By Joshua Yaffa
In recent years, there has been much discussion over Russian meddling in US politics through social media. But could our reaction be making their attacks more potent?
Russia has been running disinformation campaigns since the Cold War. But the effects of their propaganda is hard to gauge. For example, just one Trump tweet or interview can do what thousands of fake social media accounts can't do. For example, after the President touted the use of disinfectant inside the body, poisoning rates went up in several states.
On the other hand, many Russian attempts at dismantling our democracy are obscure, often with very few views compared to mainland news and politicians. But they can disrupt everything simply by making it look as if they are doing something. It's like when the body over-reacts to a pathogen - we can do more damage to ourselves than the pathogen actually does to us.
Of course, there are ways we can counter this. Studies have shown that people who don't know how the government functions are more likely to believe conspiracy theories about the government. Although the US cannot combat Russian misinformation with our own misinformation, we can craft the truth to be more coordinated and compelling, making more people believe in it.
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