♪ ♪
>> NARRATOR: Donald Trump wasn't
the only one who seized the
opportunity to exploit the
nation's division.
Vladimir Putin did it, too,
using a cyber-attack to strike
at the fault lines of American
democracy.
>> The effectiveness of this
interference from Russia depends
on a couple of things.
(people speaking Russian)
>> It depends on the
polarization of politics in
America.
There were divides, and Russia
was pushing out material that
exploited those divides, that
broadened them, that called
attention to those divides.
(phone chimes)
>> NARRATOR: Posts on black
power...
>> "Staying woke, uplifting our
people."
>> "We are proud to be black and
stand..."
>> NARRATOR: On Southern
pride...
>> "The Confederate flag
represents heritage..."
>> "Join our fight to save
Southern heritage!"
>> NARRATOR: Russian attacks
played into deep-seated fears.
>> "If I win, Clinton wins!"
>> NARRATOR: Exploiting both
sides on the most divisive
issues.
>> "Stop police brutality!"
>> "Blue lives matter!"
>> NARRATOR: Immigration.
>> "It's time to get rid of
parasites!"
>> NARRATOR: Guns.
>> "I'll keep my guns..."
>> NARRATOR: Race.
>> "White kids chant N-word in
school bus."
>> And that's when I realized,
"Uh-oh, things have gone too
far."
There was a tipping point that
took place.
And I think the Russians didn't
create that tipping point, but
they exploited it.
They saw the fissures of... of
division.
They saw these, these... these
pivot points and they went right
for them.
>> NARRATOR: Trump, himself
sowing discord and chaos,
encouraged the Russians to
continue their attack and target
Hillary Clinton and the
Democrats.
>> I will tell you this: Russia,
if you're listening, I hope
you're able to find the 30,000
emails that are missing.
>> I think they started their
operation to intervene in the
election with the idea of
simply sowing discord, and, uh,
weakening the United States as a
country by doing so.
It only later became, uh, a
mission to actually specifically
elect Donald Trump.
(man speaking Russian)
>> NARRATOR: To help Trump, the
Russians created fake news about
Hillary Clinton.
(reporters speaking Russian)
>> Vladimir Putin certainly has
our number as a country.
He understood how easily
Americans could be turned
against each other with
Facebook.
What Facebook does is obliterate
the ability to tell the lie from
truth.
Where what is real, what is
fake, is not discernible and not
knowable.
And the consequences of that,
for a democratic republic, are
frightening, at best, to think
about.
>> NARRATOR: One particular
conspiracy theory was aired in
America by a Russian propaganda
network, RT.
>> ...theories about her
health caught on...
>> NARRATOR: Exaggerated and
questionable stories about
Clinton's health...
>> Under a microscope are
Clinton's falls, coughs, and
head motions.
(reporters talking)
(laughing)
>> Have you talked about vice
presidential possibilities with
Senator Warren?
>> You guys have got to try the
cold chai.
>> This video filmed in June
went viral and started a slew of
rumors that Clinton may have had
a seizure.
>> We were watching stories
about Hillary Clinton appearing
on Russian propaganda websites
like Russia Today and Sputnik.
>> A Democratic frontrunner has
been forced to refute rumors of
her deteriorating health, maybe.
>> And then somehow ending up in
very similar form in the right-
wing media ecosystem of the
United States-- Breitbart, 
InfoWars, even Fox News.
>> What was once a concern
voiced in whispers is now
getting mainstream attention.
We're talking about Hillary
Clinton's health.
>> Some have said it's like a
mini-seizure.
What does it look like to you?
>> It could be a post-concussion
syndrome.
You know, your balance is off,
you're-- you're dizzy all the
time, your memory is off...
>> NARRATOR: It was invented,
overblown, but it didn't matter.
>> The fact is, she's out there
giving speeches every day and
has to cancel them having these
coughing fits.
>> New questions tonight about
Hillary Clinton's health.
>> Good evening, it was a
dramatic moment that's already
being watch and re-watched.
>> The episode this morning is
raising more questions about her
health...
(reporters speaking Russian)
>> NARRATOR: And the candidate
made the most of it.
>> And she can't make it 15 feet
to her car, give me a break.
Give me a break.
(cheers and applause)
Give me a break!
>> NARRATOR: As the fake news
spread, conservative talk radio
host Charlie Sykes saw how it
hardened the divide.
>> I'll tell you what my
experience was in 2016.
That the flood of these
misleading or outright false
stories was increasing.
In the past, I'd always been
able to push back on my audience
and say, "Okay, you understand
this is not true.
This is not the case."
You know, "There are not bodies
stacked up in the Clinton
Library, and here's the source
of all of that."
By late 2016, though, I was no
longer able to do that.
People were not willing to
accept the corrections.
And Donald Trump is counting on
this, and this does
fundamentally change our
politics.
