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Computational Propaganda: Automated Influence in the Digital Age and the "Dead Internet Files"

Computational propaganda represents a modern evolution of propaganda, leveraging digital technologies, especially social media, to spread misleading information and manipulate public opinion. In the context of theories like "The Dead Internet Files," which posits that a significant portion of online content and activity is generated by automated systems rather than humans, computational propaganda serves as a prime example and driver of this phenomenon. It highlights how bots, algorithms, and automation are not just creating noise but are actively being deployed for strategic influence, blurring the lines between genuine human interaction and automated manipulation online.

Understanding Computational Propaganda

At its core, computational propaganda is the strategic application of computational tools – primarily algorithms and automation – to disseminate propaganda, which is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Computational Propaganda: The use of computational tools, such as algorithms and automation (including internet bots), to distribute misleading information and manipulate public opinion, particularly through social media networks.

This approach takes traditional propaganda methods, which often relied on mass media like newspapers, radio, or television, and adapts them for the digital age. The key difference lies in the scale, speed, targeting capability, and the ability to mimic human interaction afforded by modern computing and networking technologies.

The Role of Automation and Algorithms

The "computational" aspect is central to this form of propaganda. It relies heavily on technologies that can operate at speeds and scales impossible for human operators alone.

Automation: The use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. In computational propaganda, this includes automated posting, sharing, account creation, and interaction.

Algorithms: A set of rules or instructions that a computer follows to perform a specific task. In this context, algorithms are used for tasks such as analyzing data to identify target audiences, optimizing the timing and delivery of messages, or even generating content.

Internet Bots (Bots): Automated software programs that run specific tasks over the internet. In computational propaganda, bots can be used to create fake accounts, post and share content, mimic human users, inflate follower counts, spread hashtags, and amplify specific messages to create the illusion of widespread support or discussion.

The synergy between algorithms and automation is powerful. Algorithms can process vast amounts of data to determine who should receive a message and when for maximum impact. Automation tools, particularly bots, then execute the distribution of these messages across social media platforms at scale and speed. This creates an environment where propagandistic content can proliferate rapidly, overwhelming genuine human discourse.

How Computational Propaganda Works: Mechanisms of Manipulation

The process of deploying computational propaganda typically involves several interconnected steps:

1. Data Collection and Analysis: Propaganda efforts often begin with collecting data about potential targets. This includes analyzing social media activity, online behavior, demographics, interests, and even location data.

   Social Media Data: Information gathered from users' activities on social media platforms, including posts, likes, shares, comments, connections, groups joined, and browsing habits within the platform. This data is analyzed to understand sentiment, identify influencers, and segment audiences.

   Internet of Things (IoT) Data: While less direct than social media data for propaganda targeting, data from connected devices can potentially provide insights into users' lifestyles, routines, and even emotional states, which could be used to refine targeting strategies or understand the real-world impact of online campaigns.

   Algorithms are crucial here, sorting through massive datasets to identify patterns, vulnerabilities (like susceptibility to specific emotional appeals), and network structures that can be exploited.

2. Targeted Messaging: Based on the data analysis, specific messages are crafted or selected to resonate with particular groups or individuals. This moves beyond broadcasting a single message to a mass audience; instead, it's about delivering tailored content designed to exploit pre-existing biases, fears, or beliefs.

3. Content Generation and Distribution: This is where automation plays a significant role. Bots or automated systems can generate simple posts, tweets, or comments. More sophisticated systems might even assemble content from templates or scraped text. Automation is heavily used to distribute this content widely and rapidly across social media platforms through fake accounts, coordinated sharing, and automated posting schedules.

4. Amplification: Bots and automated accounts are used to artificially inflate the reach and perceived popularity of propagandistic content. This includes:

   • Automatically liking, sharing, and retweeting posts.
   • Creating trending hashtags by posting them repeatedly.
   • Flooding comment sections to dominate conversations or silence opposing views.
   • Creating networks of fake accounts that interact with each other to appear more legitimate and influential.

5. Mimicry and Deception: A key tactic is to make automated activity appear human. Bots are programmed to mimic human behaviors, such as using slang, posting during typical human hours, interacting with real users, and even developing rudimentary "personalities." This makes it harder for users to distinguish between authentic human voices and automated manipulation.

