclusion. The CIA is not going to provide evidence to the general public. If you can find reliable sources that present another "side" (other than team Trump's apparently uninformed criticism of the government that he's about to lead), then feel free to add that content to the article.- MrX 16:11, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
It is an allegation made by the Washington Post based on an anonymous Obama administration official saying that was what the CIA told them in a briefing. That hardly makes it an objective fact. Marteau (talk) 16:18, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Actually, it's a conclusion made by government officials reported by The Washington Post. It's right there in the lede of the the highly-cited Washington Post article in case you would like to read it.- MrX 17:49, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Words to watch. Sagecandor (talk) 17:55, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
From WP:ALLEGED: "Words such as supposed, apparent, alleged and purported can imply that a given point is inaccurate, although alleged and accused are appropriate when wrongdoing is asserted but undetermined, such as with people awaiting or undergoing a criminal trial; when these are used, ensure that the source of the accusation is clear."
This this case, US officials have alleged or accused the Russian government of interference in the election. "Wrongdoing is asserted but undetermined." This is the context that the words alleged and accused were created for. -Darouet (talk) 19:18, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
I'd agree that applies. And of course something being a "conclusion" doesn't prevent it also being an "allegation". It depends who's doing the concluding and what they're saying. The CIA is not a court of law. Nor indeed a body without its own agenda and own history of, let us say, interesting activities and propagation of outright falsehoods. N-HH talk/edits 19:22, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
There is no (U.S. recognized) court of law that adjudicates whether one sovereign power attempted to influence another sovereign power's presidential election. The CIA is tasked with figuring out whether it happened, and Congress and the President are tasked with determining what to do with that information.- MrX 21:12, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

@MrX, Sagecandor, and N-HH: The CIA has many tasks, among them the overthrow of many governments in the last 65 years, and the propagation of disinformation to cover up these actions (as many CIA agents have later testified). The CIA is not a news organization or an encyclopedia, it's a clandestine intelligence service, and that's how we should approach it when noting any public statements it produces.

Furthermore, the existence or lack of existence of a neutral body to adjudicate allegations of election tampering from Russia cannot lead us to proceed from the wildly speculative assumption that any accusation should be considered true unless proven otherwise. -Darouet (talk) 00:00, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Which is why we go by reliable secondary sources. Sagecandor (talk) 00:05, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

@Sagecandor and MrX: The title of this article and your comments here all strongly imply these allegations are not merely allegations, but that Russia has interfered in the U.S. election, and we need to relate that fact. This is not known as a fact. By insisting on the current title, "Russian influence," you are seriously misleading readers. There has been enough discussion about this that it's not longer appropriate to assume you don't know the implications of the title of the article. -Darouet (talk) 01:41, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I was fine with the prior title, "Russian involvement". Either is fine. Sagecandor (talk) 01:43, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
I'm not seeing much doubt expressed by sources that Russia at least attempted, and were probably effective in influencing the election. It's not reasonable to demote the factual assertions made by our sources to "allegations or theories" in the title (see WP:WEASEL) to cast doubt on this. A simple Google search shows the widespread use of the word "influence" by sources, far more so than "involvement".- MrX 14:32, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

The Post ascribes no motive for the Russians withholding content from the RNC hack

Article currently says: "On December 9, U.S. intelligence concluded that the Russian government was involved in hacking servers of the Republican National Committee (RNC) – but said they did not release the content of the hack in a desire to tilt the election in favor of the Republican party's candidate" and cites http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/us/obama-russia-election-hack.html?_r=0

The Post says no such thing. In fact, regarding the RNC hacks, they explicitly say "It is also far from clear that Russia’s original intent was to support Mr. Trump, and many intelligence officials — and former officials in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign — believe that the primary motive of the Russians was to simply disrupt the campaign and undercut confidence in the integrity of the vote.". The Post says NOTHING about the Russians withholding RNC data to "favor the republican".

The Post DOES say the Russians hacked in order to "promote Donald Trump" but considering the context, and the explicit mention of the RNC hacks later in the article, this almost certainly pertains to the DNC hacks, not the RNC hacks.

