troll farm
Coordinated influence operation
A troll farm is an organized operation that employs people to post inflammatory, misleading, or propagandistic content on social media.
Typically state-sponsored or politically motivated, troll farms aim to manipulate public opinion, sow discord, or interfere in elections: Russian troll farms flooded Facebook with divisive content during the 2016 campaign.
The workers create fake accounts and personas to disguise coordinated activity as organic grassroots engagement.
Biased information for influence
- fake newsIntentionally deceptive media content
- misinformationFalse data spread unintentionally
- astroturfingDisguised sponsored advocacy
- sockpuppetFake identity for deception
state-sponsored · manipulation · deception · hoaxes · false narratives · psyops · information warfare · smear campaign
Those who execute missions
- content creatorsPeople making online media
- scriptsWritten texts for performances
- talking pointsPrepared discussion themes
- target audienceIntended recipients of content
amplification · fake profiles · hashtag hijacking · brigading · mass reporting · burner accounts · VPN
propaganda
Biased information for influence
- fake newsIntentionally deceptive media content
- misinformationFalse data spread unintentionally
- astroturfingDisguised sponsored advocacy
sockpuppet · state-sponsored · manipulation · deception · hoaxes · false narratives · psyops · information warfare · smear campaign · foreign interference
operatives
Those who execute missions
- content creatorsPeople making online media
- scriptsWritten texts for performances
- talking pointsPrepared discussion themes
target audience · amplification · fake profiles · hashtag hijacking · brigading · mass reporting · burner accounts · VPN
- online personasbot, influencer, lurker, spammer, hater
- Online Manipulatorsbot, shill, sock puppet, sockpuppet, fake account
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
- propagandapropaganda, brainwashing, disinformation, misinformation, indoctrination
- surveillancesurveillance, CCTV, security camera, surveillance camera, surveillance cameras
- Cyberwarfarecyberattack, cyber warfare, cyberwar, cyber attack, cyber weapons
troll farmgrassroots movement
Citizen-led collective action campaign
citizen journalism · user-generated content · town hall · community forum · civil society
troll farmtruth commission
Panel investigating past atrocities
bridge-building · civic education · trust-building · Wikipedia · de-escalation
troll farminvestigative journalism
In-depth reporting exposing wrongdoing
fact-checkers · press corps · Reuters · Associated Press · whistleblower
troll, farm, trolls, trolling, trolled, farms, farming, farmed, farmer