   Mimicry (in Computational Propaganda): The process by which automated accounts or systems attempt to imitate human behavior, language patterns, and interaction styles online to appear authentic and trustworthy.

Enhancing Traditional Manipulation Methods

Digital technology doesn't replace the fundamental psychological tactics of propaganda; it enhances them. Computational tools allow propagandists to:

• Precisely target emotional appeals: By analyzing user data, they can identify individuals or groups likely to respond strongly to messages triggering fear, anger, patriotism, or other emotions, circumventing rational deliberation.
• Exploit biases: Algorithms can identify and exploit cognitive biases, delivering information that confirms pre-existing beliefs or prejudices, making it more likely to be accepted without critical evaluation.
• Operate at unprecedented scale: Automation allows the simultaneous execution of thousands or millions of manipulative actions (posts, likes, shares, interactions), creating an overwhelming digital presence for the propaganda.
• Adapt rapidly: Data analysis provides near real-time feedback on which messages and tactics are working, allowing campaigns to adapt their strategy quickly.

Historical Context and Development

The concept of using technology for propaganda is not new. Radio, film, and television have all been used historically. However, the era of the internet and social media, particularly since the early 2000s, provided new vectors for influence. The systematic study of how computational tools specifically enhance these efforts gained prominence in the 2010s. Researchers, like those at the Oxford Internet Institute led by Philip N. Howard, began analyzing how political actors and others were using automated accounts and algorithms to manipulate online discourse, building upon earlier work on the broader effects of new media on civic life.

Impact and Implications

The rise of computational propaganda has profound implications:

• Distortion of Public Opinion: Automated amplification and targeted messaging can create a false sense of consensus or widespread support for certain ideas, potentially swaying public opinion on political issues, social debates, or consumer trends.
• Undermining Democracy: By spreading disinformation, suppressing dissenting voices through noise or targeted harassment (often automated), and manipulating electoral discourse, computational propaganda poses a significant threat to democratic processes.
• Erosion of Trust: The difficulty in distinguishing between genuine human activity and automated manipulation erodes trust in online information and interactions, making it harder for users to engage critically and confidently.
• Contribution to the "Dead Internet": Computational propaganda is a key driver behind the concerns raised by "The Dead Internet Files." The widespread use of bots and automated systems for strategic influence means that a significant portion of the content users encounter and the interactions they observe online may not be from real people but from automated entities designed to shape their perception. This contributes to the feeling that the authentic human presence online is being diluted or replaced by artificial noise and manipulation.

Connecting to "The Dead Internet Files"

"The Dead Internet Files" hypothesis suggests that the internet, particularly in recent years, has become increasingly devoid of genuine human content and interaction, being instead dominated by AI-generated content, bots, and automated systems. Computational propaganda directly embodies this concern.

• Bot Population: Computational propaganda relies heavily on creating and deploying vast numbers of bots and fake accounts. These entities contribute directly to the perceived "botification" of the internet.
• Automated Content: While not all computational propaganda uses sophisticated AI for content generation, it heavily relies on automated distribution and amplification, leading to repetitive, algorithmically optimized, and non-human-driven streams of information.
• Artificial Interactions: Bots are often programmed to interact with real users or other bots, creating chains of comments, likes, and shares that look like engagement but are purely artificial. This makes online spaces feel less like communities of people and more like programmed environments.
• Noise and Obfuscation: The sheer volume of automated activity generated by computational propaganda can drown out authentic human voices and make it difficult to find reliable information, contributing to a sense that the signal-to-noise ratio has drastically worsened online.

In essence, computational propaganda is not just happening on the internet; its reliance on automation and bots is actively transforming the internet into something that aligns with the concerns of "The Dead Internet Files," making online spaces feel less authentically human and more like managed, automated environments designed for influence and control.

Conclusion

Computational propaganda represents a sophisticated and scalable method of influence in the digital age, utilizing algorithms and automation to spread misleading information and manipulate public opinion via social media. Its techniques, heavily reliant on bots and automated systems for data analysis, targeting, content distribution, and amplification, directly contribute to the phenomena described by "The Dead Internet Files" – an online environment where artificial activity increasingly blurs or replaces genuine human interaction. Understanding computational propaganda is crucial not only for recognizing modern influence operations but also for comprehending how automated systems are fundamentally altering the nature of the internet itself.