Political Actors Using Industrial-Scale Social Media Manipulation, Oxford Report Finds

The global scale of organized social media manipulation has surged, with campaigns now detected in 81 countries worldwide, according to a comprehensive new report by the Oxford Internet Institute. This represents a 15% increase from the previous year, when such activities were identified in 70 countries.

Researchers found that disinformation has evolved into an industrial-scale operation, with governments, political parties, and private firms systematically producing and disseminating misleading content across social platforms. The practice has become a standard political strategy, with over 93% of surveyed countries employing disinformation as part of their political communication efforts.

“Social media manipulation of public opinion is a growing threat to democracies around the world,” warns Professor Philip Howard, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute and co-author of the report. “Our report shows misinformation has become more professionalised and is now produced on an industrial scale. Now, more than ever, the public needs to be able to rely on trustworthy information about government policy and activity.”

The research reveals a troubling trend toward professionalization in this sector, with government agencies and political organizations investing millions in private “cyber troops” that effectively drown out legitimate voices online. These operations frequently deploy citizen influencers—including volunteers, youth groups, and civil society organizations—to amplify manipulated messages that align with specific ideologies.

Dr. Samantha Bradshaw, the report’s lead author and Oxford Internet Institute alumna, highlighted how this activity has transformed the digital landscape: “Our 2020 report highlights the way in which government agencies, political parties and private firms continue to use social media to spread political propaganda, polluting the digital information ecosystem and suppressing freedom of speech and freedom of the press.”

The financial scale of these operations is substantial. The report documents nearly $60 million spent on firms using bots and amplification strategies to create artificial impressions of trending political narratives. An additional $10 million went directly toward social media political advertisements.

Private strategic communications companies have emerged as major players, with researchers identifying state actors working with such firms in 48 countries. This commercialization of disinformation services represents a significant evolution in how computational propaganda is deployed globally.

Social media platforms have attempted to counter these activities. Between January 2019 and November 2020, companies like Facebook and Twitter removed more than 317,000 accounts and pages linked to “cyber troops.” However, the scale and sophistication of manipulation campaigns continue to grow despite these efforts.

Government involvement in computational propaganda remains widespread, with evidence showing direct links between state agencies and cyber troop activities in 62 countries. Established political parties were also found to employ these tactics extensively, using social media to “spread disinformation, suppress political participation, and undermine oppositional parties.”

“Cyber troop activity can look different in democracies compared to authoritarian regimes,” Dr. Bradshaw noted. “Electoral authorities need to consider the broader ecosystem of disinformation and computational propaganda, including private firms and paid influencers, who are increasingly prominent actors in this space.”

The researchers documented various manipulation techniques across countries, including the use of fake accounts operated by humans (79 countries), automated bot accounts (57 countries), and hacked or stolen accounts (14 countries). Communication strategies typically involved creating disinformation or manipulated media, using data-driven targeting, and deploying abusive tactics like smear campaigns or harassment.

The report found 76 countries using disinformation and media manipulation in their campaigns, while 30 countries employed sophisticated data-driven strategies to target specific users with political content. State-sponsored trolling to attack political opponents or activists was documented in 59 countries, representing a significant increase from 47 countries in the previous year.

Howard emphasized that social media companies must take greater responsibility: “Social media companies need to raise their game by increasing their efforts to flag misinformation and close fake accounts without the need for government intervention, so the public has access to high-quality information.”

The findings emerge from a rigorous methodology developed by Oxford researchers, incorporating systematic content analysis of news articles, literature reviews of public archives and scientific reports, country-specific case studies, and expert consultations conducted between 2019 and 2020.