Disinformation in Context: AI, Platforms and Policy

Overview 

This study examines the temporal dynamics of emotional appeals in Russian campaign messages used in the 2016 election. Communications on two giant social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, are analyzed to assess emotion in message content and targeting that may have contributed to influencing people.  

Methodology  

The “Disinformation in Context” approach defines “good systems” as not only technological but also social, organizational, and political. The notion of the “system” invokes an information environment with many moving parts. Artificial intelligence and machine-driven content creation and circulation are significant components of contemporary disinformation efforts.   

The study conducts both computational and qualitative investigations of the Internet Research Agency’s (IRA) emotion-based strategies across three different dimensions of message propagation: the platforms themselves, partisan identity as targeted by the source, and social identity in politics, using African American identity as a case. The research team examines the emotional flows along the campaign timeline, emotion-based strategies of the Russian trolls that masked left- and right-leaning identities, and emotion in messages projecting to or about African American identity and representation.  

Insights 

Findings show sentiment strategies that differ between Facebook and Twitter, with strong evidence of negative emotion targeting Black identity.