to infect the wider population with an understanding of Islam that is tolerant and non-violent—in part because the organization believes that its understanding of Islam can serve as an exemplar for the Muslim world, and in part to prevent the spread of extremism.
Supporting example: Russian interference in Brexit Actor: Russian troll farms Message: Pro-Brexit, Pro-leave Target Population: British people On June 23, 2016—the day of the Brexit vote—over “150,000 Russian-language Twitter accounts posted tens of thousands of messages in English” advocating for a leave vote in the referendum. 48 The campaign was relatively short-lived but still robust. The implicated accounts had been mostly silent on the issue of Brexit in the month leading up to the referendum, but became active as the vote approached. One set of researchers found, for example, that the pace increased from “about 1,000 a day two weeks before the vote to 45,000 in the last 48 hours.” 49 Another study found that 38 accounts that Twitter had identified as Kremlin-linked had tweeted 400 times on the day of the vote. A third analysis found that 29 of the Russian accounts identified to Congress had “also tweeted 139 times about Britain or Europe.” 50 And a fourth found that “a network of more than 13,000 suspected bots” tweeted proBrexit messages. 51 Importantly, though, much of this early analysis focused on Twitter accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency and so doesn’t necessarily offer a comprehensive overview of Russian activity as the vote approached. This campaign relied on a number of tactics. First, the Twitter accounts were linked to a variety of profiles and “people purporting to be a U.S. Navy veteran, a Tennessee Republican and a Texan patriot—all [tweeted] in favour of Brexit.” 52 The tweets David D. Kirkpatrick, “Signs of Russian Meddling in Brexit Referendum,” New York Times, November 15, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/world/europe/russia-brexittwitter-facebook.html.
48
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid.
James Ball, “A Suspected Network Of 13,000 Twitter Bots Pumped Out Pro-Brexit Messages In The Run-Up To The EU Vote,” Buzzfeed, October 20, 2017, https://www.buzzfeed.com/ jamesball/a-suspected-network-of-13000-twitter-bots-pumped-outpro?utm_term=.wwnGyBKKP#.iiBXNkMMY. 51
Robert Booth et al., “Russia Used Hundreds of Fake Accounts to Tweet About Brexit, Data Shows,” Guardian, November 14, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ nov/14/how-400-russia-run-fake-accounts-posted-bogus-brexit-tweets.
52
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