“It’s very, very abnormal,” Dutson said of King’s social media list. “And I would have to say, unfortunately, (it’s) kind of a pattern with Angus King and his political career.”

Dutson led Republican Charlie Summers’ campaign against King in 2012 and recalled how King paid interns to post positive comments under fake names in response to online news stories and blogs about the campaign.

“If that’s not disinformation, I don’t know what is,” he said. “His sudden concern with disinformation as a principled thing seems kind of out of place. What does seem in place is a pattern of using dirty digital tricks to advance his political campaigns.”