‘COORDINATED INAUTHENTIC BEHAVIOUR’ AND OTHER ONLINE INFLUENCE OPERATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA SPACES

Authors

  • Tobias Keller Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
  • Tim Graham Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
  • Dan Angus Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
  • Axel Bruns Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
  • Rolf Nijmeijer LUISS Guido Carli, Italy
  • Kristoffer Laigaard Nielbo Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Anja Bechmann Aarhus University, Denmark; University of Antwerp, Belgium
  • Lisa-Maria Neudert Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK
  • Nahema Marchal Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK
  • Samantha Bradshaw Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK
  • Patrícia Rossini University of Liverpool, UK
  • Jennifer Stromer-Galley Syracuse University, USA
  • Erica Anita Baptista Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
  • Vanessa Veiga de Oliveira Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11132

Keywords:

politics, social media, malinformation, influence campaigns, coordinated inauthentic behaviour

Abstract

Recently, major social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have announced efforts to counter "coordinated inauthentic behaviour." However, scholarly research continues to provide evidence that coordinated human and automated accounts covertly seek to undermine and manipulate public debates on these platforms. Given the difficulties in obtaining data from these platforms to study these influence operations, and the significant challenge of identifying covert malinformation operations, further conceptual and methodological innovations are required. This panel brings together a selection of recent studies that advance the methods available for the forensic, mixed-methods, in-depth, and large-scale analysis of inauthentic information operations: Paper 1 investigates the arson disinformation campaign during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season. Paper 2 investigates the distribution and content monetisation strategies of junk news sources across a selection of five major social media platforms during the 2019 European Parliament campaign. Paper 3 explores whether Facebook's microtargeting advertising functionality allows political parties to promote conflicting narratives to different groups of people. Paper 4 studies the experience and engagement with malinformation by users of Facebook and WhatsApp, focussing on the current political environment in Brazil.

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Published

2020-10-05

How to Cite

Keller, T., Graham, T., Angus, D., Bruns, A., Nijmeijer, R., Nielbo, K. L., … Veiga de Oliveira, V. (2020). ‘COORDINATED INAUTHENTIC BEHAVIOUR’ AND OTHER ONLINE INFLUENCE OPERATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA SPACES. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11132

Issue

2020: AoIR2020

Section

Panels