If Russian strategists were likely considering expansion beyond Crimea, they would have been able to use social media information to assess, with a great deal o

If Russian strategists were likely considering expansion beyond Crimea, they would have been able to use social media information to assess, with a great deal of precision and in real time, the reception that they would likely receive,” Driscoll and his co-author wrote. Our conjecture is ... Note the speculative angle. They don't offer any evidence that the Russians did any kind of serious analysis of what was on Twitter at the time. Or whether it influenced their decision making. They only assert that they "may have".