If it was a takeover by conpro or any other group, they would be more clever and use normal accounts, act like decent members of the community, and gradually gain more influence while sliding content to match their taste or shit up the place. Rdrama are good at that. (before you say it, no, this content is perfectly in line with what has normally been discussed here)

If it was someone trying to create an army of non-handshake accounts to let them spam votes (a type of botnet), you'd think they would keep using the same accounts yeah. Unless they just keep getting banned and trying again. It's a volume business - they could be hoping a few accounts slip through the cracks.

It's possibly actual Russian bots but they are not very effective. This group is already 90% in the "Russia isn't evil" or "meh a pox on both sides" camp, and unlike in large communities (PDW) bots that don't engage people in comments won't fool anyone.

I'm starting to think it's some crazy person like that guy who posts the shroom memes. It could still be Russian bots or maybe even something for marketing purposes - but they are wasting their time. Thanks for the news updates I guess?