Russian propaganda operation is targeting Western news websites
Researchers have found unusual behaviour associated with some accounts posting pro-Russia content
Pro-Kremlin internet trolls are targeting reader comment sections on British and other Western media websites as part of a 'major influence operation' to distort public opinion and spread propaganda that supports Kremlin interests.
New research by Cardiff University's Crime and Security Research Institute claims to have found evidence suggesting that these operations have targeted 32 mainstream media outlets across 16 countries in recent years, via reader comments sections.
The Cardiff team began examining the comments on news websites as part of a study into online activities amid tension between Russia and Ukraine earlier this year.
They used data science pattern recognition and detection techniques, which revealed a series of unusual behaviours linked with some accounts posting pro-Russia content.
The researchers identified 242 news stories where provocative pro-Russian or anti-Western comments were published in reaction to articles relevant to Russia. The comments claimed that a large number of Western citizens support Moscow or Russian President Vladimir Putin on particular policies.
The team found that pro-Russia comments repeatedly received an unusually high number of upvotes compared with typical messages by 'normal' users.
The comments were picked up by Russian-language news outlets as the basis for stories that supported Russia's narrative about the failure of NATO or the end of liberal democracy.
These stories were published in other European languages as well, and amplified on social-media platforms.
The websites that have been subjected to pro-Russian trolling include: The Times, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail in the UK (all right-leaning); La Stampa in Italy; Germany's Die Welt and Der Spiegel; Le Figaro in France; and America's Washington Post and Fox News.
The researchers said the news websites were easy targets because they lacked security checks.
"Trolls have been able to easily switch between personas and identities, which is something the technology actually enables," said Martin Innes, Director of the Crime and Security Research Institute.
Russia has long been accused of using online trolls in attempts to influence opinion in favour of Kremlin and against the West.
In 2018, US intelligence agencies accused Moscow of spreading disinformation in the run up to the 2016 US presidential election.
Last year, the European Union's External Action Service (EEAS) said it had recorded over 80 cases of Russian media outlets spreading disinformation about the Covid-19 outbreak. The purpose was to generate panic among the public, sow distrust and intensify the impact of the outbreak in Europe.
The campaign was 'in line with the Kremlin's broader strategy of attempting to subvert European societies,' the report noted.
Scottish MP Stewart McDonald published a paper in June this year, outlining the threat posed by online disinformation campaigns originating from hostile states like Russia, Iran and China.
McDonald warned that Scotland faces disinformation threats from actors "who make use of a large and evolving toolbox of techniques to influence and corrupt the Scottish information ecosystem."
He also urged the government to appoint a disinformation commissioner, to counter attempts to influence democracy in the country.