How Russia's internet research agency built its disinformation campaign

Dawson, Andrew and Innes, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8950-8147 2019. How Russia's internet research agency built its disinformation campaign. Political Quarterly 90 (2) , pp. 245-256. 10.1111/1467-923X.12690

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Abstract

In this article we analyse features of the information influence operations run by the St. Petersburg based Internet Research Agency, targeted at Europe. Informed by publicly available ‘open source’ data, the analysis delineates three key tactics that underpinned their disinformation campaign: account buying; ‘follower fishing’; and narrative switching. Both individually and collectively these were designed to build the reach, impact and influence of the ideologically loaded messages that social media account operators authored and amplified. The particular value of the analysis is that whilst a lot of recent public and political attention has focussed upon Kremlin backed disinformation in respect of the 2016 United States presidential election, far less work has addressed their European activities.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Crime and Security Research Institute (CSURI)
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0032-3179
Funders:	ESRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	14 May 2019
Date of Acceptance:	3 April 2019
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 11:43
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/122489

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