Russia operates bots on Twitter as a tool for spreading disinformation and manipulating public opinion.
These bots are often used by the Russian government or other organizations to interfere in political processes, such as elections, and to promote specific political agendas.
How do they work?
Russian bots on Twitter typically operate by following and retweeting accounts that support their agenda, as well as posting their own content. This content can include false or misleading information, inflammatory language, and divisive political messages. The goal of these bots is to create the appearance of widespread support for a particular political view or candidate and to manipulate public opinion in their favour.
The use of bots on Twitter allows Russia to amplify its messages and create the appearance of widespread support for its views. By following and retweeting accounts that support their agenda and by posting their own content, Russian bots can create the impression that there is a large and vocal group of individuals who support their views. This can influence public opinion and shape the political landscape in their favour.
In addition, the use of bots on Twitter allows Russia to bypass traditional forms of media and communicate directly with the public. By using Twitter, they can reach a large audience quickly and easily without needing to go through the editorial process of traditional news outlets. This allows them to spread their messages quickly and effectively, and to avoid being held accountable for the accuracy or veracity of their content.
Russia operates bots on Twitter as a tool for spreading propaganda and influencing public opinion. By using these bots, they can promote their political agenda and interfere in political processes without being held accountable for their actions.
How can you tell?
Russian bots on Twitter can be difficult to spot, as they are designed to mimic human behaviour. They may have profile pictures, bios, and activity that make them appear to be real people, and they may also engage in genuine conversations with other users. However, there are a few signs that can indicate that an account is a bot.
One way to identify Russian bots on Twitter is to look for accounts that have a large number of followers but very few friends. This is a common characteristic of bots, as they are designed to follow and retweet other accounts in order to gain visibility, but do not typically engage in conversations with other users.
Another indication of a bot account is if it consistently posts at odd times, such as in the middle of the night, or if it posts a large volume of content in a short period of time.
The point of this article
It is important to be aware of the threat posed by Russian bots on Twitter, as they can undermine the integrity of public discourse and damage public trust in institutions and leaders. By being vigilant and looking for the signs of a bot account, individuals can help protect themselves and others from the harmful effects of disinformation.
Avoid engaging with suspicious accounts. If you come across an account that appears to be a Russian bot, do not follow, retweet, or engage with it in any way. This will help to limit the reach and influence of the bot, and prevent it from spreading disinformation to other users.
Report suspicious accounts to Twitter. If you come across an account that you believe to be a Russian bot, you can report it to Twitter. This will help Twitter to identify and remove these accounts, and prevent them from spreading disinformation and manipulating public opinion.
Musk had a problem over bots and spoof accounts before he bought Twitter. Maybe some of the Russian speaking employees now working 20 hour days and sleeping in the office on camp beds have been tasked with identifying them
Twitter and other social media companies come up with endless excuses for not handling the issue, same with all sorts of disinformation like fraud scams etc. In the end it comes down to them just wanting to profit at all expense and not really caring about solving the problem. However bright side Russias days of being able to influence anything are over, they will never recover from this war, even if they completely rebuilt their army the reputational damage is done, no one would be scared of it. Going to be interesting how much a drop in funding the conservatives… Read more »
Mick Lynch. 😂😂
Don’t underestimate the Russians. The Germans got to within 25km of Moscow and look what happened afterwards
Stoltenberg said last week that NATO is getting perilously close to direct involvement in Ukraine. The Russians are deliberately attacking the civilian population – which is a war crime in progress. They might have got away with it in Syria, but there are many people in the eastern european countries who want NATO to be more forceful
Its going to take 2-3 years to replenish our supply of NLAW btw
It’ll take Russia far longer than that to replenish it’s supply of tanks 😂
To be fair Hitler made a whole raft of mistakes during that campaign which gave the Russians opportunities any half decent commander would have denied his opponent. That said you are quite correct not to under estimate an opponent or indeed over estimate them. One strategy the Russians seem to thrive on is the willingness to needlessly throw away lives & equipment in quantity well beyond the limits of any sensible country.
Twitter was a mess years before Musk bought it. Liberals are now trying to blame Musk for everything that goes wrong now days. He’s an ultra successful person the liberals hate. He is for free speech which the liberals only want for their views.