I'm going to go ahead and remove any attribution of motive pertaining to the RNC hacks, because the Post says motive is "far from clear". Marteau (talk) 16:35, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Hold on a second. What "Post" are you talking about? If it's an article in a reliable source, please link to it, so that we know what you're referring to. Thanks.- MrX 18:53, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Whoops, sorry. The NY Times, as per the cite directly above. Marteau (talk) 19:01, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
OK, that makes more sense. Perhaps the article text is just written awkwardly, but here are the two paragraphs in the NYT that, by my reading, support that Russia tried to promote Trump (in part) because they did not release information hacked from the RNC:

"American intelligence agencies have concluded with “high confidence” that Russia acted covertly in the latter stages of the presidential campaign to harm Hillary Clinton’s chances and promote Donald J. Trump, according to senior administration officials.

They based that conclusion, in part, on another finding — which they say was also reached with high confidence — that the Russians hacked the Republican National Committee’s computer systems in addition to their attacks on Democratic organizations, but did not release whatever information they gleaned from the Republican networks."
— New York Times

Do you disagree?- MrX 19:44, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
The lines you cite could certainly be interpreted to ascribe motive to the Russian's withholding the RNC leaks. But I think what we have here is ambiguous (perhaps even sloppy) writing. Reporters and their editors are not perfect. And I think the lines about the RNC leaks later in the article trumps that in that it directly and unambiguously discusses the RNC leaks: "It is also far from clear that Russia’s original intent was to support Mr. Trump, and many intelligence officials — and former officials in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign — believe that the primary motive of the Russians was to simply disrupt the campaign and undercut confidence in the integrity of the vote." That would seem to directly contradict the lead sentences you've quoted. The "far from clear" line is unambiguous in that it directly and solely pertains to the RNC leaks, and that it ascribes confusion as to the Russian motivations behind not leaking it. Given that, I don't think we can say the motive was unambiguously to "aid republicans" because the article also says the motive is "far from clear". Marteau (talk) 21:37, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
The article does seem to contradict itself, but I do think that the first two paragraphs are also unambiguous. I would like to hear how other editors interpret this.- MrX 23:13, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Notice of ongoing discussion at Template talk:US 2016 presidential elections series

A discussion is ongoing at Template talk:US 2016 presidential elections series on whether that navbox should include a link to this article. Editors are invited to participate. Neutrality 16:39, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Glenn Greenwald

Agree his personal opinion can be in the article.

But let's keep these in the section, Media commentary. Sagecandor (talk) 17:44, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Please explain why you believe that this self-published opinion is noteworthy encyclopedic content. Do you believe that he is among the best informed and most respected mainstream experts on this matter? I do not. SPECIFICO talk 17:59, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
I was merely trying to suggest a compromise way forward here. JFG "thanked" me for the edit. Placing it in "Media commentary" notes it is personal opinion, which helps keep presentation of it on Misplaced Pages as WP:NPOV. As to whether it is noteworthy enough for inclusion, we can have a discussion here on the talk page about that. Sagecandor (talk) 18:02, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Glenn Greenwald is a notable journalist, so of course he can comment on the journalistic practices of other outlets. It's like arguing that Trump's opinion shouldn't be included because he's not cybersecurity expert. Gravity 18:21, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
I don't think that Greenwald's opinion should be included unless other reliable sources have cited it, or it is shown to be representative of a wider viewpoint, per WP:DUE.- MrX 18:25, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
That is a good point, MrX. Sagecandor (talk) 18:26, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Here are two reliable sources that cite Greenwald's article. According to your self-professed standards, MrX, this should be enough to warrant inclusion in the article. Gravity 20:55, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
If Greenwald is to be included, I don't think he can be the only pundit included. If he's the only one, then I say it's certainly undue. If he's one of 10 or 12, then he's OK. Neutrality 19:04, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
There's no reason not to include other pundits, but since the Snowden document leaks Greenwald has been the journalist on this issue: his voice carries more weight than plenty of politicians. -Darouet (talk) 19:15, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
I would agree that he's certainly a loud and prominent voice on such issues, but would disagree that his voice necessarily carries more weight than others. Greenwald writes from a quite polemical perspective (hence the heightened need to balance him out), and in terms of being an investigative reporting (separate from his commentary), there's no reason to think that his sources or insights are better than anyone else. Neutrality 19:24, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
I agree including his comments is fine. There's no reason not to include some commentary, including sceptical commentary, and there's no good reason to discount Greenwald, who is a notable commentator whether you like him and what he says or not, and whether he is thought polemical or not. Otherwise we just have some fairly contentious allegations presented as if they were uncontroversial and inarguable fact. N-HH talk/edits 19:25, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
If we're opening the door to commentary and speculation, we should include Harry Reid's view that James Comey withheld information about Russia trying to influence the election.- MrX 19:30, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

