Bulletin From The Borderlands Special Report
Bulletin From The Borderlands Special Report
Sud Am News - Social Media’s Key Role In Political Polarization And Radicalization
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Social Media: One The Most Important Weapons Of Modern Warfare
Driven by the pursuit of profit, social media companies have inadvertently or even worse, intentionally contributed to the political polarization and radicalization plaguing our modern society. But how are they doing this? One word: engagement. The longer these companies keep you, the user, on their apps they generate more money from advertising. They have built their platforms from the ground up for this one reason. Some of the methods they employ are downright dangerous to you, the consumer. Now before I delve into this topic I would like to say that I believe social media can be an excellent tool to connect individuals with shared interests and it can be a fantastic place to share all kinds of information from detailed OSINT analyses to funny cat memes. However, without proper oversight, it can be wielded by bad actors as a weapon just as dangerous as conventional bombs and firearms.
The Ways In Which Social Media Contributes To Polarization And Radicalization:
Social media algorithms are designed to show users content that they are more likely to engage with. On paper this seems like a decent idea, if you, the user, enjoys watching sports clips then obviously in order to keep you on the app longer the app should show you more sports clips. However, this also has an unintended consequence. Users tend to see content that reinforces their existing beliefs and values while being shielded from opposing views. This creates filter bubbles, which can lead to a narrow, one-sided perspective and reinforce existing biases and beliefs. This phenomenon can also lead the user into an echo chamber. An echo chamber is when users become surrounded only by others who share their views. This can lead to a more extreme and radicalized perspective, as people are less likely to be exposed to diverse opinions and experiences. By exclusively following a page that promotes a radical ideology, you will inevitably engage with individuals who share the same beliefs. As a result, this ideology gradually becomes normalized and appears less radical due to the surrounding echo chamber that reinforces and validates these viewpoints.
Once a user is in an echo chamber, they become more susceptible to group polarization. Group polarization is when people tend to adopt more extreme views in order to better fit into a group of like-minded individuals. This can lead to a spiral of radicalization, as individuals compete to prove their commitment to the group's beliefs and values. This also contributes to the “us versus them” mentality. This is when a group perceives that anyone who is not a member of the group is an enemy. This can be applied to any situation in which divisions can be made such as race, political ideology, nationality, gender, etc.
Social media platforms such as Instagram also, perhaps unintentionally, promote more controversial comments in order to drive engagement. Sometimes the top comment on a post is not the most liked comment but the comment with the most replies. These comments are usually controversial and thus drive people to reply to them. As you can imagine, this does not create civil and respectful dialogue. It is quite common to see people arguing with each other in the comments in an aggressive manner. This fuels polarization and the us versus them mentality. While this method may increase engagement (albeit not positive) it also allows the most radical voices to be heard.
Once you factor in all of the previously mentioned designs of social media algorithms, the perfect breeding ground for misinformation and disinformation is created. Misinformation is information that is false but is not spread with malicious intent, this is juxtaposed with disinformation which is created with the express purpose of intentionally spreading false information. False information spreads quickly and can be difficult to correct once it has gained significant traction, leading to further erosion of trust in institutions and mainstream sources of information. Social media algorithms can feed individuals false information that supports their beliefs and further fuels division.
The Ways In Which Individuals And/Or Organizations Use Social Media To Influence You:
Individuals and organizations have caught on to the effectiveness of social media algorithms and have been using them as strategic tools to further their own agendas. Propagandists can use clickbait-style headlines to entice people to click on articles that may contain false or misleading information. If these articles get many clicks then social media platforms will be more willing to promote them in order to drive up engagement. Memes and other visual content can also be used to spread propaganda on social media because they are easily shareable and can convey complex messages in a simple way. Propagandists can use social media algorithms to target specific groups and create echo chambers and filter bubbles. Finally, they can pay these social media companies to recommend their content more in order to reach a wider audience and promote their messages without the users even being aware. These individuals and organizations may do all of this for purely ideological reasons or for financial gains.
The Ways In Which Our Adversaries Use Social Media To Influence You:
In the past, battles were confined to distant fields where soldiers engaged in combat while civilians remained far removed from the fighting. However, as warfare evolved, conflicts began to encompass the entirety of a nation. Today, this holds even truer with the emergence of the internet and social media platforms, allowing adversaries of the West to directly target individual citizens. A prominent example of this is Russia's extensive utilization of disinformation campaigns as a potent weapon.
