scholarly journals Black Trolls Matter: Racial and Ideological Asymmetries in Social Media Disinformation

2020 ◽  
pp. 089443932091485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deen Freelon ◽  
Michael Bossetta ◽  
Chris Wells ◽  
Josephine Lukito ◽  
Yiping Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Computational Analysis ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Substantial Role ◽  
General Relevance ◽  
Black Activist

The recent rise of disinformation and propaganda on social media has attracted strong interest from social scientists. Research on the topic has repeatedly observed ideological asymmetries in disinformation content and reception, wherein conservatives are more likely to view, redistribute, and believe such content. However, preliminary evidence has suggested that race may also play a substantial role in determining the targeting and consumption of disinformation content. Such racial asymmetries may exist alongside, or even instead of, ideological ones. Our computational analysis of 5.2 million tweets by the Russian government-funded “troll farm” known as the Internet Research Agency sheds light on these possibilities. We find stark differences in the numbers of unique accounts and tweets originating from ostensibly liberal, conservative, and Black left-leaning individuals. But diverging from prior empirical accounts, we find racial presentation—specifically, presenting as a Black activist—to be the most effective predictor of disinformation engagement by far. Importantly, these results could only be detected once we disaggregated Black-presenting accounts from non-Black liberal accounts. In addition to its contributions to the study of ideological asymmetry in disinformation content and reception, this study also underscores the general relevance of race to disinformation studies.

The Moscow Spoiler Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 154-172
Author(s):  
Kieron O’Hara
Keyword(s):  
Technical Skill ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Confidential Information ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
State Actors

The hacking ethic and organizations such as Pirate Parties and Anonymous support the use of technical skill to bypass security and censorship. The Russian government has weaponized this ethic to use the Internet to spread disinformation and conspiracy theories, and to undermine trust in epistemological authority globally. This leads us to call this the Moscow Spoiler model, although many other countries, political actors, and non-state actors also use the tactic. Quasi-state agencies in Russia such as the Internet Research Agency and gangs such as the Night Wolves automate misinformation, while activists like WikiLeaks have been used in kompromat operations to reveal true but confidential information alongside misinformation. The Moscow Spoiler is not a vision for the Internet, but parasitical on a functioning Internet. The chapter also reviews progress and problems in the development and application of fact checkers.

scholarly journals Developing a Theoretical Framework for Processing the Negative Information in Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Jinwook Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Positive Information ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
The Relationship

The author explores the fundamental aspects of the rational decision-making process with the aim of understanding that negative information has the possibility to distort processing of political information. This article further develops a theoretical framework of the relationship between negative information on social media and its receiver. This article conducts an empirical analysis to partially prove this framework with the Twitter texts spread by the Internet Research Agency (IRA). This analysis indicates that: (1) tweets containing negative information had more interaction than tweets containing positive information; (2) tweets containing anger-inducing content had more interaction than tweets containing fearful content. These results suggest that negative emotion would have a more significant effect on this process, and different negative emotions can have a distinct effect on information processing.

scholarly journals Nasionalisme di Era Internet

Humaniora ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Danu Widhyatmoko
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Country Life ◽  
New Phase

Nationalism and nationality of a country life are moving into the new phase. Internet has become a new medium that opens up so many opportunities to create a sense of nationalism for the country. This paper contains a review of nationalism in the age of the Internet. This paper begins with understanding nationalism, the character of the Internet, social media and nationalism in the era of the Internet. Research method used in this paper is literature study, continued with reflective data analysis. With reflective analysis method, the authors analyzed data from the data collection has been carried out for comparison between the existing literature by circumstances or phenomena that occur, so that the conclusions of rational and scientific data can be obtained. 

scholarly journals Guy next door and implausibly attractive young women: The visual frames of social media propaganda

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110265
Author(s):  
Marco Bastos ◽  
Dan Mercea ◽  
Fábio Goveia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Visual Narrative ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Canonical State ◽  
The Social

This study combines data analysis with multilevel processing of visual communication to classify the visual frames of state-sponsored social media propaganda. We relied on Twitter’s Election Integrity data to sample five propaganda targets of the Internet Research Agency, including Russian and American partisan groups, and explored how their operations deviated from canonical state propaganda marked by symbols of national identity and heroic masculinity. The results show that the visual frames employed by the Internet Research Agency are designed to embody the vox populi with relatable, familiar, or attractive faces of ordinary people. The results also indicate that Internet Research Agency influence operations displayed cultural acuity and familiarity with the social identity of their targets, and that the visual narrative the agency crafted trafficked primarily in the tropes of regular guys or attractive young women. We discuss these findings and argue that state-sponsored propaganda has attuned to subcultural and visual affordances of social platforms.