This is an encyclopedia. We should not just list the opinions of the first journalists who state an opinion. Especially self-published. Trump's view can be stated because he is directly involved in various aspects of the matter, including his exhortation to the Russians that may have resulted in this crime. SPECIFICO talk 19:37, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

I redacted a blatant WP:BLP violation above. SPECIFICO—and all editors—should be reminded that BLP applies to talk pages, and that talk pages are not a forum to promote unsourced personal theories about living people. Regards,TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 04:10, 13 December 2016 (UTC)
, , , , etc. etc. etc. It's not a BLP violation and you really need to leave other people's comments alone. Also, while we're on the topic, this should be included in the article for background.Volunteer Marek (talk) 04:52, 13 December 2016 (UTC)
@Volunteer Marek: Leaving aside the sheer implausibility that Russia would order a major covert operation entailing likely U.S. retaliation simply because they thought Trump told them to do so, you're seriously going to argue that the release of 19,252 DNC emails on July 22, 2016, may have been inspired by a joke Trump made on July 27—rather than the reverse? Which of your sources support that conclusion? Is this not something you would purge immediately as "OR" if it pertained to your favored candidate?TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 05:20, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

I share SPECIFICO's wariness to including instantaneous punditry here. But as long as we're including Greenwald, he can't stand alone, because that is the epitome of undue. I've added two op-eds: one from Russia expert and academic Michael McFaul and the other from historian Robert S. McElvaine. Neutrality 20:15, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

I meant to say that Greenwald's view should not be in the article. It is WP:UNDUE. SPECIFICO talk 21:34, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Your disapproval of Greenwald's stance does not make it less notable. — JFG 07:01, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Inclusion of Greenwald should not be that big a deal. He's notable and his publication is notable. Best way to address it is by having it in "Media commentary" section so readers know it's his personal views, which is fine, and adding balance to that section by expanding that section with multiple other perspectives, which Neutrality helpfully did. Sagecandor (talk) 07:04, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
That would be fine. If Greenwald has done any reporting (and he frequently does), his articles can of course be used elsewhere on this page. -Darouet (talk) 07:47, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
@JFG: Your response to me above is a straw man (I have stated no opinion as to this writer's view) and does not address the editing issue we have come here to discuss. Please ensure that you do not misrepresent other editors views in the future. My statements here have been confined to the fact that Mr. Greenwald is not a qualified expert on foreign intelligence matters and that -- of all the writers whose opinions we might ultimately include in this article -- no editor has stated why Mr. Greenwald's self-published opinion should be at the top of the list. Please review WP:UNDUE. SPECIFICO talk 13:01, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
@SPECIFICO: I was taking issue with your off-hand dismissal of Mr. Greenwald as an unimportant voice in these matters, showing if not your disagreement, at least your disrespect. In your own words, I believe he is much closer to a "most respected mainstream expert" than a "first journalist who states an opinion"… But we're drifting off-topic. — JFG 22:28, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
(edit conflict) Why the fuck does this page have a new title every couple hours? — JFG 22:28, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
@JFG:} How much clearer do I need to make this. Your statement was personal disparagement, straw man argumentation, and disruptive. I have no opinion about Mr. Greenwald's opinion. There was nothing "off-hand" about my view. I didn't say he's not important. I have shown him no disrespect. His view was not sourced to a secondary source. As you well know, it's possible for a writer to be both the first to write X and to be the first one to self-publish X. Please stay on topic. You could contribute to this thread by responding to the substance of my objection, now stated in several places on this page. SPECIFICO talk 01:29, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Greenwald, writing in the Intercept is a WP:SPS. There's no reason to include it unless other sources comment on it extensively.Volunteer Marek (talk) 04:33, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Failure to attribute assertions to sources

Intelligence agencies are massive and complex institutions, and what they "conclude" can be ambiguous even decades after events have occurred. These statements in the Washington Post and NPR:

"The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter." WashPo

and

"The CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election specifically to help Donald Trump win the presidency, a U.S. official has confirmed to NPR." NPR

show that U.S. officials have told news organizations that the CIA has concluded Russia intervened in the U.S. election to help Trump. That is what these sources say. We do not know, from these sources, what the CIA has concluded.

