Can you spot the difference between an actual person and a Russian troll? Two professors at Clemson University have produced an online and mobile-friendly quiz to teach people how to counter disinformation campaigns.
The professors unveiled the quiz on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Spot the Troll presents images of actual social media content, and the user must decide whether they belong to legitimate accounts or internet trolls. The user is also given explanations and tips on how to spot actual online trolls.
Darren Linvill, an associate professor in Clemson’s Department of Communication, and Patrick Warren, an associate professor in Clemson’s John E. Walker Department of Economics, have been on the trail of online trolls since an initial project in 2017 exposed more than 3 million Russian Twitter troll tweets.
A troll in this sense is someone who, under a fake online profile, makes inflammatory, rude or untrue statements online that will elicit a strong emotional response in others.
And just as these Russian trolls played a role in election interference in the 2016 presidential election, the trolls have returned, according to Linvill and Warren.
“I think that overall the strategy has not changed. And that strategy is to infiltrate identity groups, and then pull them whichever way you want,” said Warren.
The tactics have changed slightly. Trolls aren’t stealing social media profile pics as often this time around, and they aren’t trying to gain as much prominence as before.
“They sell ideology in the same way that Budweiser sells beer, basically, in certain respects,” said Linvill.
To combat these disinformation campaigns, education plays an important role.
“You’re never going to stop misinformation and disinformation just by identifying it and shutting down some accounts, because it’s so inexpensive to just create more accounts, you’re never going to be able to plug that dam,” said Linvill. Instead, society has to approach the issue from multiple angles, he said.
That’s where the quiz comes in. “We’ve been trying to help lower the demand for misinformation and disinformation,” said Linvill.
The campaigns aren’t purely focused on the election, either. Linvill and Warren said that disinformation campaigns have sprung up around COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.
While Spot the Troll aims to help reveal trolls, Linvill and Warren caution that most people on social media are real. Not everyone you might disagree with is a troll, they said.
“I think the bigger impact is helping people tell the difference between trolls and non-troll,” said Warren.
As for the rest of this election cycle, the professors said that disinformation is still in full swing and may get more intense in the near future.
“Be wary,” warned Linvill. “Come October there’s going to be October surprises, and not all of them will be true.”
The Link LonkSeptember 25, 2020 at 03:43AM
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Clemson University professors ask: Can you spot the online troll? - Greenville Journal
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Troll
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