Title: Fake news, propaganda spread quickly on social media - The Daily Universe
Headings: Fake news, propaganda spread quickly on social media
Fake news, propaganda spread quickly on social media
‘Fake News’
Hackers and their influence
Voter manipulation

Content: Leading up to the Nov. 6 midterm elections, Facebook worked to block over 100 Facebook and Instagram troll accounts allegedly connected to the Russia-based Internet Research Agency, according to The New York Times. The group was indicted in February for attempting to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election through social media campaigns. Another element of social media manipulation includes trolling and cyberbullying. According to a study from the University of Southern California, Russia’s social media campaign leading up to the 2016 election involved heavy use of online bullying through bot accounts, trolls and sockpuppet accounts — or anonymous accounts used to hide the user’s true identity. According to the study, these tactics were primarily used to amplify extreme right-wing ideologies and politics, and 50.9 percent of these accounts imitated negative fan reactions to “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” to help push politically-motivated views. J. Reuben Clark Law School associate professor Stephanie Bair said the anonymity granted by the internet is a factor in emboldening people to act in ways they normally wouldn’t. “While someone might not feel OK bullying another in person, they may feel relatively safe doing so from behind a pseudonym on a computer,” she said. “ This may be because they have less to fear by way of social sanctions from others, or it could be that they don’t fully realize the harm they are causing because the victim is not in front of them.” Bair also said each state takes different approaches to cyberbullying.