๐๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ๐ท๐บ Russia Stay Winnin’ Da Fake Profile Game
Da Russian govmen stay mo’ successful at trickin’ social media an’ search engine rankings den befo, boosting all kine lies about Ukraine’s military an’ vaccines wit’ planny fake online accounts, accord’n to one document dat wen leak on top Discord. Da Russian kine who run da accounts stay braggin’ dat dey only get caught 1% of da time! ๐ฎ๐ฅ
Da numba wen spook some kine former govmen peeps an’ experts inside an’ outside social media companies. Thomas Rid, one professor at Johns Hopkins, say dat Google, Meta, an’ da oddah guys stay tryin’ fo’ stop dis kine stuff, but Russia stay getting mo’ bettah. He tink da 1% claim might be kinda exaggerated o’ not all true. ๐๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ๐ค
Da analysis of Russia’s kine propaganda action on top Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, an’ all da oddah social media platforms stay lookin’ at wat wen happen late 2022. Was part of planny secret documents dat wen leak on top Discord chatroom an’ wen end up in da hands of da Washington Post. One Air National Guard technician name Jack Teixeira wen get charged fo’ leakin’ da info, an’ he might get 15 years in da slammer. ๐จ๐ฐ๐
Da new info about Russia’s bettah misinformation skills stay coming out wen Twitter owner Elon Musk an’ some Republicans stay accusing da govmen of working wit’ tech companies fo’ suppress conservative an’ independent voices by painting planny accounts like Russian foreign influence kine. An’ da board dat supposed to coordinate da govmen’s anti-disinformation action wen get disband last year. ๐ค๐ฆ๐ท๐บ
Da Twitter workers stay worry dat Musk’s cutbacks hurting da platform’s ability fo’ fight against dis kine influence operation. Since he wen take ova Twitter in October, propaganda an’ hate speech wen go up, according to da workers an’ researchers. Da Russian misinformation guys even wen buy da new blue-check verification kine from Musk. ๐ ๐๐
Da 10 peeps dat wen get interviewed fo’ dis article, some from da intelligence an’ tech safety world, stay tink maybe da Russian agency dat wen give da info fo’ da leaked document might be exaggerating how good dey doing. ๐ง๐ฌ
Ciaran Martin, da former head of da UK’s cyberdefense agency, say da US govmen should take dis serious but no freak out. He tink dey should work wit’ da big platforms an’ see how much credit fo’ give da Russian claims. ๐บ๐ธ๐ฌ๐ง๐ป
Da Defense Department no like talk story about dis. TikTok, Twitter, an’ Telegram, all stay mentioned in da document as targets of da Russian information operations, nevah wen respond fo’ comment. Google, da YouTube owner, say dey stay detecting an’ taking action against da botnets an’ dey always stay watching an’ updating dea safeguards. ๐ค๐ก๏ธ๐ค
Da leaked document stay showing how da Russian disinformation campaigns stay tryin’ fo’ mess wit’ da Ukrainians an’ exploit da kine divisions among da Western allies. Afta wat wen happen in 2016 Wit’ da US presidential election, social media companies wen beef up dea efforts fo’ verify users, including tru phone numbahs. But Russia wen adapt by buying SIM cards in bulk, till da companies wen catch on. Now, da Russians stay using front companies fo’ get less detectable phone numbahs. ๐ฑ๐ท๐บ๐
One oddah top-secret document from da same Discord trove wen talk about six specific influence campaigns dat stay operational o’ planned fo’ lata dis year by one new Russian group, da Center fo’ Special Operations in Cyberspace. Da new group mainly stay targeting Ukraine’s regional allies. ๐ฏ๐๐ก
Some of da campaigns stay spreading da idea dat US officials stay hiding vaccine side effects, tryin’ fo’ make trouble in da West. One oddah campaign stay saying dat Ukraine’s Azov Brigade stay acting all mean in da east Donbas region. ๐บ๐ฆ๐๐คฌ
Oddah campaigns stay aimed at specific countries in da region, like saying Latvia, Lithuania, an’ Poland like send back da Ukrainian refugees fo’ fight; o’ dat Ukraine’s security service stay recruiting UN employees fo’ spy; an’ dat Ukraine stay using influence operations against Europe wit’ help from NATO. ๐๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ๐ช๐บ
