Presentation by Samantha Bradshaw at the 2019 CMPF Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners - Covering Political Campaigns in the Age of Data, Algorithms & Artificial Intelligence

1. SOCIAL MEDIA MANIPULATION
Center for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom | 26 June 2019
Samantha Bradshaw
Oxford Internet Institute
Algorithms, Bots and Computational Propaganda
Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners

3. Social media has become a primary
source of news around the world

4. DIGITAL MEDIA
LITERACY
THE SPREAD OF DISINFORMATION
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
DATA-DRIVEN ADVERTISING
& CAMPAIGNING
FOREIGN INFLUENCE
OPERATIONS
POLITICAL BOTS AND AUTOMATION
SUSTAINABLE
JOURNALISM MODELS
TROLLS AND ONLINE HARASSMENT
DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
PLATFORM BLACKBOXES
DECLINING TRUST AND
INCREASING POLARIZATION
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROBLEM HERE?

5. AUTOMATED
ACCOUNTS
DATA-RICH
PERSONALIZATION
ALGORITHMIC
AMPLIFICATION
PATRIOTIC
TROLLING
COMPUTATIONAL PROPAGANDA
WHAT’S NEW?
Gaming algorithms to amplify
conspiracy, propaganda, and
disinformation about political
parties or important political
issues.
Bot accounts designed to
mimic human behaviour to
amplify junk content and
opinions at the fringe of
the political spectrum.
Purchasing advertisements
and deploying analytics to
target citizens with “dark
posts” to suppress voter
turnout.
Paid political commentators
who bully, harass and prey
on political dissidents or
members of the opposition.

6. DEFINING
DISINFORMATION
The study of “fake news” presents several
epistemological and methodological challenges:
• Encompasses a spectrum of information types;
• Limited nuance to binary distinction;
• Used to delegitimize political opponents and
mainstream media.

7. JUNK NEWS TYPOLOGY
PROFESSIONALISM STYLEBIAS CREDIBILITY COUNTERFEIT

8. JUNK NEWS DOMAINS
TOP 29 WEBSITES PRODUCING JUNK NEWS ABOUT US POLITICS, 2016-2019

9. JUNK NEWS IN SWING STATES
Swing states in the United States shared higher levels
of junk news

10. 2016 2017 2017 2018
Junk News Shared on Twitter in National Elections, 2016-2018
PROFESSIONAL NEWS: JUNK NEWS

11. PROFESSIONAL NEWS: JUNK NEWS
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS
Low levels of junk overall (< 4%),
expect in the Polish sphere (21%)
Links to professional news outlets top traffic (34 %)
especially in the French & Swedish spheres (>50 %)

12. AVERAGE FACEBOOK INTERACTIONS, PER STORY
Junk news stories tend to attract more engagement….

13. TOTAL FACEBOOK INTERACTIONS
…but professional outlets still dominate

14. THE PERFORMANCE OF JUNK NEWS DOMAINS ON GOOGLE
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
May'15
Jul'15
Sep'15
Nov'15
Jan'16
Mar'16
May'16
Jul'16
Sep'16
Nov'16
Jan'17
Mar'17
May'17
Jul'17
Sep'17
Nov'17
Jan'18
Mar'18
May'18
Jul'18
Sep'18
Nov'18
Jan'19
Mar'19
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
2,000,000
May'15
Jul'15
Sep'15
Nov'15
Jan'16
Mar'16
May'16
Jul'16
Sep'16
Nov'16
Jan'17
Mar'17
May'17
Jul'17
Sep'17
Nov'17
Jan'18
Mar'18
May'18
Jul'18
Sep'18
Nov'18
Jan'19
Mar'19
TOP 29 JUNK NEWS DOMAINS MAINSTREAM MEDIA WEBSITES

16. WHAT’S UP WHATSAPP?
ONE THIRD
OF ALL IMAGES SHARED
OVER WHATSAPP WERE
CONSPIRITORIAL,
POLARIZING, OR JUNK
ONLY FOUR
OF THE 50 TOP SHARED
IMAGES ON WHATSAPP
WERE FACK CHECKED AS
TRUE.

18. WHO PRODUCES COMPUTATIONAL PROPAGANDA?
HATE GROUPS CONSPIRACY
THEORISTS
FOREIGN
STATES
POLITICIANS CLICK BAITERS

21. MULTI-DIMENSIONAL
CHALLENGES
ACROSS MULTIPLE
PLATFORMS
WITHIN A VARIETY OF
COUNTRY CONTEXTS
TAKE AWAYS

22. Computational Propaganda is a Symptom of
much Deeper Problems.

23. How Have Social Media Companies
Responded?

24. Platform Algorithm
changes /AI
Fact checking
and flagging
Enhance
reporting
Human
content
moderation
Enforcement Partnerships
and research
Media
literacy
programs
Supporting
quality
journalism
Improved
transparency
Data
protection
measures
Facebook, n= 80
28 19 16 23 42 28 9 8 31 16
Google, n=26
17 9 1 3 6 19 9 15 11 4
Twitter, n=19
8 1 1 4 16 7 3 1 9 1
Total, n= 125
53 29 18 30 64 54 21 24 51 21
CATEGORIZING INDUSTRY RESPONSES

25. EMERGENT &
REACTIVE
TERMS OF SERVICE:
ENFORCEMENT
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
CONTENT
MODERATION
PLATFORM RESPONSES

26. GOVERNMENT RESPONSES, 2016-2018
SINCE 2016, MORE THAN 42 GOVERNMENTS
HAVE INTRODUCED NEW LEGISLATION
DESIGNED TO TACKLE “FAKE NEWS”

27. SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS
GOVERNMENT RESPONSES, 2016-2018
OFFENDERS
GOVERNMENT CAPACITY
CITIZENS AND CIVIL SOCIETY
Criminalization of “Fake News”
Redefinition of Illegal Content
Content Take-Down
Data Protection Legislation
Advertising Transparency
Media Literacy and Watchdogs
Media Accreditation and Journalistic Controls
Parliamentary Inquiries
Security and Defence Investments
Monitoring and Reporting Portals

28. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
OF REGULATORY INTERVENTION
CHILLING EFFECT
on digital public discourse
LEARNING CURVE
for authoritarian regimes
FOCUS ON SYMPTOMS
While systemic challenges remain unaddressed

29. DEEP THREATS TO DEMOCRACY
ARE AHEAD OF US, NOT BEHIND US