Autism and Social Media

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Virtual Communication ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Social media appears to be an easy and popular platform where parents of autistic children can connect and share their experiences with other families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although modern societies are becoming more isolated and less communal, social information systems provide modes of virtual communication. Social media has become a valuable way to communicate and interact. Communities in the age of the internet have adopted social media to interact with their members. Individuals diagnosed with ASD often exhibit co-occurring sensory processing problems, which present them with difficulties in social settings and communications. Families with members diagnosed with autism rely on community support to reduce depression. Families can connect to other members of the community for knowledge on dealing with autism. Social scientists have found links between social support and individual wellbeing. The autism blogger community provides extensive social support to its community members through social media platforms like blogs and Twitter.

scholarly journals GUY NEXT DOOR AND IMPLAUSIBLY ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMEN: THE VISUAL FRAMES OF SOCIAL MEDIA PROPAGANDA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Bastos ◽  
Dan Mercea ◽  
Fabio Goveia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Visual Narrative ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Canonical State ◽  
The Social

This study introduces a mixed-methods approach to classifying the visual frames of state-sponsored social media propaganda. We relied on Twitter’s Election Integrity data to sample five key propaganda targets of the Internet Research Agency (IRA), including Russian and American partisan groups. We manually coded profile images and subsequently applied qualitative and quantitative processing to the images. The visual motifs identified in IRA Twitter profiles allowed us to explore how their operations deviated from canonical state propaganda marked by symbols of national identify and heroic masculinity. Indeed, the results show that the visual frames employed by the Internet Research Agency are designed to embody the vox populi with relatable, familiar, or attractive faces of ordinary people. The results also show that IRA influence operations displayed cultural acuity and familiarity with the social identity of their targets, and that the visual narrative it crafted trafficked primarily in the tropes of regular guys or implausibly attractive young women. We discuss these findings and argue that state propaganda has effectively attuned to both subcultural and visual affordances of social platforms.

MEDIA LITERASI BAGI DIGITAL NATIVES: PERSPEKTIF GENERASI Z DI JAKARTA

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Ranny Rastati
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Generation Y ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Digital Natives ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Positive Image ◽  
Generation Z ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Depth Interview

In 2017 the majority of internet users are 19-34 years old or 49.52% (APJI, 2017). Almost half of the internet users in Indonesia are digital natives who were born after 1980: Generation Y (1980-1995) and Generation Z (1996-2009). This research will be focused on Generation Z as the true generation of the internet. Generation Z was born when the internet is available, a contrast to Generation Y who is still experiencing the transition of the internet. The purpose of this research is to find an effective way of providing information about media literacy to Generation Z. Through descriptive qualitative, the study was conducted with in-depth interview and observation toward 12 university students in Jakarta. The results showed that there are four effective ways of providing information about media literacy which is i) videos distributed to social media such as Youtube and Instagram, ii) interesting memes in communicative style, iii) through selebgram or micro-celebrity in Instagram who is consider as a role model and have a positive image, and iv) roadside billboards. Another interesting finding is that male informants tend to like media literacy information through videos and memes, while female informants prefer campaigns conducted by positive image selebgram and billboard. AbstrakPada tahun 2017 pengguna internet di Indonesia mayoritas berusia 19-34 tahun yaitu sebanyak 49,52% (APJI, 2017). Dari data tersebut terlihat bahwa hampir sebagian pengguna internet di Indonesia adalah digital natives atau penutur asli teknologi digital yaitu orang-orang yang lahir setelah tahun 1980: Generasi Y (1980-1995) dan Generasi Z (1996-2009). Penelitian ini akan difokuskan kepada Generasi Z karena mereka dianggap sebagai sebenar-benarnya generasi internet. Generasi Z lahir saat teknologi tersebut sudah tersedia, berbeda dengan Generasi Y yang masih mengalami transisi teknologi hingga menuju internet. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mencari tahu cara yang efektif dalam memberikan informasi mengenai media literasi kepada generasi Z. Metode yang digunakan adalah deskriptif kualitatif dengan observasi dan wawancara mendalam. Informan berjumlah 12 orang mahasiswa di Jakarta. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada empat cara yang efektif dalam memberikan informasi mengenai media literasi yaitu i) video yang disebarkan ke media sosial seperti Youtube dan Instagram, ii) meme menarik dengan bahasa yang mudah dimengerti, iii) melalui selebgram yang menjadi panutan dan berimage positif, dan iv) papan iklan di pinggir jalan. Temuan menarik lainnya adalah informan laki-laki cenderung menyukai informasi media literasi melalui video dan meme yang disebarkan ke media sosial, sementara perempuan lebih menyukai kampanye yang dilakukan oleh selebgram berimage positif dan papan iklan.

