Not at all: from what I've seen, that sort of thing doesn't have to start out as intentional nefariousness. We've just got some state actors who've developed re

Not at all: from what I've seen, that sort of thing doesn't have to start out as intentional nefariousness. We've just got some state actors who've developed real skill and determination at twisting all sorts of existing entities to their ends: this is considerably easier in the service of chaos politics than it would be if they were trying to set up an orderly, top-down spy network or some such thing. You don't have to start OUT as a honeypot or a tool of foreign intelligence. It would be a pretty lousy intelligence service that had to start with pre-existing cooperation and alliance. Much better to work at twisting things, and then rely on rationalization and perhaps back it up with threat and intimidation. There's nothing new about any of this, it's just done with flair, ingenuity and determination. Or has been: I think there's a limit to how far that can go.