(I'm straining to keep this comment as apolitical as possible and keep it more in a philosophical or strategic space, so I'm not trying to make a Trump vs Clinton argument)
> I was perfectly able to vote for the candidates of my choice based on the research I'd done as an informed voter. I wasn't prevented from exercising my right to vote at all.
The problem is that it appears there's a significant propaganda war going on. I mean, there's probably always been a propaganda war, but the extent of its reach has been more shrouded till recently, and it seems to have been elevated and more aggressive recently. Furthermore, it seems more and more people are taking advice from more-or-less anonymous folks on social media websites (such as us, perhaps), and political punditry seems to be a place where people obtain their opinions rather than develop their own.
If this is the case, claiming to be an "informed voter" isn't really meaningful if the information you and I are receiving is tainted. Now perhaps you and I are somewhat more capable of sifting through the nonsense than others, but it's also possible that we're not as smart as we think we are and we need to become more vigilant in assessing the value and truthfulness of the information we receive, and suppress urges to overreact.
> I've never understood this whole Russian voting paranoia. It's not like the U.S. doesn't try to influence politics in other countries via the media. Radio Marti, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, etc...
The difference (and this is speculation here) is that, it appears that "traditional U.S. interests" (whether you like them or not) seem to be losing the battle.