Computational Propaganda: Political Parties, Politicians, and Political Manipulation on Social Media (Oxford Studies in Digital Politics)

Social media platforms do not just circulate political ideas, they support manipulative disinformation campaigns. While some of these disinformation campaigns are carried out directly by individuals, most are waged by software, commonly known as bots, programmed to perform simple, repetitive, robotic tasks. Some social media bots collect and distribute legitimate information, while others communicate with and harass people, manipulate trending algorithms, and inundate systems with spam. Campaigns made up of bots, fake accounts, and trolls can be coordinated by one person, or a small group of people, to give the illusion of large-scale consensus. Some political regimes use political bots to silence opponents and to push official state messaging, to sway the vote during elections, and to defame critics, human rights defenders, civil society groups, and journalists. This book argues that such automation and platform manipulation, amounts to a new political communications mechanism that Samuel Woolley and Philip N. Noward call "computational propaganda." This differs from older styles of propaganda in that it uses algorithms, automation, and human curation to purposefully distribute misleading information over social media networks while it actively learns from and mimicks real people so as to manipulate public opinion across a diverse range of platforms and device networks. This book includes cases of computational propaganda from nine countries (both democratic and authoritarian) and four continents (North and South America, Europe, and Asia), covering propaganda efforts over a wide array of social media platforms and usage in different types of political processes (elections, referenda, and during political crises). Social media platforms do not just circulate political ideas, they support manipulative disinformation campaigns. While some of these disinformation campaigns are carried out directly by individuals, most are waged by software, commonly known as bots, programmed to perform simple, repetitive,robotic tasks. Some social media bots collect and distribute legitimate information, while others communicate with and harass people, manipulate trending algorithms, and inundate systems with spam. Campaigns made up of bots, fake accounts, and trolls can be coordinated by one person, or a smallgroup of people, to give the illusion of large-scale consensus. Some political regimes use political bots to silence opponents and to push official state messaging, to sway the vote during elections, and to defame critics, human rights defenders, civil society groups, and journalists. This book argues that such automation and platform manipulation, amounts to a new political communications mechanism that Samuel Woolley and Philip N. Noward call "computational propaganda." This differs from older styles of propaganda in that it uses algorithms, automation, and human curation to purposefully distribute misleading information over social media networks while it actively learns from and mimicks real people so as to manipulate public opinion across a diverse range of platforms and device networks. This book includes cases of computational propaganda from nine countries (both democratic and authoritarian) and four continents (North and South America, Europe, and Asia), covering propaganda efforts over a wide array of social media platforms and usage in different types of political processes (elections, referenda, and during political crises). -- From the backcover Cover......Page 1 Half title......Page 2 Series page......Page 3 Computational Propaganda......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Part I Theoretical Introduction And Analytical Frame......Page 10 Introduction: Computational Propaganda Worldwide......Page 12 Part II Country-Specific Case Studies......Page 28 1 Russia: The Origins of Digital Misinformation......Page 30 2 Ukraine: External Threats and Internal Challenges......Page 50 3 Canada: Building Bot Typologies......Page 73 4 Poland: Unpacking the Ecosystem of Social Media Manipulation......Page 95 5 Taiwan: Digital Democracy Meets Automated Autocracy......Page 113 6 Brazil: Political Bot Intervention During Pivotal Events......Page 137 7 Germany: A Cautionary Tale......Page 162 8 United States: Manufacturing Consensus Online......Page 194 9 China: An Alternative Model of a Widespread Practice......Page 221 Part III Conclusions......Page 248 Conclusion: Political Parties, Politicians, and Computational Propaganda......Page 250 Author Bios......Page 258 Index......Page 262 Introduction : Computational Popaganda Worldwide / Samuel Woolley And Philip N. Howard -- Russia : The Origins Of Digital Misinformation / Sergey Sanovich -- Ukraine : External Threats And Internal Challenges / Mariia Zhdanova And Dariya Orlova -- Canada : Building Bot Typologies / Elizabeth Dubois And Fenwick Mckelvey -- Poland : Unpacking The Ecosystem Of Social Media Manipulation / Robert Gorwa -- Taiwan : Digital Democracy Meets Automated Autocracy / Nicholas J. Monaco -- Brazil : Political Bot Intervention During Pivotal Events / Dan Arnaudo -- Germany : A Cautionary Tale / Lisa-maria N. Neudert -- United States : Manufacturing Consensus Online / Samuel Woolley And Douglas Guilbeault -- China : An Alternative Model Of A Widespread Practice / Gillian Bolsover -- Conclusion : Political Parties, Politicians, And Computational Propaganda / Samuel Woolley And Philip N. Howard. Edited By Samuel C. Woolley And Philip N. Howard. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Social media platforms do not just circulate political ideas, but support computational propaganda and manipulative disinformation campaigns. Although some of these disinformation campaigns are carried out directly by individuals, most are waged by software, commonly known as bots, programmed to perform simple, repetitive, robotic tasks. Including case studies from nine countries and covering propaganda efforts over a wide array of social media platforms, this text argues that bots, fake accounts, and social media algorithms amount to a new political communications mechanism that it terms 'computational propaganda.'