MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in London lampooned alleged reports on Friday that Russia-related structures supposedly attempted to use the Pokemon Go mobile app to spark division in the US.
"Foreign invaders and domestic conflicts failed to ruin American democracy. Did Pikachu and Rattata (Pokemon Go characters - TASS) do it?" the diplomatic mission questioned with a #pokemondidit hashtag attached to the statement.
CNN earlier reported that Russia-linked structures purportedly attempted to use Pokemon Go to spark a rift among US residents. Players were offered to find Pokemon characters near locations where alleged incidents of police brutality had taken place. Users were instructed to give their Pokemon names corresponding with those of the victims. Winners of the contest were promised to be awarded Amazon gift cards.
"It's unclear what the people behind the contest hoped to accomplish, though it may have been to remind people living near places where these incidents had taken place of what had happened and to upset or anger them," CNN noted. The news network admitted that it "has not found any evidence that any Pokemon Go users attempted to enter the contest, or whether any of the Amazon Gift Cards that were promised were ever awarded."
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier commented on the given CNN report, noting that the TV channel "provided a dull explanation of the surging racial problems in modern-day America."