The Kremlin’s Bots, Trolls, and Influencers

At least 57 states have employed social media bots to amplify their messaging, including Iran and China .

Russian passion for information warfare is in part the legacy of a Soviet strategy of disinformation that has been reinvigorated by the advent of social media.

Russian intelligence agents employ online personalities to spread their propaganda.

At home, Russian TikTok influencers were paid to post videos pushing pro-Kremlin narratives about the war in Ukraine .

Russian intelligence agents set up Facebook groups catering to all sorts of partisan demographics, including right-wing Christian groups, black nationalist groups, and Muslim groups.

The idea here was not to convince anyone or to engage in a spirited exchange of ideas, but to enflame online debates.

Sometimes, this involves actual intelligence agents operating, often on foreign soil, to generate alternative facts”.

Some liberals are attributing Trump ’s resounding election victory to foreign disinformation.

The real danger isn’t that Russian agents might swing an election, but they can increase mutual hostility between the most politically polarised groups by feeding such people sensationalised falsehoods, which reinforce their already extreme beliefs.