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Propaganda and social media
ON PAPER Russia Today (RT) looks like a social-media giant. The
pro-Kremlin TV network now has over 20 Twitter accounts. Between them
they spit out a tweet every two minutes, which can reach millions of
followers. It also has 3.6m Facebook “likes”, more than Reuters, a
reliable news-wire, or the Financial Times, a British daily.
Yet
RT’s online presence may not be as far-reaching as it seems. An
analysis of over 33,000 tweets from three news outlets shows that RT
gets its retweets from relatively few followers. Whereas the most-avid
20% of followers account for about 60% of retweets from the BBC and New York Times, for Russia Today they make up about 75%. Crunching numbers on who likes RT on Facebook shows a similar pattern.
And
RT’s most-dedicated supporters are a peculiar bunch. Of the 50 accounts
that most often retweet RT, 16 have such a regular pattern of tweeting
that they are probably “bots” (computer programs)—or chronic insomniacs.
Many of the rest seem to be enthralled by Donald Trump, the Republican
presidential candidate. Almost half of the accounts that appear to be
run by humans have shared messages from Mr Trump in the last month. One,
called ThisIsWhyTrump, uses a cartoon as its profile picture. It
depicts Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Mr Trump both sitting
barechested astride their horses and holding hands. A match made in
heaven.
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