All assertions in this article should be properly attributed. Media organizations are not always neutral, and do not always use neutral language, etc., but at a bare minimum we need to be as cautious as they are. This is an encyclopedia. -Darouet (talk) 19:31, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

They are attributed to the government officials. Are you suggesting that we have to attribute a reliable sources asserted facts to the reliable source, beyond a footnote citation?- MrX 19:47, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
U.S. officials are not neutral and reliable sources, they are U.S. officials, the same way that Russian officials are not neutral and reliable sources. The "fact" that we need to reproduce here is that anonymous officials have said that intelligence they've seen shows the CIA has reached a conclusion. The "fact" is not that the CIA has reached that conclusion. -Darouet (talk) 20:13, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
It has been reported, as fact, that the CIA reached a conclusion. Whether that conclusion is correct is another matter altogether. While some sources say "...according the U.S. officials," etc., many others do not include any such hedging, merely stating that "the CIA concluded X":
PBS NewsHour: "Russia aimed to help Trump through hacking, CIA finds" (headline)
Associated Press: "The CIA has concluded with 'high confidence' that Russia sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of Trump."
LA Times: "the Washington Post reported that the CIA had concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government had authorized the hacking"
So I guess we could include a statement along the lines of "the CIA said X, according to senior U.S. officials, members of Congress, etc." But when a large number of very respected and reliable sources merely say "the CIA said X" as a factual statement — and where nobody has questioned the fact that they did, in fact, come to a conclusion — I am comfortable following the reliable sources here. Again, I stress that the statement "they came to a conclusion" is very different from saying "the conclusion is correct." Neutrality 20:38, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Observation: 1) headline with agent sliced from content by MOS:telegraphic (stop) 2) the quotes in 'high confidence' are pretty snarky don't you think? 3) The LA times article says that someone else said that someone had concluded, all in the house that Stilson built. Each of these citation hedges in their own way. SashiRolls (talk) 22:37, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
SashiRolls is dead on.
PBS: "these actors who obtained this material and delivered it to WikiLeaks were described to us as being one step removed from Russian intelligence services as known entities... known affiliations with those Russian intelligence services, but nevertheless not necessarily specifically part of those services... Director Comey, notably, did not sign off — at least publicly — on the letter that the director of national intelligence and director of homeland security issued in late October, accusing Russia..."
LA Times: "U.S. agencies believe they have identified who in the Russian government was involved in ordering operations to disrupt the U.S. election and how they were orchestrated. They are reluctant to make the information public because that could compromise how the intelligence was gathered, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "
The U.S. News story doesn't cite sources for its statements, but the article gives zero indication it has done independent reporting, and is clearly referring to news item reported everywhere else in the media: that anonymous U.S. officials have described a CIA briefing. -Darouet (talk) 23:26, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Did RT (TV network) have anything to say regarding the aforementioned reports?
PBS NewsHour: "Russia aimed to help Trump through hacking, CIA finds" (headline)
Associated Press: "The CIA has concluded with 'high confidence' that Russia sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of Trump."
LA Times: "the Washington Post reported that the CIA had concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government had authorized the hacking"
--Bob K31416 (talk) 01:57, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I have made a post here, User talk:Jimbo Wales#Systematic problems at US-Russia articles, because I think this is a very serious issue. -Darouet (talk) 20:13, 11 December 2016 (UTC) @Neutrality, Casprings, Sagecandor, and MrX: -Darouet (talk) 20:17, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Reliable sources say "CIA said X". That's all there is to it. Any kind of spin on that is just original research. That's it.Volunteer Marek (talk) 15:23, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Nope. They say, "According to U.S. officials, the CIA said X." Removing attributions is just POV pushing, and bad, if not stupid scholarship. -Darouet (talk) 16:00, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Quite agree. Regards Keith-264 (talk) 18:51, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Merger proposal

