It is well known that Russia runs troll factories: people work there who campaign against payments on social media platforms and spread disinformation. A current documentary shows how rampant this is.
The ARD documentary entitled “The power machine“, to can be found in the ARD media library, revealed how Russia uses Facebook for its propaganda. The documentary shows how Russia deliberately spreads false information on Facebook in order to attract attention and influence public opinion.
Facebook uses Facebook’s algorithms for its purposes
The exciting and insightful documentary shows how Russia uses Facebook algorithms to target its messages to specific groups. Facebook algorithms use data such as age, gender, location and interests to personalize ads and content. Russia uses this information to target and disseminate false information to groups vulnerable to this type of propaganda.
An example presented in the documentary is the spread of misinformation about Pfizer’s Corona vaccine. Russia used Facebook to deliberately spread false information about the vaccine to raise doubts about its effectiveness. The documentary also shows how Russia uses Facebook groups to spread its propaganda and how these groups are not adequately monitored by Facebook.
propaganda also in other countries
But not only Russia is using the opportunities offered by platforms like Facebook. Other countries also use Facebook for their propaganda. One example is China’s spread of disinformation about the 2020 US elections. The documentary shows how China uses Facebook groups to deliberately spread false information about then-President Donald Trump.
The documentation asks how Facebook should deal with these problems. Facebook has taken steps to reduce the spread of misinformation in the past. For example, in 2020, Facebook deployed a group of fact-checkers to verify misinformation about the US election. Facebook has also taken steps to reduce the spread of misinformation about the Corona vaccine.
Inadequate measures
Insufficient measures to stop the spread of propaganda on Facebook.
The documentary’s creators advise that Facebook should invest more in monitoring groups used to spread propaganda. The documentary also suggests that Facebook should do more to combat misinformation about the Corona vaccine.
Lies have a better chance of getting attention than the truth. It’s important that we recognize that propaganda and misinformation are being spread on Facebook, and that we need to be critical of what we read and share online. It is also Facebook’s responsibility to make its platform more secure and to take steps to reduce the spread of propaganda and misinformation.
