{"id":87813,"date":"2018-09-07T22:15:04","date_gmt":"2018-09-08T02:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-18T09:43:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T13:43:16","slug":"russia-trolls-public-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/russia-trolls-public-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia Trolls Public Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Everything<\/a>Hey here is a surprise – things on Facebook<\/a> are fake<\/strong><\/em>. GovInfo Security<\/em> is reporting<\/a> that social media trolls sponsored by Russia<\/strong> have been actively stirring up the mindless vaccination debates<\/strong><\/a>. Researchers from George Washington University<\/a> and Johns Hopkins University<\/a> published their findings on (08\/23\/2018). They published a report, “Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate<\/a>,” in the American Journal of Public Health<\/a>. <\/em>In the article, they based studied social media tweets collected from 2014 to 2017 on the vaccine debate.<\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the research the Internet Research Agency<\/strong>,<\/a> a company backed by the Russian government<\/strong> is at the center of the dis-information. The known Russian\u00a0social media troll<\/a><\/strong> which specializes in online influence operations is linked to the spread of “polarized and anti-vaccine” misinformation via social media. <\/strong>The social media posts appear designed to undercut trust in vaccines. Such information could lead to lower vaccination rates and further contribute to a rise in mass outbreaks of measles<\/strong>, mumps, and rubella among children, among other viral infections.<\/p>\n

How do anti-vaccine messages spread?<\/h3>\n

From 2014-2017, Twitter bots and Russian trolls<\/strong> disseminated anti-vaccine messages in trying to erode public consensus on vaccination in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a><\/p>\n

The researchers’ review of anti-vaccine messaging on Twitter found the sources of disinformation are automated. There appears to be a steady stream of vaccine discussion being undertaken by social media bots. <\/strong>Social media bots are automated accounts. The researchers also identified and social media cyborgs<\/strong>\u2019, that are hacked accounts taken over by bots. There are also social media trolls. <\/strong>Social media trolls are people who often disguise their identity and seek to sow discord.<\/p>\n

The researchers also identified “content polluters.<\/strong>” Content polluters used anti-vaccine messages as bait to entice their followers to click on advertisements and links to malicious websites. <\/strong>The researchers contend that content polluters collate to high levels of anti-vaccine content. In the case of Russian trolls, however, their “messages were more political and divisive<\/strong>” and included both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine content.<\/p>\n

Trolls tied to Russia<\/h3>\n

\"Examples<\/a>To identify accounts controlled by Russian trolls, the researchers used previously published information on Twitter accounts that intelligence agencies<\/strong> have tied to Russian government disinformation campaigns.\u00a0As an example,\u00a0CNN<\/em> reports<\/a> that one Russian troll account sent 253 tweets containing the #VaccinateUS hashtag among their sample. Among those tweets with the hashtag;<\/p>\n