"Russia Manipulates Public Opinion Using Influencers and Comment Squads" ... Foreign Media Reports 'UK Investigation Results'

Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking during a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow on the 26th of last month (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Foreign media reported that Russia, which invaded Ukraine, is mobilizing social media influencers to create pro-Russian public opinion.

On the 1st (local time), the British Guardian cited a UK government investigation, reporting that a Russian public opinion manipulation company is posting content on social media accounts such as Twitter and Instagram, as well as news websites, to justify its invasion of Ukraine and incite public sentiment.

According to the report, this company based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, engages in so-called "troll" activities by posting supportive content about clients' companies or policies on the internet through social media. They mainly approach influencers who are active on social media, pay them, and direct their activities.

The company was also found to be connected to the "Internet Research Agency (IRA)," a kind of comment army established by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a local catering tycoon close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Recently, to conduct information warfare related to the invasion of Ukraine, they targeted Western media and politicians. The Guardian reported that the social media accounts of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell were included.

They reportedly avoided social media platforms' misinformation controls by actively spreading messages from ordinary people that aligned with the Russian government's views. Furthermore, they were found to have steered media commentary in a pro-Russian direction and distorted survey results regarding Western sanctions on Russia.

Regarding this, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss stated, "We cannot allow the Kremlin and their troll factories to invade our online space with lies about President Putin's illegal war," adding, "We will work closely with allies and media platforms to block Russia's information operations."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Russia and Ukraine are facing difficulties in making progress in peace negotiations between the two sides. At the 5th peace talks held in Istanbul, Turkey, Ukraine presented demands including security guarantees, but Russia insists that lifting Western sanctions is part of the peace negotiations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.