Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Playing Both Sides: Russian State-Backed Media Coverage of the BlackLivesMatter Movement
Russian influence operations on social media have received significant attention following the 2016 US presidential elections. Here, scholarship has largely focused on the covert strategies of the Russia-based Internet Research Agency and the overt strategies of Russia's largest international broadcaster RT (Russia Today). But since 2017, a number of new news media providers linked to the Russian state have emerged, and less research has focused on these channels and how they may support contemporary influence operations. We conduct a qualitative content analysis of 2,014 Facebook posts about the #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) protests in the United States over the summer of 2020 to comparatively examine the overt propaganda strategies of six Russian-linked news organizations—RT, Ruptly, Soapbox, In The NOW, Sputnik, and Redfish.
The Gender Dimensions of Foreign Influence Operations
International Journal of Communication, Volume 15, Issue 21, 2022.
Drawing on a qualitative analysis of 7,506 tweets by state-sponsored accounts from Russia’s GRU and the Internet Research Agency (IRA), Iran, and Venezuela, this article examines the gender dimensions of foreign influence operations. This comparative look at the online political communication of women’s rights by foreign state actors highlights distinct blueprints for foreign influence operations while enriching the literature about the unique challenges women face online.
Disinformation Optimized: Gaming Algorithms to Amplify Junk News
Previous research has described how highly personalised paid advertising on social media platforms can be used to influence voter preferences and undermine the integrity of elections. However, less work has examined how search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies are used to target audiences with disinformation or political propaganda. This paper looks at 29 junk news domains and their SEO keyword strategies between January 2016 and March 2019.
Sourcing and automation of political news and information over social media in the United States, 2016-2018.
Social media is an important source of news and information in the United States. But during the 2016 US presidential election, social media platforms emerged as a breeding ground for influence campaigns, conspiracy, and alternative media. Anecdotally, the nature of political news and information evolved over time, but political communication researchers have yet to develop a comprehensive, grounded, internally consistent typology of the types of sources shared. Rather than chasing a definition of what is popularly known as “fake news,” we produce a grounded typology of what users actually shared and apply rigorous coding and content analysis to define the phenomenon.
Privacy by Infrastructure: The Unresolved Case of the Domain Name System
Digital privacy concerns are primarily viewed through the lens of personal data and content. But beneath the layer of content, less visible issues of infrastructure design and administration raise significant privacy concerns. The Internet's Domain Name System (DNS) is one such terrain. There is already a great deal of attention around how the DNS intersects with freedom of speech, trademark disputes, cybersecurity challenges, and geopolitical power struggles in the aftermath of transitioning the historic U.S. oversight role to the global multistakeholder Internet governance community. However, the privacy implications embedded in the technical architecture of the DNS have received less attention,
The Global Organization of Social Media Disinformation Campaigns
Columbia Journal of International Affairs. Volume 71, Issue 1.5. 2018.
Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for political engagement and expression. However, state actors are increasingly leveraging these platforms to spread computational propaganda and disinformation during critical moments of public life. These actions serve to nudge public opinion, set political or media agendas, censor freedom of speech, or control the flow of information online. Drawing on data collected from the Computational Propaganda Project’s 2017 investigation into the global organization of social-media manipulation, we examine how governments and political parties around the world are using social media to shape public attitudes, opinions, and discourses at home and abroad.
The Politicization of the Domain Name System: Implications for Internet Security, Stability, and Freedom
One of the most contentious and longstanding debates in Internet governance involves the question of oversight of the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS administration is sometimes described as a “clerical” or “merely technical” task, but it also implicates a number of public policy concerns such as trademark disputes, infrastructure stability and security, resource allocation, and freedom of speech. A parallel phenomenon involves governmental and private forces increasingly altering or co-opting the DNS for political and economic purposes distinct from its core function of resolving Internet names into numbers. This article examines both the intrinsic politics of the DNS in its operation and specific examples and techniques of co-opting or altering DNS’ technical infrastructure as a new tool of global power.
Select Reports & Policy Papers
Combatting Information Manipulation: A Playbook for Elections and Beyond
Efforts to undermine election-related information integrity are a growing threat to democracies around the world. These efforts serve to delegitimize elections by reducing faith in elected governments, polarizing societies, and strengthening authoritarians. In many countries, civil society actors, journalists, governments, election management bodies and other democratic actors are on the frontlines of these battles. Yet, they face significant challenges preparing and responding to new digital threats as they occur before, during, and after elections. To counter these threats, the International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute and Stanford Internet Observatory collaborated to create Combating Information Manipulation: A Playbook for Elections and Beyond.
Mapping Civil Society Responses to Disinformation: An International Forum Working Paper.
Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a central role in addressing disinformation’s growing impact on democracy. Given the vast scope of the global disinformation challenge, the landscape for CSOs working in this space has evolved rapidly in recent years. The work of these organizations in the disinformation fight is critical for positively shaping policy making, improving platform responses, and enhancing citizen knowledge and engagement. Yet, CSOs face ongoing challenges in this complex and fast-changing field. How has civil society grown in its understanding and response to the digital disinformation challenge and what should be done to further empower this work?
Industrialized Disinformation: 2020 Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation
The manipulation of public opinion over social media remains a critical threat to democracy. Over the past four years, we have monitored the global organization of social media manipulation by governments and political parties, and the various private companies and other organizations they work with to spread disinformation. Our 2020 report highlights the recent trends of computational propaganda across 81 countries and the evolving tools, capacities, strategies, and resources used to manipulate public opinion around the globe.
Influence Operations and Disinformation on Social Media
Centre for International Governance Innovation, Modern Conflict and Artificial Intelligence, 2020.
Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, foreign state actors have been spreading disinformation on social media about the disease and the virus that causes it. Covering a variety of topics — from its origin to potential cures, or its impact on Western societies — the creation and dissemination of COVID-19 disinformation online has become widespread. Although COVID-19 has highlighted new and incredible challenges for our globalized society, foreign influence operations that capitalize on moments of global uncertainty are far from new. Over the past few years, public and policy attention has focused largely on foreign influence operations targeting elections and referendums, but health-related conspiracy theories created and amplified as part of state propaganda campaigns also have a long history.
Global disinformation disorder: 2019 inventory of social media manipulation
Over the past three years, we have monitored the global organization of social media manipulation by governments and political parties. Our 2019 report analyses the trends of computational propaganda and the evolving tools, capacities, strategies, and resources used in 70 countries around the world.
The Market of Disinformation
This report examines the impact of algorithmic changes made by social media platforms, designed to curb the spread of disinformation, through the lens of digital marketing. The report highlights some of the techniques used by campaigners to attract, retain and persuade online audiences. It also sets out recommendations for the UK Electoral Commission.
Government Responses to the Malicious Use of Social Media
Since 2016, at least 43 countries around the globe have proposed or implemented regulations specifically designed to tackle different aspects of influence campaigns, including both real and perceived threats of fake news, social media abuse, and election interference. Our research team conducted an analysis of proposed or implemented regulations and identified a number of interventions.