On 16th July, the Centre presented the preliminary results of the study “Internet trolling as a hybrid warfare tool: the case of Latvia”. The study was commissioned by the NATO StratCom Centre of Excellence, and conducted by the Latvian Institute of International Affairs in cooperation with Riga Stradins University.
The study focuses on the identification of organised trolling in Internet media and measuring its influence on public discourse, using Latvia as a case study. By analysing trolling as a manipulative tool in the context of hybrid warfare, the study discovered several new angles, thus contributing to the discussion on vulnerabilities caused by the use of Internet and social network media.
- How Internet trolling is used in a hybrid warfare context?
- What manipulative methods of trolling are used to influence public opinion?
- Which groups of society are the most vulnerable to the trolling?
- How to identify a “hybrid-troll” and what are its distinctive features?
- What are the possible defence strategies to mitigate trolling activities?
The multidisciplinary approach – including communication science, social anthropology, political science and information technology expertise – was used in order to understand the trolling phenomena and its impact on public perception. Researchers analysed comments on the most popular Latvian web portals (Delfi, TVnet and Apollo) both in the Latvian and Russian language, and tested these results on focus groups. The expected research results will provide an opportunity to evaluate the risk potential of trolling, and develop recommendations on how to mitigate its effects when used as a hybrid warfare tool.
The authors of the study: Prof. Andris Sprūds, Asoc.Prof. Anda Rožukalne, Dr.Klāvs Sedlenieks, Mr.Mārtiņš Daugulis, Ms. Diāna Potjomkina, Ms.Beatrix Tölgyesi (UK), Ms. Ilvija Bruģe.
The executive summary in Latvian, can be accessed here.