The Russians already had an appreciation for how influential information campaigns can be prior to the existence of the internet. This is due to the extensive propaganda and disinformation system the Soviets developed all the way back in 1917. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians saw the value of the internet, and specifically social media, for their influence operations. This includes propaganda campaigns to have Russia be seen in a more favorable light and disinformation campaigns to cause confusion and disunity. Russia’s propaganda abilities are quite extensive and effective. Russia pushes its own narrative to win the support of both the citizens of Russia and ethnic Russians living within the former Soviet Republics. Russia has been known to use ethnic Russians outside of Russia to cause instability within former Soviet Republics. Russia also uses these populations as a justification for increased Russian intervention and even annexation of land.
Russia has been attempting to use disinformation as a conduit for disunity within the West. The most successful attempt at this was the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Russia utilized social media extensively to push false information and to radicalize both sides of the political spectrum. “We found 3,485 tweets from 419 of the accounts listed as Internet Research Agency (IRA) accounts which specifically discussed Brexit and related topics such as the EU and migration.” (Llewellyn et al.) The IRA is a Russian company that creates and distributes online propaganda. Yevgeny Prigozhin (the founder and leader of the infamous Wagner Group) has admitted that he founded and financed this company. The Russians use social media to achieve their political ambitions to a devastating effect. With the ever-changing landscape of the internet and social media, it is difficult for common people to decipher what is true, false, and worst of all deliberate propaganda. The Russian disinformation machine is used as a weapon system. It can be used in a defensive manner to shield the Russian government from criticism and to effectively control their population. It can also be used offensively as we have seen in both “the Russian sphere of influence” (former Soviet states) and the West (with the United Kingdom being a case in point.)
European countries are not the only ones vulnerable to massive instability brought on by social media. The United States was itself shaken by a now infamous social media disinformation campaign by the Russians in the 2016 presidential election. On election day of 2016 within the top 10 accounts with the most activity, was the fake GOP Tennessee Twitter account. This account was used by the Russians to spread false information. The effectiveness of this account was astronomical with multiple tweets being retweeted by “multiple Trump Campaign officials and surrogates, including Donald J. Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, Kellyanne Conway, Brad Parscale, and Michael T. Flynn." (US Department of Justice and Mueller).
The Russians are not the only ones who utilize social media as a weapon. The People's Republic of China has also been known to use social media to a devastating effect. Safeguard Defenders, an organization focused on human rights in China has been targeted by disinformation campaigns and online harassment. These campaigns involve the creation of numerous fake social media accounts, videos, and posts to drown out Safeguard Defenders' message and reduce its online visibility. The disinformation includes poorly-written defenses of the Chinese Communist Party, videos aimed at promoting the Chinese government's stance on Xinjiang, and the creation of fake Safeguard Defenders accounts that closely resemble the authentic ones.
These campaigns aim to dilute Safeguard Defenders' message by spamming the internet, making it difficult to find authentic reports. The disinformation appears on platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and SoundCloud. Tactics used include creating and deleting posts and videos, using long hashtags and incorrect grammar, and triggering anti-spam systems on Twitter. Safeguard Defenders has also faced smaller-scale disinformation campaigns in the past, which aimed to discredit the organization by copying text from Chinese state-party media. Additionally, they have experienced mass comments from fake Twitter accounts, attempted phishing and spam attacks on their official email and social media accounts, as well as threatening emails. This is just one example of how the CCP targets organizations. The CCP has also been known to use these tactics to target Chinese diaspora communities.
The Chinese however, mostly rely upon state media and traditional media outlets to influence their target audiences. The Chinese have on multiple occasions hosted journalists from Latin America in order to “train” them. The Chinese have also heavily invested in local media outlets in Latin American countries in order to have greater sway over the public’s perception of China. These efforts have brought mixed results, to say the least. Due to this, the Chinese may soon begin to shift their strategy towards a more Russian style of information operations.
What Can You Do?
While you may feel powerless in the middle of these vast disinformation campaigns there are some things you can do as an individual to combat disinformation. Educating yourself on how to evaluate information, identify biases, and fact-check sources can tremendously help combat disinformation and propaganda on social media. Developing critical thinking skills can also help you to develop the ability to analyze information and form your own opinions, rather than relying solely on social media. Pushing yourself to have open and respectful dialogue between yourself and others you may disagree with can help reduce polarization and foster greater understanding and empathy. Always remember to ask yourself “Is this really the case?” Stay vigilant and stay informed. 1
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