{"id":10593,"date":"2022-03-15T14:36:41","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T14:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1382564"},"modified":"2022-03-15T14:36:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T14:36:41","slug":"the-russian-government-is-using-a-twitter-loophole-to-spread-disinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=10593","title":{"rendered":"The Russian government is using a Twitter loophole to spread disinformation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In February this year, reports<\/a> surfaced on Twitter and Facebook that the Ukrainian government was undertaking a mass genocide of civilians. Around the same time, conspiracy theorists<\/a> began saying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an agent of the \u201cNew World Order\u201d.<\/p>\n

These claims have been thoroughly debunked, but not before attracting millions of views and offering a purported justification for Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. More recently, Russian and Chinese officials have claimed<\/a> the United States has funded bioweapons research in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Social media has played a crucial role in the spread of these and other false claims. We have identified a network of dozens of Russian government Twitter accounts using a loophole in the platform\u2019s rules to run a coordinated program of disinformation.<\/p>\n

The dangers of disinformation<\/h2>\n

By \u201cdisinformation\u201d, we mean factually incorrect material distributed with the aim of unsettling or damaging something or someone: a politician, a political party or system, or a way of life.<\/p>\n

Since the 2016 US elections<\/a>, disinformation has been recognized as a growing threat to democracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Democracy relies on citizens\u2019 ability to make informed decisions about policy, politics, and world affairs. This ability is severely compromised when fake and (deliberately) misleading claims are promoted as fact.<\/p>\n

As we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, disinformation can also pose a grave threat<\/a> to public health and safety.<\/p>\n

Disinformation itself is not new, but over the past decade, it has found an ideal place to flourish<\/a> on social media platforms.<\/p>\n

Why disinformation loves social media<\/h2>\n

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many other platforms are designed as amplification systems<\/em>. They are built to be open to all comers and increase the volume on any type of content.<\/p>\n

Anyone with an internet connection can access social media, where all kinds of content can be shared with a speed and reach that was impossible with heritage media.<\/p>\n

The sheer speed at which disinformation is disseminated \u2013 especially via automated \u201cbot accounts<\/a>\u201d \u2013 makes it hard for content moderators to keep up. The emotive<\/a>, partisan nature of much online disinformation also means internet users and journalists are more likely to spread it without checking it too closely.<\/p>\n

Russian accounts on Twitter<\/h2>\n

Russian government Twitter accounts have played a key role in the spread of pro-Russia disinformation. While Twitter has fewer users than Facebook or Instagram, it is a pivotal site<\/a> for the production and dissemination of news.<\/p>\n

We tracked the Twitter activity of 75 official Russian government accounts and found they are a major source and amplifier of disinformation. At the time of writing these accounts together have a total of 7,366,622 followers. They have been retweeted 35.9 million times, received 29.8 million likes, and 4 million replies.<\/p>\n

Between 25 February and 3 March 2022, about these accounts made 1,157 tweets \u2013 and around three quarters were about Ukraine. The accounts have tried to spread false narratives to justify the invasion.<\/p>\n

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