Princess Kate went underground for weeks to recover from abdominal surgery. Meanwhile, the social media world exploded with conspiracy theories. Researchers found a hotbed of misinformation in Russia.
The Princess of Wales has cancer. She made this shocking statement herself in a video message after rumors and conspiracy theories about her public disappearance had escalated for weeks.
A research team at Cardiff University in Wales now examined the course of the media campaign against the princess. Led by misinformation expert Martin Innes, his team examined 45 accounts that were used to spread false information about Kate.
Cardiff University researchers have been studying the influence of Russian accounts in connection with misinformation since 2018. When it came to conspiracy theories surrounding Kate, they began investigating when they noticed “an unusual traffic pattern” and “traffic spikes appearing out of nowhere.” The research management commented on the results of the investigations on the news portal “CNN”.
Social media accounts fueled rumors surrounding Princess Kate
After further investigation, Innes and his team were able to determine: “The accounts did not post themselves, but instead responded to and commented on posts about the condition of the Princess of Wales, presented material about the Ukraine war, denigrated Ukraine, or celebrated the integrity of the Russian elections “, says Innes. A behavior that the researchers were already familiar with from previous studies of Russian actors.
Innes provides the background. The group behind the comments is called “Doppelgänger,” a Kremlin-linked organization that has targeted audiences in the United States and Europe, including Ukraine. It is a commercial company that is commissioned to carry out misinformation campaigns. At the end of 2022, even Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – warned that “Doppelgänger” was imitating major news outlets and creating fake articles.
At the beginning of March there were rumors about the condition of King Charles III. given, which also had their origins in Russian media and on TikTok. Anna George, who researches online misinformation at the Oxford Internet Institute, told CNN: “Russian misinformation campaigns like to sow confusion about who can be trusted.”
Source:
+++ Read also ++++
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
