Russian troll activity increased 2,000% after Syrian airstrikes

After the U.S., U.K. and France launched joint airstrikes on Syria Friday as part of a retaliation effort against the country for alleged chemical attacks, the Pentagon made a big announcement about Russian trolls.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said quote, “There has been a 2,000 percent increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours. Therefore, we will keep you all abreast of the facts moving forward.”

Destruction in Syria after US-led airstrikes

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is reportedly directing trolls to promote fake news on social media. Secretary of Defense James Mattis moved the press briefing about the strike from Friday to Saturday to hinder the disinformation campaign.

The briefing confirmed that the U.S. does not wish to seek conflict in Syria, with White calling out Russia directly, saying quote, “We call upon Russia to honor its commitment to ensure the Assad regime dismantles its chemical weapons program and never uses chemical weapons again.”

There was no coordination between Russia or the U.S. before the strike, with Russian President Putin calling the strike an "act of aggression against a sovereign state."