Oxford Study: Social Media Manipulation Found in All 81 Countries Surveyed

Social media manipulation campaigns have spread to all 81 countries surveyed in 2020, according to a troubling new report from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). The findings represent a 15 percent increase from the previous year’s study, highlighting the growing global challenge of organized disinformation.

The research documents the rising influence of “cyber troops” – social media accounts that deliberately spread manipulated content and employ sophisticated tactics to shape public opinion. These accounts, which may be automated bots or operated by humans, use methods including spreading doctored images, employing data-driven strategies to target specific demographics, trolling political opponents, and mass-reporting legitimate content to trigger automated content moderation systems.

Despite efforts by major social media platforms to combat these operations, the problem continues to grow. Facebook and Twitter removed more than 317,000 accounts and pages during a 22-month period from January 2019 to November 2020. However, researchers note that platform enforcement actions are struggling to keep pace with what has become a sophisticated industry.

“What we’re seeing is the complete professionalization of disinformation,” said Dr. Samantha Bradshaw, a researcher at OII. “Private firms are now offering disinformation-for-hire services, creating a marketplace for manipulation that didn’t exist just a few years ago.”

The financial scale of this industry is substantial. During the same period that platforms were removing hundreds of thousands of accounts, approximately $10 million was spent globally on political advertising by cyber troop operations. Since 2009, an estimated $60 million has flowed to private “strategic communications” firms specializing in these services.

Government involvement in computational propaganda is widespread, with the OII finding evidence of state agencies in 62 countries using these tactics. In China, government-backed cyber troops have launched ongoing smear campaigns against Hong Kong protesters. In Libya, the National Army has leveraged social media to shape narratives about the country’s civil war.

Perhaps most concerning for Western democracies, the study found that 48 percent of countries experienced misinformation campaigns specifically designed to drive societal division and polarization. Both the United Kingdom and the United States were identified in this category. In fact, these two nations tested positive for interference from all five potential actor categories examined in the study: government agencies, politicians and parties, private contractors, civil society organizations, and citizens and influencers.

The real-world consequences of prolonged social media manipulation were starkly illustrated during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. “The day after the election, a group immediately pops up on Facebook called Stop the Steal,” said Sheera Frankel, cybersecurity reporter for The New York Times. “They’re gaining 100 new members every 10 seconds.”

When mainstream platforms eventually removed these groups, many participants simply migrated to alternative platforms like Gab and Parler, which offer minimal content moderation. This pattern demonstrates how difficult it has become to effectively counter coordinated disinformation campaigns once they gain momentum.

Professor Philip Howard, Director of the OII and co-author of the report, emphasized the broader implications for democratic governance. “Now, more than ever, the public needs to be able to rely on trustworthy information about government policy and activity,” Howard said. “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 come as lawmakers worldwide debate potential regulatory frameworks for social media platforms, weighing concerns about both harmful content and free expression. Meanwhile, platform companies face increasing pressure to develop more effective detection and enforcement systems that can operate at scale without unduly restricting legitimate speech.

As manipulation techniques continue to evolve and spread globally, the research suggests that addressing this challenge will require coordinated efforts across technology companies, governments, and civil society organizations.