Social media blackout foils Kremlin propaganda
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dredged up concerns that the country’s aggression would extend to social media, and that the Kremlin’s long-running campaign to use the internet to stir doubt and division in democracies would confuse public opinion on the war.
Instead, social media has become an unexpectedly effective vehicle for galvanizing public opinion across many countries against President Vladimir Putin’s actions, while at the same time silencing much of his propaganda.
In the five years since Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, companies including Facebook parent Meta and Twitter have built systems to ensure they wouldn’t be blindsided the next time.
“There has probably been a miscalculation on Putin’s part about what the response of the West would be,” said Joshua Tucker, a professor at New York University who runs the school’s Center for the Advanced Study of Russia.
In the U.S., opposition to Putin is a rare point of bipartisan agreement, making it an easy decision for Facebook and Twitter to act, he added. “It might be more dangerous for social media companies not to take decisive action.”
For years, Russian operatives have embedded themselves into democracies including the U.S. through social media, running fake accounts that masqueraded as real citizens with polarizing opinions.
Social media companies were scolded by regulators worldwide for not catching such campaigns sooner, causing them to invest in more sophisticated content-moderation systems. The efforts also raised questions about Putin’s goals.
“A war in Europe, preceded by a yearslong propaganda and influence campaign that destabilized, captured and divided European and U.S. populations,” Emily Bell, the director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, said in a Feb. 23 tweet. “This does not seem a random path.”
But this time, social media companies were better prepared to crack down on Russian propaganda. Facebook and Instagram have banned ads from Russian state-backed media, and Twitter isn’t showing ads in Russia at all. Snap is blocking ads from all Russian advertisers.
Facebook and Twitter have also started labeling posts that include links to Russian state-backed media outlets so people know what they’re reading. Facebook also removed a pro-Russia disinformation network that was targeting users in Ukraine.
YouTube, Google’s video site, which is hugely popular in Russia, hosts a number of news outlets and online personalities close to the Kremlin. RT, the state-backed network formerly called Russia Today, bills itself as the “most watched news network on YouTube.”
This past week YouTube removed ads from channels run by RT and other state-backed networks, blocked them in Europe and limited the amount they recommended them to viewers. TikTok did the same.
Also flooding the sites: Ukraine’s messaging. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a popular hero for his onthe-ground selfie videos during the war, providing a contrast with the imagery of Putin’s speeches from vast opulent ballrooms. Ukrainian government accounts have been posting videos, photos and even memes to build support for the country’s fight.
The battle is not just against Russia’s content. On TikTok, for example, people have used old audio clips on top of new video to share fake “war footage,” according to a report from Media Matters. Such videos can help accounts gain followers or solicit donations from sympathetic viewers. Even when videos are removed within hours they can garner millions of views.
Others have said the social media companies’ blocking of state media is too little, too late.
“The platforms should get no credit for taking temporary steps against some of Vladimir Putin’s disinformation websites and popular YouTube channels,” said Gordon Crovitz, co-CEO of NewsGuard Technologies, a startup that tracks news credibility. “They have known for years that their users were seeing Putin’s disinformation without warning them.”