I wonder how these Russian boots work is so dangerous and how they would differ from most leftist teachers in English Universities…?
We don’t hate him because he is “succcesful” but because he is a liar and exploits his workers. Basically all Elon Musk cares about is Elon Musk. And don’t tell me what I feel and think….I don’t presume to know your thoughts and feelings.
During WWII Dennis Wheatley spent much of his time carefully crafting stories for the German’s to read – all of them spoofs. Russian Intelligence is doing the same now. In today’s world combating this should also be a western priority as it was for the Germans in that war. So; what is Twitter doing about this?
All the best, George, keep up the good work.
Yeah if you think Russian bots were/are the big problem at Twitter you obviously haven’t been paying attention recently.
Hey George, Don’t forget all the Chinese and Indian ones as well🙄…
My twitter account seems to be full of them, with the latest news on Ukraine, politics, and so on
Their pages and tweet waffling on
Glad we have the choice to BLOCK them
I don’t use social media really. I sometimes look at Twitter if a website copies a post but that’s about it. I’ve managed just fine without constant social media. It does seem useful for journalist types
I’ve got the perfect answer to Russian bots – don’t use Twitter. Never used it myself and managed to keep myself sane without it.
Plenty of this sort of crap online with the dim and simple muppets being sucked in.
I deleted all my social media accounts almost 3 years ago. I don’t miss any of that garbage. I feel so much better not reading all that B.S. and fake posts meant to demean people for thinking a certain way and pushing leftist, socialist doctrine on the masses. Social media is truly the sewer of the internet.
This is a most interesting subject and one which we in the West ignore at our own peril and that subject is…Misinformation and the problem we have in the Uk, is when our own media outlets : BBC Guardian Daily Mail Channel 4 Have no problem pushing out the narrative that, The UK was an evil empire, that throughout history only the UK was guilty of the slave trade, that the Uk is the most racist place on the planet, that the Union flag is a hate symbol. that terrorist is a loaded word and that Militant is the correct… Read more »
Well that made your point quite well👍
The most interesting thing about the media is how they accept the designation that the left designates themselves but not the right.
Let’s remember how journalists had no problem to name those that protested against NATO nukes as “pacifists” despite never protesting Soviet nukes in front of Soviet Embassy.
Currently someone that is from the right and protest is an “extremist” but those on the left are “activists”..
As a 20 year old newbie in the military, I was tasked with others of protecting the fence line from “activists” at Greenham Common. When the US based nuclear armed cruise missiles at the airbase. The majority were women, though there were a few men. Trying to pull down the fencing, trying to place flowers in the tips of our SLRs and spitting at us. The vehemence of the language was disgusting and utterly deployable. The common them was that by allowing US based nukes in the UK, Russia/Soviet Union was targeting us. After the first week of trying to… Read more »
Nailed as ever farouk.
Nice summary of their talking points! I think I will find that quite useful in my next round of troll-baiting in the tabloids. I think I’m getting under their skin a bit – they seem to have a whole team stalking me at the moment.
Clearly, I have too much time on my hands!
A point very well made Farouk. 👍
People still use Twitter?!? Astounding…
It never gained the footprint of Facebook etc and while other social medium allowed all sorts of social interactions, all Twitter ever seemed to allow was the opportunity for enraged opposing voices to endlessly shout out each other.
I could never see the point 🤷🏻♂️
So George finally realized that there might be te people and actually state-sponsored entities that are posting fake things on Twitter. My God what a revelation. Where have you been!
If you have a problem with the topics and posters on this site why do you keep coming back! Your sarcasm isn’t all that either🙄
I’m sure you are fully aware of that aren’t you! As for George, he writes stuff we find interesting and news worthy, unlike your sad jealous anti-Brit guff!
My favourite wartime propagandist was the incomparable Sefton Delmer. He grew up in Berlin and spoke fluent German with a Berlin accent. Recruited into the Political Warfare Executive during the war, his small team had a radio transmitter and produced surreal, subversive black propaganda radio programmes targeted at German soldiers in France.
It may be that the Ukraine has a similar propaganda maestro organising their psyops operations against the Russian conscripts being fed into the meatgrider around Bakhmut. A lot of it turns up on Twitter. Incidentally, as of an hour ago Bakhmut holds!