ROPO Effect in Gender- Generational Characteristics

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-43
Author(s):  
Radovan Bačík ◽  
Mária Oleárová ◽  
Martin Rigelský
Keyword(s):  
Association Analysis ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Product Information ◽  
Customer Behavior ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Customer Reviews ◽  
Online Purchase ◽  
Brick And Mortar

The development of the Internet and the current technologies have contributed to a significant progress in the consumer shopping process. Today, shopping decisions are more intuitive and much easier to make. E-shops, search engines, customer reviews and other similar tools reduce costs of searching for products or product information, thus boosting the habit of searching for information on the Internet - "Research Shopper Phenomenon" (Verhoef et al. 2007). According to Verhoef et al. (2015), this phenomenon leads to a phenomenon where consumers search for product information using one channel (Internet) and then make a purchase through another channel (brick-and-mortar shop). Heinrich and Thalmair (2013) refer to this effect as the "research online, purchase offline" or "ROPO" effect for short. This phenomenon can also be observed in reverse. Keywords: customer behavior, research online – purchase offline, association analysis

Utilizing Blockchain Technology in Social Media Bot Identification

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreya Reddy ◽  
Lisa Ewen ◽  
Pankti Patel ◽  
Prerak Patel ◽  
Ankit Kundal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Learning Models ◽  
Current Time ◽  
Machine Learning Methods ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
Machine Learning Models

<p>As bots become more prevalent and smarter in the modern age of the internet, it becomes ever more important that they be identified and removed. Recent research has dictated that machine learning methods are accurate and the gold standard of bot identification on social media. Unfortunately, machine learning models do not come without their negative aspects such as lengthy training times, difficult feature selection, and overwhelming pre-processing tasks. To overcome these difficulties, we are proposing a blockchain framework for bot identification. At the current time, it is unknown how this method will perform, but it serves to prove the existence of an overwhelming gap of research under this area.<i></i></p>

Chinese Social Media Platforms and Microblogging in the Context of Public Diplomacy

Communicology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-179
Author(s):  
E.S. Nadezhkina
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Interactive Communication ◽  
Network Interaction ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Right ◽  
Chinese Social Media

The term “digital public diplomacy” that appeared in the 21st century owes much to the emergence and development of the concept of Web 2.0 (interactive communication on the Internet). The principle of network interaction, in which the system becomes better with an increase in the number of users and the creation of user-generated content, made it possible to create social media platforms where news and entertainment content is created and moderated by the user. Such platforms have become an expression of the opinions of various groups of people in many countries of the world, including China. The Chinese segment of the Internet is “closed”, and many popular Western services are blocked in it. Studying the structure of Chinese social media platforms and microblogging, as well as analyzing targeted content is necessary to understand China’s public opinion, choose the right message channels and receive feedback for promoting the country’s public diplomacy. This paper reveals the main Chinese social media platforms and microblogging and provides the assessment of their popularity, as well as possibility of analyzing China’s public opinion based on “listening” to social media platforms and microblogging.

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