Yesterday I faced major Russian troll account attacks, so I’m revising a topic I covered before, but with fresh insights.
In 2023, Russia spent $1.6 billion on pro-Kremlin propaganda worldwide.
What are their manipulation methods and how much do trolls earn?
Thread 1/23
Thread 1/23 
According to a RAND Corporation study, contemporary Russian propaganda has the following characteristics:
- large number of channels and messages
- spreads partial truths or pure fiction
- is fast, continuous, and repetitive
- is inconsistent
/2
In order to manipulate individuals, news channels and social media platforms are used, with TENS OF THOUSANDS of troll accounts on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
An example of where trolls operate from:
/3
RT (formerly Russia Today) is one of Russia’s main news media channels. With a budget of over $300 million/year, it broadcasts news in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, and several East European languages.
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RT is particularly popular online, where it claims more than 10 billion views and 30 million subscribers.
If true, this would mean it is the most-watched news source on the Internet!
/5
In addition to recognized Russian sources like RT, there are dozens of proxy news sites that present Russian propaganda, but with their affiliation with Russia disguised or minimized (US Dept of State report, 2022).
/6
An analysis conducted by The Guardian (2022) suggests that the troll “brigade” acts to steer social media discussions and newspaper comment sections towards pro-Russia opinions. Recent example of an attack:
/7
It has also been observed that polls in Western media are manipulated, including to distort poll results on support for sanctions against Russia.
/8
A Russian troll factory” had a budget of $1.25 million in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential elections to intervene in the US political system, according to charges filed by the US Department of Justice.
/9
Research shows that the troll factory continues to actively and openly recruit and hire staff, describing the job as “a patriotic activity” in support of the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
/10
Radio Free Europe interviewed a former paid Russian troll. According to him, trolls are on duty 24 hours a day, in 12-hour shifts, and each has a daily quota of 135 comments of at least 200 characters.
/11
He said that most trolls were paid about ₽40,000/month ($439 today’s exchange rate)—he earned ₽45,000 ($500); others who worked more were paid more. He posted 120 comments during his service.
/12
The “troll factory” has several different departments, each with about 15 people, each dealing with different platforms: one handles YouTube, another Facebook, and another the Russian social network VK etc. You get the point.
/13
Another department deals with creating memes - including those of a pornographic nature. These are passed on through messages, and then the trolls post them on various sites and social media platforms.
Example of an anti-Western meme posted by trolls:
/14
The “employees”create fake accounts and steal pictures from other social media platforms, editing them to not stand out. Others are AI-generated. Sometimes, the photos were of people who had died, said the former troll. According to him, he had over 100 fake accounts.
/15
Other sources claim that Putin's trolls earned almost ₽120,000/week (about $1800 at that time) in 2018, spreading anti-Western propaganda on Facebook and Twitter (The Sun, 2018).
/16
Evidence shows that the troll factory uses Telegram to actively recruit and coordinate new supporters who then target the social media profiles of critics - spamming them with pro-Putin and pro-war comments (UK Govt report, 2022).
/17
TikTok is another platform where Russian trolls operate. It's estimated that the salary of "influencers" on TikTok ranges from ₽2,000-20,000, (approx. $17/post) - criticized for selling out for so little (Vice interview).
/18
Conversely, public figures and journalists are paid better. For example, the Bulgarian secret service has data showing that Russia pays about €2000/month to public figures, journalists, and politicians to spread Russian propaganda.
/19
A Russian media organization paid $6.8mil to American conspiracy theorist Benjamin Swann to create pro-Kremlin propaganda about the war in Ukraine and the “cultural war” in the US, according to records from the Foreign Agents Registration Act (US Department of Justice).
/20
Thus, the chances are that a “simple” individual spreading pro
messages on social media is,in fact, a paid troll—even if they are not public figures.
troll factories (online groups of agitators)identify grievances in other states & then enter debates aiming to ignite them.
/21
messages on social media is,in fact, a paid troll—even if they are not public figures.
troll factories (online groups of agitators)identify grievances in other states & then enter debates aiming to ignite them.
/21Often, professional Russian trolls do not promote a specific political ideology but exploit human emotions on sensitive subjects (LGBT, immigration, etc.) to then divide the society they have infiltrated. @ Radio Genoa account on Twitter is an example of this tactic.
/22
So. How to identify trolls?
- Provocative,off-topic, offensive comments
- Shifting topics& avoiding logic
- Lack of genuine engagement
- Repetitive disruptive behavior
- Excessive negativity
- Personal attacks
- Provocative language
- Check their profile (tweets, replies etc)
/23
References for my research:
justice.gov/file/1035477/d
vice.com/en/article/epx
theguardian.com/world/2022/may
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202
rferl.org/a/russian-trol
gov.uk/government/new
thesun.co.uk/news/6062302/i
euractiv.com/section/politi
opensecrets.org/news/2022/08/r
documentcloud.org/documents/2212
anitnelav
@thevtalks
PhD student in English | stereotype breaker |x2MAs Intl Rel+Linguistics |pro🇮🇱🇺🇸🇪🇺🇷🇴🇺🇦|geopolitics | God is my boss | follow me if you support freedom
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