Deceptive accusations and concealed identities as misinformation campaign strategies

Bellutta, Daniele; King, Catherine; Carley, Kathleen M.

doi:10.1007/s10588-021-09328-x

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…While more advanced natural language processing techniques may be applied at this stage, we opt to use hashtags as the most general anchor for messaging analysis which cuts across languages and is broadly applicable to Twitter and similar platforms. Hashtags have likewise been used to similar effect in unpacking messaging aims of information operations in prior work [ 29 , 43 , 54 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, even within the same Reddit fora, researchers discovered that trolls tended to shift link-sharing behaviors to evade detection [ 42 ]. In the 2020 Canadian federal elections, bots used creative strategies of explicitly claiming not to be bots, thereby not only creating confusion about their own identities, but also shifting burdens of proving authenticity to human participants in the online conversation [ 43 ]. More general analysis has also found a persistent false positive problem in the application of bot detection algorithms, especially in contexts where disinformation agents came from distinct settings from the domain of an algorithm’s training datasets [ 18 ].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping state-sponsored information operations with multi-view modularity clustering

2022

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This paper presents a new computational framework for mapping state-sponsored information operations into distinct strategic units. Utilizing a novel method called multi-view modularity clustering (MVMC), we identify groups of accounts engaged in distinct narrative and network information maneuvers. We then present an analytical pipeline to holistically determine their coordinated and complementary roles within the broader digital campaign. Applying our proposed methodology to disclosed Chinese state-sponsored accounts on Twitter, we discover an overarching operation to protect and manage Chinese international reputation by attacking individual adversaries (Guo Wengui) and collective threats (Hong Kong protestors), while also projecting national strength during global crisis (the COVID-19 pandemic). Psycholinguistic tools quantify variation in narrative maneuvers employing hateful and negative language against critics in contrast to communitarian and positive language to bolster national solidarity. Network analytics further distinguish how groups of accounts used network maneuvers to act as balanced operators, organized masqueraders, and egalitarian echo-chambers. Collectively, this work breaks methodological ground on the interdisciplinary application of unsupervised and multi-view methods for characterizing not just digital campaigns in particular, but also coordinated activity more generally. Moreover, our findings contribute substantive empirical insights around how state-sponsored information operations combine narrative and network maneuvers to achieve interlocking strategic objectives. This bears both theoretical and policy implications for platform regulation and understanding the evolving geopolitical significance of cyberspace.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%