Another major newspaper believes that the Russian government is paying internet users to spam the comments section under their articles with aggressive, provocative pro-Russian propaganda. UK’s The Guardian newspaper moderators believe this is an orchestrated campaign.
The Guardian moderators, who deal with 40,000 comments per day, and The Guardian users believe the Russian government is paying webizens to troll their papers, using denigrating and abusive terms against other commenters who criticize Russia or Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. The Guardian’s former Moscow correspondent, Luke Harding, is in no doubt about Russia’s internet campaign, calling it “a well-attested phenomenon in Russia.”
The Guardian reported on the problem as early as 2012. “A pro-Kremlin group runs a network of internet trolls, seeks to buy flattering coverage of Vladimir Putin and hatches plans to discredit opposition activists and media, according to private emails allegedly hacked by a group calling itself the Russian arm of Anonymous,” the paper reported.
The Atlantic also reported on the problem, in October 2013. The paper cited a St. Petersberg Times article about a woman who was interviewed for a job in a “comment-mill,” where workers were expected to and distribute politically supportive or discrediting social media posts.
The Atlantic also noted the prevalence of this abuse of social media, reporting that the NGO Freedom House had stated that the practice is widespread in 22 of the 60 countries it examines, led by China, Bahrain and Russia.
By Day Blakely Donaldson
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