Trending - How 'state-sponsored trolling' works
Download How 'state-sponsored trolling' works
When Azerbaijani journalist Arzu Geybulla started to receive abusive messages online, she quickly became suspicious. She had received offensive messages before. But this time was different. She was being flooded with them. So she decided to dig further.
Her investigation brought her into the murky world of state-sponsored trolling. Around the world, more governments are getting involved in harassment campaigns against journalists, activists and citizens. According to the Oxford Internet Institute, 47 countries conducted state-sponsored trolling campaigns in 2019. That’s up from 27 the year before.
Governments are using trolls and campaigns of abuse to silence critics, to sow discord and hold onto power. We meet the targets of government trolling campaigns and the researchers trying to combat them. What can we do about state-sponsored trolling?
Presenter: Mike Wendling
Reporter: Ant Adeane
(Photo: Person in the shadows on a computer. Credit: Getty Images)
Published on Saturday, 16th November 2019.
Available Podcasts from Trending
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Trending webpage.