Citation

How Social Media Companies are Failing to Combat Inauthentic Behaviour Online | StratCom

Author:
Bay, Sebastian; Fredheim, Rolf
Year:
2019

From the 2014 invasion of Ukraine to more
recent attempts to interfere in democratic
elections, antagonists seeking to influence
their adversaries have turned to social media
manipulation.
At the heart of this practice is a flourishing
market dominated by Manipulation Service
Providers (MSPs) based in Russia. Buyers
range from individuals to companies to
state-level actors. Typically, these service
providers sell social media engagement in the
form of comments, clicks, likes, and shares.
Since its foundation, the NATO Strategic Communication
Centre of Excellence in Riga has
studied social media manipulation as an important
and integral part of the influence campaigns
malicious state and non-state actors
direct against the Alliance and its partners.