Da last campaign stay tryin’ fo’ reveal da identities of da Ukraine’s information warriors โ da peeps on da opposite side of dis deepening propaganda war. ๐บ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฅ
So, dat stay all da main points of da article, but rememba, dis situation stay always changing an’ we gotta stay alert an’ prepared fo’ all kine new developments. ๐๐๐จ
NOW IN ENGLISH
๐๐ข Russian Online Prowess: Just 1% of Fake Profiles Caught, Leak Reveals ๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ๐
The Russian government has become far more successful at manipulating social media and search engine rankings than previously known, according to recently leaked documents on Discord chat app. Their tactics involve spreading disinformation about Ukraine’s military and vaccine side effects using hundreds of thousands of fake online accounts. ๐ท๐บ๐ป๐
Russian operators of these accounts brag that they are detected by social networks just about 1% of the time, causing alarm among experts and former government officials. However, some believe that the 1% claim might be exaggerated or misleading. ๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ๐จ๐ฒ
The analysis of Russia’s effectiveness in boosting propaganda across Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, and other platforms was reportedly presented to US military leaders in recent months. It is part of a trove of documents obtained by The Washington Post. Air National Guard technician Jack Teixeira faces 15 years in prison for taking and transmitting classified papers. ๐๐๐
The revelations about Russia’s improved misinformation abilities have raised concerns, as Twitter owner Elon Musk and some Republicans in Congress accuse the federal government of suppressing right-wing and independent views by labeling too many accounts as Russian foreign influence attempts. ๐ฆ๐ง๐บ๐ธ
Twitter employees also express concerns about Musk’s cutbacks hurting the platform’s ability to combat influence operations. Propaganda campaigns and hate speech have increased since Musk took over the site in October. Russian misinformation promoters even bought Musk’s new blue-check verifications. ๐ฆ๐ฐโ
Experts interviewed for the article caution that the Russian agency, whose claims are cited in the leaked document, may have exaggerated its success rate. However, even if Russia’s fake accounts escaped detection only 90% of the time instead of 99%, it would indicate that Russia has become far more proficient at spreading its views to unknowing consumers than in 2016. ๐ท๐บ๐๐ฌ
Former head of the United Kingdom’s cyberdefense agency, Ciaran Martin, advises the US government to take the situation seriously but calmly and collaborate with major platforms to assess the credibility of these claims. ๐ฌ๐ง๐ค๐บ๐ธ
The Defense Department declined to comment, while Google stated that they have a strong track record in detecting and taking action against botnets. TikTok, Twitter, and Telegram, all named as targets of Russian information operations, did not respond to a request for comment. ๐ฃ๐๐ค
The leaked documents reveal the goals of the Russian influence campaigns, which include demoralizing Ukrainians and exploiting divisions among Western allies. Russia has adapted to social media companies’ attempts to verify users by buying SIM cards in bulk or using front companies to acquire less detectable phone numbers. ๐ฏ๐บ๐ฆ๐
A separate top-secret document from the same Discord trove summarized six specific influence campaigns planned for later this year by a new Russian organization, the Center for Special Operations in Cyberspace. These campaigns target Ukraine’s regional allies and involve spreading disinformation about US officials hiding vaccine side effects, Ukraine’s military actions, and influence operations against Europe with NATO’s help. ๐ก๐๐ญ
The final campaign aims to reveal the identities of Ukraine’s information warriors, the people on the opposite side of a deepening propaganda war. ๐บ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ก๏ธ