This article doesn't seem to attribute the many fake personas to any particular nation-state. Weird.
It was the UAE or Saudis most likely (my bet is on UAE, they’ve been ahead of the curve with their phone hacking and dis-information operations)
I don't think this is a "funny haha gotcha conservatives" prank. This a real propaganda/fake news effort by a foreign power to subvert US journalism. It could happen to anyone. Is there really a need to make this partisan by dunking on the Right-Wing for falling victim to it?