reporter: across the street a counter rally formed and the two sides in a stark illustration of american division and discords. the organizers were thousands ever miles away in st. petersburg, russia, working for a secretive organization which according to a recent u.s. indictment had a strategic goal, to sow discord in the u.s. political system. its name, the internet research agency, dubbed the kremlin troll factory by former employees who smuggled out these rare cellphone images. in 2016, cnn spoke to a russian journalist who went undercover as an internet troll there. translator: the u.s. elections are the key issue for the kremlin and of course russia has invested a lot of effort into them and that is why the troll factories are working, i have no doubt. reporter: it was during the russian-backed rebellion in