{"id":1753,"date":"2017-05-23T17:39:45","date_gmt":"2017-05-23T21:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idavox.com\/?p=1753"},"modified":"2017-06-22T12:44:05","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T16:44:05","slug":"automating-hate-documenting-the-anatomy-of-an-automated-propaganda-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idavox.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/23\/automating-hate-documenting-the-anatomy-of-an-automated-propaganda-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Automating Hate: Documenting the anatomy of an automated propaganda machine."},"content":{"rendered":"
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The biggest weapon today’s hatemongers have is the internet. There they can be whatever they want to be pretend they have numbers behind them and that their positions matter. Erin Gallagher makes all of this IRL.<\/p>\n

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How does hate spread online? Sensationalized, fear-bait content tends to spread quickly on social media. The ability to automate almost everything helps to push propaganda distribution to new levels. I documented an automated propaganda network so we as media consumers can begin to understand how these systems work and be able to recognize fakery.<\/p>\n

After documenting the spread of joy on twitter<\/a>, I was curious to look at the opposite end of the spectrum; I wanted to study how hate spreads online. I started by looking at gephi network graphs of tweets containing the phrase \u201creligion of peace.\u201d <\/em>One twitter account appeared in my data as the top influencer for this phrase so I took a closer look and found it\u2019s much more than just a twitter account. AgendaOfEvil is a propaganda distribution network that is creating, curating and disseminating content using automation. Its focus is anti-Islam propaganda.<\/p>\n

The following network graph shows 24 hours worth of tweets & retweets from AgendaOfEvil\u2019s twitter account which are being amplified by an automated retweet network. The edges are weighted; when an account retweets AgendaOfEvil many times it produces a heavier edge between the main account and the account retweeting it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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gephi network graphi:\u00a0@3r1nG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The AgendaOfEvil twitter account and retweet network are just components of a larger broadcasting system that both produces and aggregates content and also amplifies that content on a large scale using automation; a technique known as \u201cmegaphoning<\/em><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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