Democratic National Committee cyber attacks to be merged ---> into Russian influence on the 2016 United States presidential election

I propose that Democratic National Committee cyber attacks be merged into Russian influence on the 2016 United States presidential election. I think that the content in the cyber attack article provides additional detail and can easily fit within the article on Russian influence. If there is too much content, I would suggest that the cyber attack article becomes a sub article of the Russian influence article. Casprings (talk) 20:03, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

@Neutrality, Casprings, and Sagecandor: I've long thought these articles should be combined into one comprehensive article. They don't make a lot of sense on their own. -Darouet (talk) 20:16, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Don't forget 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak, though I'm not sure how all these articles would mesh. Gravity 21:04, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
Agree with MrX about merging all these into here at Russian influence on the 2016 United States presidential election and condensing some of the other ones. We don't need to discuss all the "content" of the leaks, etc. Agree with MrX that Guccifer 2.0 should remain its own article. The rest can all get merged into Russian influence on the 2016 United States presidential election. Sagecandor (talk) 20:33, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
  • Against - I think the DNC cyberattack has a different scope to this article. The scope of this article is much wider - it includes things other than hacking. Additionally, the DNC page includes the contents of them, while this page would only be concerned with the Russian involvement. Stickee (talk) 23:56, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

*Oppose (again), what's emerged on this thread is that this is a classic example of the propaganda model of assertions being parrotted and the parrotting being taken as evidence of notability. The exposure of DNC-Clinton Foundation corruption was an inside job because Craig Murray's assertion has the same standing of the CIA assertions. Keith-264 (talk) 16:15, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Keith, please try to stick to the topic, refrain from off-topic rambling, and avoid calling other editors propagandists. And you already put your !vote above, commenting again further down, with a second bolded "oppose," makes it seem as if you're trying to "double vote." Neutrality 16:56, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Oh I do apologise but it's getting harder to take this thread seriously. Thanks for the AGF and the sneer but I suggest that my comment was the most on-topic (sic) since the thread began. If you were paying attention, you would have realised that I was describing the process by which the CIA "revelations" are legitimised by the corporate media, rather than laughed off the front page with questions like "Evidence please?" I have no views about the other contributors, only the calibre of the comments (except for your unpleasant insinuation, that is). I didn't know that this was a vote and I don't care; I thought it was an expression of opinion and I had something to add. Regards Keith-264 (talk) 17:11, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Opening Sentence

The opening paragraph of The Washington Post story says:

The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter.

Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, according to U.S. officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clinton’s chances.

“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. senators. “That’s the consensus view.”

Yes, there is a quote below it that states it is from "a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. Senators" However, that is one source within the story. Its pretty clear from the opening statement what is being reported and there are multiple means for a reporter to fact check. Casprings (talk) 21:37, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Agreed. Sagecandor (talk) 21:40, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

Opening sentence 2

"Seventeen U.S. intelligence agencies represented by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 United States presidential election."

... is the latest iteration of the first sentence of this article.

That sentence completely misrepresents what the source says. The source ACTUALLY says:

"In fact, in early October, the director of national intelligence, representing 17 intelligence agencies, and the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security said they were confident that the Russian government had directed the email hacks of the Democratic National Committee and a top Clinton adviser."

"Seventeen agencies" absolutely did NOT "conclude". The Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (who represent 17 agencies) came to that conclusion. Because they represent 17 agencies, you can't say that 17 agencies came to that conclusion.

This re-phrasing is highly misleading and illogical. It would have us believe that, for example, the Department of Energy (one of those 17 agencies) independently came to the conclusion that Russia hacked the election. Or that the DEA did so, as well.

I would revert, but I already have one for today. But this edit is highly misleading, outrageous, misrepresents the source, and is an embarrassment to the encyclopedia. Marteau (talk) 01:06, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Fixed. Sagecandor (talk) 01:09, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Yes, that edit was an exaggeration. However, it was not only the CIA that concluded that the Russian government attempted to influence the election. To varying degrees that determination came from the CIA, NSA, DHS, DOJ, FBI, the White House, U.S. Senators, the House Intelligence Committee, the "Intelligence Community", and "American Intelligence".- MrX 02:40, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Merge tag changes during ongoing discussion

Darouet, please do NOT change merge tags during the ongoing discussion, as you did at and .

