The Computational Propaganda Project
Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2025 9:40 am
Much has been said in recent months about fake news, disinformation campaigns, their spread and impact through online media and social networks, and the manipulation they generate. The least of it is the fact that Facebook, Twitter, and Google have long been trying (or so they say) to implement measures against fake news shared on their respective platforms or that gain relevance through online searches.
Fake news has now acquired the status of "hybrid telegram data warfare" : the new 2017 National Security Strategy, approved a few weeks ago by the Spanish government to replace the 2013 strategy, includes "disinformation campaigns" as part of "hybrid warfare" for the first time. Almost simultaneously, the European Union approved an allocation of €800,000 to strengthen the East StratCom Task Force, the unit created in 2015 to combat disinformation and the spread of hoaxes on social media.
But to what extent are manipulation campaigns on social media detectable (or not)?
The greatest challenge lies precisely in their detection and identification, especially when they are international in scope. However, there are several initiatives and projects dedicated to investigating, identifying, and exposing these types of fake news campaigns. If you want to stay up to date on how and who manipulates social media, beyond the borders of your own country, check these four platforms regularly.
Promoted by the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, this initiative investigates "the interaction between algorithms, automation, and politics." In other words, it analyzes how social media and the internet are manipulated to amplify or restrict political content , misinformation, and hate speech, and to manipulate public opinion, primarily during election periods.
Fake news has now acquired the status of "hybrid telegram data warfare" : the new 2017 National Security Strategy, approved a few weeks ago by the Spanish government to replace the 2013 strategy, includes "disinformation campaigns" as part of "hybrid warfare" for the first time. Almost simultaneously, the European Union approved an allocation of €800,000 to strengthen the East StratCom Task Force, the unit created in 2015 to combat disinformation and the spread of hoaxes on social media.
But to what extent are manipulation campaigns on social media detectable (or not)?
The greatest challenge lies precisely in their detection and identification, especially when they are international in scope. However, there are several initiatives and projects dedicated to investigating, identifying, and exposing these types of fake news campaigns. If you want to stay up to date on how and who manipulates social media, beyond the borders of your own country, check these four platforms regularly.
Promoted by the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, this initiative investigates "the interaction between algorithms, automation, and politics." In other words, it analyzes how social media and the internet are manipulated to amplify or restrict political content , misinformation, and hate speech, and to manipulate public opinion, primarily during election periods.