Blame It on the Algorithm? Russian Government-Sponsored Media and Algorithmic Curation of Political Information on Facebook

Authors

  • Elizaveta Kuznetsova Weizenbaum Institute
  • Mykola Makhortykh University of Bern

Keywords:

social media, framing, U.S. 2020 election, propaganda, news, algorithms

Abstract

Previous research highlighted how algorithms on social media platforms can be abused to disseminate disinformation. However, less work has been devoted to understanding the interplay between Facebook news curation mechanisms and propaganda content. To address this gap, we analyze the activities of RT (formerly, Russia Today) on Facebook during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. We use agent-based algorithmic auditing and frame analysis to examine what content RT published on Facebook and how it was algorithmically curated in Facebook News Feeds and Search Results. We find that RT’s strategic framing included the promotion of anti-Biden leaning content, with an emphasis on antiestablishment narratives. However, due to algorithmic factors on Facebook, individual agents were exposed to eclectic RT content without an overarching narrative. Our findings contribute to the debate on computational propaganda by highlighting the ambiguous relationship between government-sponsored media and Facebook algorithmic curation, which may decrease the exposure of users to propaganda and at the same time increase confusion. 

Author Biographies

Elizaveta Kuznetsova, Weizenbaum Institute

Elizaveta Kuznetsova is a senior researcher at Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin, where she leads a research group 'Platform Algorithms and Digital Propaganda'. She works at the intersection of International Relations and Communication Studies with a particular focus on propaganda. She held fellowships at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University and the Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University.

Mykola Makhortykh, University of Bern

Mykola Makhortykh is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Bern. His research on, among others, news recommender systems, search engines and digital remembrance, has appeared in journals including European Journal of Communication, Internet Policy Review and New Media and Society.

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Published

2023-01-26

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Articles

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