This is disruptive.

Several are already against this, already stated, above, including Casprings, Neutrality, and MrX.

Let the original discussion play its course please.

Thank you ! Sagecandor (talk) 01:53, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Thank you Sagecandor: that was my mistake. I appreciate your correcting it quickly. -Darouet (talk) 01:59, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Thank you, please be more careful. Sagecandor (talk) 02:00, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Request for Comment on weight at other pages

I have started a request for comment on what the WP:WEIGHT of the information contained in Russian influence on the 2016 United States presidential election in articles and templates that relate to United States presidential election, 2016. The WP:RFC is located here.Casprings (talk) 01:57, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Adding new info directly to the lead

Please, all, stop adding new info directly into the lead.

Instead, add it to the article body text, and then summarize it back up top in the lead.

This way, hopefully, the WP:LEAD will be a summary, not an article in its own right LOL.

Thanks ! Sagecandor (talk) 03:02, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Please, stop adding new stuff to the intro without first adding it to article body. Sagecandor (talk) 19:18, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Cut lede to first paragraph only

The first paragraph, as it currently stands, contains a concise summary of the article. I recommend we cull the last three paragraphs. BlueSalix (talk) 14:47, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I'd suggest one brief paragraph on claims (first), one brief paragraph on counter-claims, and one brief paragraph on the sideline spectacle of all this (e.g. the Russian spokeswoman claiming "the Jews" were responsible and Harry Reid saying there was a FBI "coverup", etc.). BlueSalix (talk) 15:18, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Do the following people/things need to be mentioned in the lead/article?

Re the following items that I've just taken out of the lead.

  • Fact that Glenn Greenwald "disputed" report – I would exclude. Greenwald has no personal stake in this, nor direct involvement. Maybe his inclusion in the article is fine, but not the lead.
  • Reid’s reaction (assertion of FBI cover-up) – I am inclined to exclude. This seems like a reaction that can be best dealt with in the body. Maybe in the lead we could have a generic statement about criticism of the FBI's approach from a variety of figures, but probably not Reid in particular. Note that senators other than Reid are more likely to have important things to say/do on this (McCain or Graham, for example, or whoever is leading the probably investigation in the next Congress.
  • Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman’s anti-Semitic statement on Russian television – I would exclude because (i) it’s not an official statement and (ii) it’s not directly related to their involvement/denial of involvement. We should briefly mention the Russian government’s (official) denial of involvement in the lead, but the spokeswoman’s statement doesn’t belong.

