Fake social media ‘stirred division’ after UK attacks
FAKE social media accounts with links to Russia amplified public discord following UK terror attacks, according to Cardiff University research.
The Cardiff University Crime and Security Research Institute said that the level of influence and interference by Russian-linked accounts trying to “engineer social division” is considerably more extensive than previously reported.
The analysis found systemic use of fake accounts following four terror attacks that took place in the UK in 2017.
The evidence found at least 47 different accounts were used to influence and interfere with public debate following the London Bridge, Westminster, Manchester and Finsbury Park attacks.
Of these, eight accounts were especially active, posting at least 475 Twitter messages across the four attacks which were reposted in excess of 153,000 times.
After the Finsbury Park attack seven original messages from fake accounts were reposted 4,871 times.
Professor Martin Innes, of the Crime and Security Research Institute, said: “Terrorist violence is fundamentally designed to terrorise, mobilise and polarise its audiences.
“The evidence suggests a systematic strategic political communications campaign being directed at the UK designed to amplify the public harms of terrorist attacks.”
The Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats said a significant aspect of these accounts was the use of “sockpuppets” – where interventions were made on both sides of debates, amplifying their message and increasing the level of discord and disagreement online.
One example cited was the image of a Muslim woman on Westminster Bridge walking past a victim being treated.
According to the researchers’ data, the image was used by multiple farright groups and individuals, with around 7,000 variations.
One responder tweeted: “She is being judged for her own actions & lack of sympathy. Would you just walk by? Or offer help?
Whereas another said: “So this is how a world with glasses of hate look like – poor woman, being judged only by her clothes.”
The institute collected a dataset of around 30 million datapoints from various social media platforms.
After further investigation, anomalies were revealed to be associated with fake accounts.
Following the Manchester and London Bridge attacks, at least one account was sending inflammatory messages within 15 minutes.
It added that the accounts would “boost their signal” by tagging celebrities and political figures with large followings.
The Crime and Security Research Institute report said that more thought needs to be given to dealing with the online aftermath of attacks.
It said: “What has been neglected is the downstream consequences and the potential for better managing and mitigating the harms associated with those plots that do get through.
“The implication is that we require a more sophisticated ‘post-event prevent’ stream to counter-terrorism policy – part of which should focus upon rapidly establishing what countermeasures are effective in offsetting the impact of ‘soft facts’ propagated by overseas interests, as they seek to do the work of terrorist organisations by amplifying the capacity and capability of violent acts to mobilise and polarise Western citizens.”
The Cardiff University researchers said that is it difficult to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” the origin of messages and accounts, but that they used a approach similar to forensic science to trace their source.
The Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats project, which looks at rumours and propaganda following terrorist attacks, funded the research.