It is no secret that social media is increasingly being exploited to spread manipulation campaigns.
In a new report by the University of Oxford, researchers reveal just how many countries are already being affected by the fast-growing practice.
Coordinated Manipulation Campaigns
According to a report by researchers from Oxford, the number of countries that have experienced organized manipulation campaigns over social media platforms has increased. Compared to 2017 when 28 countries were affected, and to 2018 when the number had increased to 48, 70 countries are now affected by such manipulative tactics. This means that there was a 150 percent increase in organized social media manipulation in the last two years.
In 26 of the countries, the tactic is being used by authoritarian regimes to suppress human rights, drown out opposing opinions, and to discredit political opponents. However, seven countries were found to utilize this tactic to influence foreign operations and audiences. These are China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia.
Of these countries, China is perceived as a major player in global disinformation, particularly when it comes to the Hong Kong protests where manipulation on local platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, and QQ have also moved to international platforms Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Social Media Manipulation
Of the social media platforms, Facebook remains to be the top choice for manipulation, followed by Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram. In fact, in 56 of the countries, researchers found evidence of formally organized propaganda campaigns on Facebook.
Prominent on these platforms are pro-government or pro-party propaganda, attacks on political oppositions, polarizing messages that divide society, actual manipulation of information, hashtag flooding, and state-sponsored trolling. Of these, the creation of manipulated media is the most common, with so-called “cybertroops” in 52 out of the 70 countries actively creating content such as videos, memes, and fake news to deliberately mislead users.
Simply put, various agents including governments, military, and political parties are increasingly using their cybertroops to manipulate public opinion and set political agenda on platforms that people are supposed to be using leisurely.
“This report has highlighted the ways in which government agencies and political parties have used social media to spread political propaganda, pollute the digital information ecosystem, and suppress freedom of speech and freedom of the press,” researchers wrote. “Are social media platforms really creating a space for public deliberation and democracy? Or are they amplifying content that keeps citizens addicted, disinformed, and angry?”
