Related papers: Analyzing Social Media Activities at Bellingcat
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, also known now as Russo-Ukrainian War. We have initiated an ongoing dataset acquisition from Twitter API. Until the day this paper was written the dataset has reached the amount of 57.3 million…
The present-day Russia-Ukraine military conflict has exposed the pivotal role of social media in enabling the transparent and unbridled sharing of information directly from the frontlines. In conflict zones where freedom of expression is…
Cyberbullying and cyberaggression are increasingly worrisome phenomena affecting people across all demographics. More than half of young social media users worldwide have been exposed to such prolonged and/or coordinated digital harassment.…
Online social networks (OSNs) play a crucial role in today's world. On the one hand, they allow free speech, information sharing, and social-movements organization, to cite a few. On the other hand, they are the tool of choice to spread…
This paper develops an economic model of the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) attention economy in contemporary armed conflict. We conceptualize attention (e.g. social media views, followers, likes) as revenue, and time and risk spent in…
The coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has varied widely between Western, Russian, and Chinese media ecosystems with propaganda, disinformation, and narrative spins present in all three. By utilizing the normalized pointwise mutual…
Aggression against Ukraine has drawn widespread international attention, particularly in the wake of the two Russian invasions into Ukrainian territory in 2014 and 2022. Although previous studies have examined social-media dynamics around…
Online social networks such as Twitter and Weibo play an important role in how people stay informed and exchange reactions. Each crisis encompasses a new opportunity to study the portability of models for various tasks (e.g., information…
In the buildup to and in the weeks following the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine, Russian state media outlets output torrents of misleading and outright false information. In this work, we study this coordinated information…
Until recently, social media was seen to promote democratic discourse on social and political issues. However, this powerful communication platform has come under scrutiny for allowing hostile actors to exploit online discussions in an…
Despite their drawbacks and unintended consequences, social media networks have recently emerged as a crucial resource for individuals in distress, particularly during times of crisis. These platforms serve as a means to seek assistance and…
In this paper, we are interested in understanding the interrelationships between mainstream and social media in forming public opinion during mass crises, specifically in regards to how events are framed in the mainstream news and on social…
The spread of propaganda, misinformation, and biased narratives from autocratic regimes, especially on social media, is a growing concern in many democracies. Can censorship be an effective tool to curb the spread of such slanted…
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was accompanied by practices of information warfare, yet existing evidence is largely anecdotal while large-scale empirical evidence is lacking. Here, we analyze the spread of pro-Russian…
On the 21st of February 2022, Russia recognised the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, three days before launching an invasion of Ukraine. Since then, an active debate has taken place on social media, mixing…
In response to disinformation and propaganda from Russian online media following the invasion of Ukraine, Russian media outlets such as Russia Today and Sputnik News were banned throughout Europe. To maintain viewership, many of these…
Polarization, declining trust, and wavering support for democratic norms are pressing threats to U.S. democracy. Exposure to verified and quality news may lower individual susceptibility to these threats and make citizens more resilient to…
Social media, once hailed as a vehicle for democratization and the promotion of positive social change across the globe, are under attack for becoming a tool of political manipulation and spread of disinformation. A case in point is the…
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has elicited a diverse array of responses from nations around the globe. During a global conflict, polarized narratives are spread on social media to sway public opinion. We examine the dynamics of the…
The Syria conflict has been described as the most socially mediated in history, with online social media playing a particularly important role. At the same time, the ever-changing landscape of the conflict leads to difficulties in applying…