--Neutrality 15:26, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

One by one:
1 Yes - the Washington Post also has no personal stake but we cite their reports. We can't use the lede to construct a paradigm of guilt when there are RS voices that question that :premise. Frankly, how we have it written now - where the whole first paragraph is a parade of horribles that starts citing pronouncements of official state authorities, is extremely :NPOV and non-encyclopedic and reads like a press release from the ODNI Public Affairs Office. But, more ideally, the first paragraph should be something like this:
“ United States intelligence agencies have accused the Russian Federation of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a claim Russia denies. The CIA has suggested the alleged interference was done to help the presidential ambitions of then-candidate Donald Trump, though the FBI has disputed this conclusion. The claims and counter-claims have generated intense public discussion by media and political commentators with some, like Michael McFaul and Robert S. McElvaine, decrying the alleged Russian interference while others, such as Julian Assange and Glenn Greenwald, have questioned whether any interference actually occurred. ”
2 Fine with excluding.
3 I moved this to a "conspiracy theories" section. But we do need to include, it's important to include elements of the carnival side of news if it's widely reported in RS.
BlueSalix (talk) 15:40, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Re Greenwald - the Washington Post is news reporting. Greenwald is commentary. It's apples & oranges.
Re the Russian foreign ministry spokesman's antisemitic statement - I've dropped this from the article altogether, for the time being, because none of the sources tie it in any way to Russian interference/influence on the election. It's arguable that outrageous statements of this kind were designed to distract from Russia's role (I agree that this is "carnival" style maneuvering) -- but we can't conclude or suggest that on our own (WP:SYNTH). Is there some source that connects the statement to Russian influence/interference? Neutrality 15:44, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Wrong, The Intercept is news analysis, not commentary. Oranges and Tangerines. But I'm fine dropping if we rewrite the first paragraph so it doesn't sound like a press release from Langley. No issue if we want to exclude the Russian spox CT. BlueSalix (talk) 15:46, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Whether we characterize it as news analysis or commentary, it's not original reporting. And I do not think that the first paragraph "sounds like a press release from Langley." It largely reflects that the Washington Post and others have reported. Neutrality 15:48, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
#1 - LOL, it reads exactly like a press release. Every claim by the Valiant Defenders of Ol' Glory and Apple Pie (in this case, the wonderful people behind Salvador Allende and the Shah) is slapped up-front to set the narrative, classic churnalism style, while all denials and counter-claims are omittted or buried in one-sentence asides in subsequent paragraphs. The WaPo was covering what they'd had reported to them during a moment in time, which is fine - an encyclopedia needs to frame a larger picture that isn't tied to a flash moment in time. It's not a question of sources, we have them, it's a question of how do we prioritize them. My suggested opening paragraph is neutral and even. I mean seriously this ... "so and so, official representative of X-number of official agencies of the U.S. government intelligence apparatus, issued a formal ..." reads like a fucking boilerplate you'd pull off PRNewswire!
#2 - if we strip everything except original reporting then we're stripping everything except the WaPo because every subsequent story was a precis of the original WaPo report. Do we wanna go down that road? BlueSalix (talk) 15:56, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
#1 - It seems you're coming at this from a certain perspective, which is fine - but Allende etc. are really irrelevant here. We "prioritize" sources to reflect what's out there in terms of emphasis, breadth, depth of coverage. The Washington Post, etc., are reliable sources, irrespective of whatever beef we may have with their reporting. Our job is to report what the reliable sources say, and if they say "The CIA concluded this..." or "the FBI concluded that..." then that's what we put in. If we were going beyond the sources (i.e., writing "the CIA's conclusions are true" or "the FBI's skepticism is justified") then I would be alarmed. But the article does decently well in not doing this.
#2 - Generally, I do favor citing original reporting when possible, rather than rehashes from news aggregators or the like (This article, from the Hill, cited and I believe quoted in the article right now, is a pure rehash of WaPo that could be cut). I also note that it's inaccurate to say that "every subsequent story was a precis of the original WaPo report" - original reporting has also been done by the NY Times (example) and CNN (example), both quoting their own sources. Neutrality 16:39, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I more or less agree with Neutrality. I'd exclude Greenwald unless somehow it becomes prominent, as there's nothing that distinguishes him in this particular case from scores of other pundits. I'd keep Reid in the text not in the lede. The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman comment I would also keep but not in the lede.Volunteer Marek (talk) 16:47, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

(edit conflict) (The bloody page name changed in mid edit!) All of these names should remain out of the lead, per Neutrality. Opinions, commentary, and speculation by individuals does not rise to level of importance to justify including in the lead. I would support omitting them entirely from the article, but I don;t feel as strongly about it. Comparing the Washington Post's article with any of the commentary is like comparing elephants to Barbie dolls. - MrX 18:09, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Because this is "American politics post-1925" where the sockpuppet have sockpuppets? Volunteer Marek (talk) 04:17, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Too many citations

Can we please try to limit it to no more than three citations per statement, at least in the intro? Sagecandor (talk) 20:11, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

FBI position on Russian motives and involvement

Right now we state that the FBI believes Russia interfered in the US election, based on this quote from the Washington Post: "The FBI is not sold on the idea that Russia had a particular aim in its meddling. “There’s no question that efforts went one way, but it’s not clear that they have a specific goal or mix of related goals,” said one U.S. official.". We have other sources that cite the WashPo article: . FBI officials may be convinced that the Russians are behind the breaches, and perhaps we can find older articles verifying this? But the statement of a single anonymous U.S. official on the matter should not be sufficient for us here to reproduce the statement's content as truth, instead of attributing it. -Darouet (talk) 20:18, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

