7 years ago
1
Government 'Cyber Troops' Manipulate Facebook, Twitter, Study Says
Governments around the world are enlisting "cyber troops" who manipulate Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets to steer public opinion, spread misinformation and undermine critics, according to a new report from the University of Oxford. Adding to growing evidence of government-sponsored efforts to use online tools to influence politics, researchers found 29 countries using social media to shape opinion domestically or with foreign audiences. The tactics are deployed by authoritarian regimes, but also democratically-elected governments, the authors said.
Continue Reading
https://www.bloomberg.com
Join the Discussion
Whenever there's been a new way to communicate, governments have used it to manipulate people. Radio, TV, newspapers, etc. Social media are a more "personalized" form of communication, so this feels more intrusive. But it's nothing new. We've been accepting it for centuries.