HBO docuseries Agents of Chaos tries to explain Russian election interference with mixed results

Variety

"Connecting the seemingly infinite threads of online trolling, Russian subterfuge and the astonishing evolution of American politics has become a favorite past-time of impassioned intellectuals raging against the Trump administration," says Caroline Framke. "In trying to pinpoint all the significant factors that led to Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory, some have identified Russia’s interest in American affairs as the key to understanding how we got to where we are today. As Alex Gibney lays out in his new HBO docuseries Agents of Chaos, that’s not a specious argument; there is ample evidence that the combination of Russian motivation to campaign against Hillary Clinton combined with Trump’s personal interest in forging Russian relations merged at the right time to catastrophic ends. And yet, Agents of Chaos runs into the same problem as most attempts to explain this perfect storm of interests, namely: it is extremely difficult to explain every connection of this complex web without drowning in all the specifics."