I've lobbed off the last bit out of an abundance of caution and out of deference to you.
The current state of play as to responsibility (leaving aside motive) seems to be that the FBI did conclude that the Russians were responsible, and accepted the U.S. government's official statement that the Russians were responsible, but the FBI as an agency did not specifically and publicly say it. NBC ("As for the hacking, a senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News that there was no disagreement over Russia's culpability. The concern, that official said, was about 'naming and shaming' the Russians."); WaPo ("FBI Director James B. Comey advised against the Obama administration publicly accusing Russia of hacking political organizations on the grounds that it would make the administration appear unduly partisan too close to the Nov. 8 election, according to officials familiar with the deliberations. But he supported the administration’s formal denunciation last month as long as it did not have the FBI’s name on it, they said."); Business Insider ("The FBI, however — while agreeing that the hacking campaign originated in Russia — has been reluctant to align itself with the CIA and assign a motive to the cyberattacks.") Neutrality 20:40, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Chronological order

Let's please use chronological order for the intro.

Please stop adding new info to the intro.

Thank you ! Sagecandor (talk) 20:24, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Will to Truth (talk · contribs) edits and seem a bit over-the-top direction. We should just state the facts in chronological order in the intro. Sagecandor (talk) 20:27, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Extra wording in intro not needed here. This is a summary. Sagecandor (talk) 20:28, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Can you stop? what is wrong with you? The lead does not need to be in "chronological order". In any article of any kidn, you state the most important conclusion first, then get into the details of chronology. Your idea is unsupportable, and perhaps you should stop editing this article. Will to Truth (talk) 20:29, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Nothing is wrong with me, thank you very much. Sagecandor (talk) 20:30, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Suggest we get rid of recent edits by Will to Truth (talk · contribs) as they violate WP:LEAD, introducing new info directly to intro without first being in article body text. They also seem to violate WP:NPOV. Sagecandor (talk) 20:32, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Response I got at the user's talk page: . Sagecandor (talk) 20:35, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
Now Check User blocked. TimothyJosephWood 20:46, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
By the way, if anyone hasn't enabled strike through for blocked accounts in their settings, it's super useful if you hang around contentious articles that get a lot of vandalism. TimothyJosephWood 01:41, 13 December 2016 (UTC)
I agree, it's very useful.- MrX 01:43, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

NYTimes summary

This "what we know so far" piece just published by the New York Times might be a useful source of citations and statements for this article.--DarTar (talk) 01:54, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

It is a column and therefore not a reliable source, per "News organizations." Furthermore, one of the comments appears to be inaccurate: "Russian state media outlets have favored Mr. Trump and opposed Mrs. Clinton, but their reach in the United States is limited." Thom Hartmann and Ed Schulz backed Clinton. Larry King didn't seem to be pro-Trump and Lee Camp appeared to favor the Greens. I don't recall anyone backing Trump. TFD (talk) 04:02, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Article title changed to "Alleged" interference

US officials and agencies have alleged that Russia intervened in the US election, and this is a known and accepted fact. Russia denies these allegations and whether they are true remains contested. Per WP:POVTITLE, I've moved the page to Alleged 2016 United States election interference by Russia, because the previous title was an egregious POV violation. -Darouet (talk) 05:40, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Requested move 13 December 2016

It has been proposed in this section that Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections be renamed and moved to Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential campaign.

A bot will list this discussion on the requested moves current discussions subpage within an hour of this tag being placed. The discussion may be closed 7 days after being opened, if consensus has been reached (see the closing instructions). Please base arguments on article title policy, and keep discussion succinct and civil.

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2016 United States election interference by Russia → Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential campaign – The title of this article says "interference" in the US "election". The word "election" implies that Russia interfered with the voting process, as "election" means: "the selection of a person or persons for office by vote." The article, however, doesn't mention Russia interfering with the voting process, but releasing private DNC emails and promoting propaganda. In order to ensure clarity of title, I suggest the page be moved to "Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential campaign" to reflect that the interference occurred with the campaigning (generating opinions, etc.) and not the voting process itself. 11Eternity11 (talk) 03:48, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Why the current title even what it is right now? It was moved by Sagecandor without any discussion I can find, and no move request. It's also a WP:POVTITLE because declares Russia's guilt, which has been stated by US officials and agencies, but is not known. Concision is the worst excuse for falsehood I've ever seen someone make for an article title. -Darouet (talk) 05:32, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

I've changed it to "alleged," to remove the most glaring problem facing the article at present. -Darouet (talk) 05:37, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

  1. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/election
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