The Russians praise their faux successes
When trolls hijack the debate in the united states

Written by Frauke Niemeyer
4/17/2023, 7:03 PM

Only one percent of the fake news spread by Russia is caught in the United States – at least that’s how the Kremlin assesses the success of its campaigns. Another Discord document leak shows how the importance of information warfare is steadily increasing.

Russian troll factories boast that their fake news campaigns are more successful in the United States than is perceived in the West. With hundreds of thousands of fake accounts online, Russian operators are spreading misinformation about the Ukrainian army and the side effects of the vaccines. This is according to a Discord leak that leaked US intelligence to the public last week.

According to the Washington Post, only one percent of the fake Russian accounts are exposed, according to one classified document. “This number is imaginary,” is the assessment of defense expert Sönke Marahrens, but he sees great potential for spreading disinformation in the United States in particular, where freedom of speech is an especially valuable asset in American society. Thus, any government action against disinformation will be quickly criticized as affecting freedom of expression.

Some American channels adopt the Russian point of view

says Marahrens, who conducts research at the European Center of Excellence for Combating Mixed Threats in Helsinki. It appears to be the position of a fictitious American citizen exercising his right to freedom of expression.

While Europe’s media view of Russia’s war of aggression has so far been shaped by information from Ukraine, this is not the case in the United States. And the disinformation is now being driven by many voices who, for political reasons, want to distance themselves from Democratic President Joe Biden’s clear commitment to Ukraine. Among their ranks, the Russian point of view was now increasingly supported.

„For this reason, it has been proven that radio and television channels, especially from the alt-right spectrum, broadcast formats of Russian disinformation – because they may fit into a political concept,” says Marahrens in an interview with ntv.de. “As a state agency, how do you intend to counter this without suspecting censorship?”

Censors are quickly being charged – several Republican members of Congress as well as Elon Musk, who has been Twitter boss since fall 2022, accuse the Democratic US government of often defaming social media accounts as fake Russian accounts. In this way, independent opinions will be suppressed.

According to the Washington Post, platform staff and independent research confirm that aggressive campaigning has increased since Musk took over Twitter. Shortly after, the billionaire began cutting back on moderation teams that focused on misinformation and hate speech. Instead, AI is mainly used to block dangerous and problematic content. As a result, threats and verbal abuse can linger on the page for a longer period of time before being removed, if any.

Sow doubt, toxic mood

Even the verification system introduced by Twitter, which must be paid for, is not a secure barrier against misinformation. According to the results of the Reset research group, Russian propaganda channels have repeatedly managed to buy a blue flag, which is supposed to confirm the seriousness of the source, for fake accounts. Tweets from accounts marked with a blue tick should be given higher reach on Twitter.

The manipulators behind the fake accounts, called „trolls,” aren’t necessarily interested in enforcing opposing opinions. It is already enough to destroy an objective discussion through aggressive reactions, insults and mass posting, sowing doubts, poisoning the mood. Posting activity is well above average, a new account with few followers can be a sign of a troll.

According to Marahrens, it is necessary for democratic societies to evolve more in dealing with disinformation. Schools should educate children about how to deal with fake news and make it clear that not everything that is claimed online is automatically true, says Marahrens. Schools are providers of security services.