AI for detecting Computational Propaganda Campaigns on the Internet

Elnaz Babayeva and Sebastian Garcia

What do we imagine when we Think about propaganda?

WorLd war I

WorLd war II

So What is the Definition of Propaganda? 

Propaganda may be seen as a way of controlling a social doctrine with multiple persuasion tactics

It is deliberately made to manipulate certain ideas

It presents only one view as the absolute truth

uses psychological manipulation to convince population that the propaganda’s aim and their own desires are one And the same

But, What is propaganda today?

 ""….modern propaganda will address itself at one and the same to the individual and to the masses. It can not separate the two elements. To address itself to individual, in his isolation, apart from the crowd is impossible.""

                                JACQUES ELLUL, 1962 

     “Takes much too long ...”

“...Much too difficult” 

                                JACQUES ELLUL, 1962 

21 century

Computational propaganda

the use of algorithms, automation, and big data to shape public opinion in a targeted way

* The Global Disinformation Order 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation

Samantha Bradshaw , Philip N. Howard ​, University of Oxford

Countries taking part in social media manipulation

How AI Can detect Propaganda? 

1. building a "social' graph of how, when and by who news are distributed

2. Looking for patterns in the Graph 

News Distribution Graph

WHy Do we believe that it will work? 

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146/tab-pdf

Fake news != Propaganda

propaganda needs organization, coordination, a lot of content and long term exposure

Proof of concept

Building and analyzing two covid news

Fondsk.ru

unocha.org

Distribution of Propaganda News

Automatic Repost in Russian Social Network VK

Exact Link and Exact time

Automatic Repost in Russian Social Network VK

Yeah, real Users

other languages (Persian)

COPYCATS

News Front 

Aura Network

Politanalyse

Fake Dates

Propaganda Analysis

• 18 blogs and 'informal' news sites with copied text and images
  • Including other languages
     
• Fake dates of publication
   
• Automated reposts in social networks
   
• Most accounts are bogus/fake in  blogs, VK, media platforms

Verified NEWS

Distribution of Verified News

Verified news analysis

• A lot of tweets reference the news
  • some of them from verified accounts
• There are no automatic responses at the exact same time
• The first three days are the most active
• Platforms are mostly Twitter, Facebook

Conclusion

Propaganda continues 

to work

(it never stopped)

Computational propaganda is tailored for each individual

It is harder for us to detect propaganda

.....and don't forget

Public opinion wins wars

Elnaz Babayeva   

@elnazavr

elnaz.babayeva@avast.com

Sebastian Garcia

@eldracote

sebastian.garcia@agents.fel.cvut.cz