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In a troubling development for digital democracy, organized social media manipulation campaigns have increased by 15% since last year, now operating in all 81 countries surveyed by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). The comprehensive study reveals the expanding influence of “cyber troops” across global social media platforms.
These cyber troops deploy sophisticated tactics including spreading doctored images, using data analytics to target specific demographics, trolling political opponents, and mass-reporting content to trigger automated content removal systems. The operations utilize both automated bot accounts and human-operated profiles in coordinated campaigns.
Despite efforts by major platforms to combat this trend, the scale of manipulation continues to grow. Facebook and Twitter removed more than 317,000 accounts and pages between January 2019 and November 2020, yet they face an increasingly professional adversary. Dr. Samantha Bradshaw, a researcher at the OII, notes that disinformation has evolved into a legitimate industry with private firms offering “disinformation-for-hire” services to clients willing to pay.
The financial scope of these operations is substantial. During the same 22-month period when platforms were removing hundreds of thousands of accounts, approximately $10 million was spent globally on political advertising by cyber troops. Since 2009, an estimated $60 million has flowed into private “strategic communications” firms specializing in digital influence operations.
Government involvement represents a particularly concerning dimension of the problem. The OII report identified evidence of government agencies in 62 countries actively employing computational propaganda techniques. Notable examples include China-backed operations launching coordinated smear campaigns against Hong Kong protesters and the Libyan National Army’s use of social media to shape narratives around the country’s civil war.
Among the countries where misinformation campaigns actively drive societal division and polarization – approximately 48% of those studied – both the United Kingdom and United States feature prominently. These two nations were found to have interference from all five potential actor categories identified by researchers: government agencies, politicians and parties, private contractors, civil society organizations, and citizens and influencers.
The real-world consequences of prolonged social media manipulation became starkly apparent during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Sheera Frankel, cybersecurity reporter for The New York Times, described how rapidly disinformation spread in the aftermath of the 2020 election: “The day after the election, a group immediately pops up on Facebook called Stop the Steal. They’re gaining 100 new members every 10 seconds.” After mainstream platforms removed these groups, many participants simply migrated to alternative platforms like Gab and Parler, which offer minimal content moderation.
Professor Philip Howard, Director of the OII and co-author of the report, emphasized the critical need for reliable information in today’s media environment. “Now, more than ever, the public needs to be able to rely on trustworthy information about government policy and activity,” he stated. Howard called on social media companies to intensify their efforts to flag misinformation and remove fake accounts without requiring government intervention.
The findings highlight a digital battlefield where truth increasingly competes with coordinated manipulation. As social media platforms attempt to address these issues through improved detection and removal systems, the manipulation industry continues to adapt and evolve, creating an ongoing challenge for digital information integrity worldwide.
The proliferation of these manipulation campaigns raises profound questions about the future of democratic discourse, as citizens increasingly struggle to distinguish between authentic public opinion and manufactured consensus designed to influence political outcomes.
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12 Comments
It’s troubling to see the continued growth of social media manipulation tactics, despite efforts by platforms to combat them. The emergence of a ‘disinformation-for-hire’ industry highlights the financial incentives driving these deceptive practices. Policymakers and tech companies must work together to address this complex challenge.
Absolutely. The scale and professionalization of these influence operations are deeply concerning for the health of digital democracy. Sustained, coordinated action will be needed to disrupt the business models and tactics underlying these manipulative campaigns.
Interesting to see the evolution of social media manipulation into a commercial ‘disinformation-for-hire’ industry. This highlights the scale of the challenge and the financial incentives driving these deceptive practices. Meaningful solutions will require a multifaceted approach.
The commodification of disinformation is a concerning development. Policymakers and tech companies must work together to disrupt the business model underlying these operations and hold bad actors accountable.
The Oxford study provides a sobering assessment of the proliferation of social media manipulation tactics worldwide. This underscores the need for greater transparency, accountability, and user empowerment to combat the corrosive impact of disinformation.
Absolutely. Platforms must do more to detect and disrupt coordinated influence operations, while also equipping users with media literacy skills to identify and resist manipulative tactics.
This is concerning news about the scale of social media manipulation campaigns globally. It highlights the challenges tech platforms face in combating sophisticated, well-funded disinformation operations. Curious to see what policy solutions could help address this growing threat to digital democracy.
Agreed, the expansion of these coordinated manipulation campaigns is deeply troubling. Effective countermeasures will require sustained collaboration between platforms, researchers, and policymakers.
The Oxford study provides a sobering assessment of the global proliferation of social media manipulation tactics. While platforms have taken steps to address this issue, the findings suggest their efforts have not been sufficient to curb the growing threat. Meaningful solutions will require a multifaceted approach involving policymakers, researchers, and tech companies.
Agreed. The study’s revelation that organized manipulation campaigns now operate in all 81 countries surveyed is a stark reminder of the scale and complexity of this challenge. Developing effective countermeasures will require sustained collaboration and a clear-eyed understanding of the evolving tactics employed by bad actors.
The findings from the Oxford study are a stark reminder of the pervasive threat of social media manipulation globally. While platforms have taken steps to address this issue, the scale and sophistication of these campaigns suggest more robust and coordinated efforts are needed.
Agreed. The expansion of these coordinated influence operations across 81 countries underscores the global nature of the challenge. A multilateral, multistakeholder approach will be crucial to develop effective countermeasures.