Facebook and Twitter continue to make a significant impact our lives.
- Part of the reason is their business model.
- Another factor is our own human nature.
- The power of these tools has attracted many bad actors—including the Russians.
First, let’s take a quick look at the business model. Over 98% of Facebook’s revenue (taken from their latest financial report) comes from advertising. You and I pay nothing to sign up. We’re not the client—we’re the product Facebook sells.
How do they attract advertisers? By learning what we like, and delivering posts that reinforce our preferences. Facebook then uses their detailed knowledge of our interests to sell advertising that targets us. The following chart, from a study done by Cambridge University, demonstrates just how much Facebook knows about us:
Everything we see on Facebook goes through a feedback loop:
- Facebook tries to send us posts we’ll like.
- When we view them, we decide if we like them or not, which tells Facebook more about us.
- When others submit posts, Facebook decides whether we’ll like those posts or not.
Over time, Facebook reinforces whatever likes and prejudices we have.
Is Facebook just a social network? According to Pew Research, 62% of American adults get their news from social media (including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and others). Many of these users only get their news from one source.
What is the attention span of an average American news reader? VentureBeat cited a Microsoft consumer study in 2013 that states the attention span has dropped to eight seconds. Although roughly 60% of Americans only scan the headlines, some readers are still interested in long articles (1,000 words or more). What this means is that readers prefer short stories (max 300 words), BUT if you grab their attention, they may read much longer articles. You do that with sensational headlines, that inspire a deeper look.
Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? It can instantly deliver almost any information you want, anywhere around the world. It also allows you to find and connect with people who share your interests. This should be enlightening, right?
There’s also a dark side. When people interact with each other, “group dynamics” reinforces positive interaction among members of a like-minded group, but it also encourages negative interaction with members outside the group. It contributes to the bitter attitudes of those who hate and fear “others”
What about bad people? What happens if someone decides to take advantage of us using Facebook and Twitter? How did the Russians use these tools against us? Before they could be effective, they needed to gather intelligence about target audiences and the types of messages that would be most effective to meet their objectives. Then they took advantage of everything described above.
Leveraging group dynamics, the Russians crafted messages that appealed to positives of one group and negatives of another. They created sensational headlines that contained a kernel of perceived truth, then often added details that were clearly false. The U.S. House Intelligence Committee released details on several of the ads.
To create a “buzz”, they used a large “troll farm”—about a hundred people, dedicated to interacting with social media and other internet services. Some of them acted as “sock puppets”, taking on anonymous identities, posting items, retweeting, commenting, etc. Others directed automated programs, called “bots” to respond more rapidly than any human. The positions taken were both “white” and “black” propaganda, promoting both sides of divisive subjects.
Trending Topics: Once a post has generated a significant buzz, Facebook and Twitter often identify their positions as “trending topics”, which can lead to a viral following.
Advertising: In addition, the Russians placed advertisements. These receive priority, and are posted to a large audience of readers that match specific targeted audiences. Facebook’s deep knowledge of their users enabled the Russians to target people based upon their likes of political and religious views, and also by their hatred of people who had different views, ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles.