research-article

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Acting the Part: Examining Information Operations Within #BlackLivesMatter Discourse

Authors:

Leo Graiden Stewart,

Kate StarbirdAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 2, Issue CSCW

Article No.: 20, Pages 1 - 27

https://doi.org/10.1145/3274289

Published: 01 November 2018 Publication History

Abstract

This research examines how Russian disinformation actors participated in a highly charged online conversation about the #BlackLivesMatter movement and police-related shootings in the USA during 2016. We first present high-level dynamics of this conversation on Twitter using a network graph based on retweet flows that reveals two structurally distinct communities. Next, we identify accounts in this graph that were suspended by Twitter for being affiliated with the Internet Research Agency, an entity accused of conducting information operations in support of Russian political interests. Finally, we conduct an interpretive analysis that consolidates observations about the activities of these accounts. Our findings have implications for platforms seeking to develop mechanisms for determining authenticity---by illuminating how disinformation actors enact authentic personas and caricatures to target different audiences. This work also sheds light on how these actors systematically manipulate politically active online communities by amplifying diverging streams of divisive content.

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Cited By

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George NSham AAjith TBastos M(2024)Forty Thousand Fake Twitter Profiles: A Computational Framework for the Visual Analysis of Social Media PropagandaSSRN Electronic Journal10.2139/ssrn.4899259Online publication date: 2024
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Index Terms

Acting the Part: Examining Information Operations Within #BlackLivesMatter Discourse
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Collaborative and social computing theory, concepts and paradigms
      1. Social media
  2. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 2, Issue CSCW

November 2018

4104 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3290265

Editors:
Karrie Karahalios
University of Illinois & Adobe
,
Andrés Monroy-Hernández
Snap Inc.
,
Airi Lampinen
Stockholm University
,
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
Vienna University of Technology

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Published: 01 November 2018

Published in PACMHCI Volume 2, Issue CSCW

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3689368
Giomelakis DConstandinides CNoti MManiou T(2024)Investigating Online Mis- and Disinformation in Cyprus: Trends and ChallengesJournalism and Media10.3390/journalmedia50400995:4(1590-1606)Online publication date: 29-Oct-2024
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https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4899259
Haile Y(2024)The theoretical wedding of computational propaganda and information operations: Unraveling digital manipulation in conflict zonesNew Media & Society10.1177/14614448241302319Online publication date: 22-Dec-2024
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