the digital army of ‘trolls’ that attacks Russia through memes

taketonews

Act at 18:34

EST


Civilians, intelligence experts and politicians form NAFO, a guerrilla alliance on Twitter to donate to Ukraine, combat Kremlin disinformation about the war and control the narrative of the conflict

In recent weeks, Ukraine has launched a military counteroffensive to retake control of its territory, seized by the troops of Russia since the beginning of their invasion. However, this has not been the only military action that has caught the Kremlin by surprise. Behind the screens, an army of thousands of volunteers has activated a propaganda campaign on Twitter to combat the disinformation russian on the war at the blow of memesprovocation and irony.

“We are between a maneuver against Russian manipulations and a psychological operation & rdquor ;, Alvar, a Spanish political scientist raised in Germany and with experience in government relations for the private sector, explains to this newspaper. His frustration with the Western response to the Russian invasion led him to join the North Atlantic Colleagues Organization (NAFOfor its acronym in English, in a play on words linked to the NATO), an alliance of Twitter users that has resorted to the ‘trolling‘ as a weapon to counter Moscow’s attempts to control the narrative about the war.

“We are between a campaign against Russian disinformation and a psychological operation & rdquor; -Alvar, member of NAFO

NAFO was born sporadically last May when the user @Kama_Kamilia launched an initiative to raise “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in funds to support the Georgia National Legionparamilitary unit of volunteers from the Asian country (also attacked by Moscow) forged in 2014 after the Russian annexation of crimea. Bank and credit accounts have been activated PayPal to process donations. “There are users who prove to be in Ukraine, have contact with the military and send them our help & rdquor ;, he assures Jesus Manuel Perez Triana, defense analyst and member of NAFO. Since then, they have been selling all kinds of products—from t-shirts to stickers—to pay for that aid.

In return, donors receive a picture of a Japanese breed dog. Shiba Inu -turned into a phenomenon on the internet- armed and in military attire, which works as a badge to identify their accounts as ‘fellas’ (colleagues, in English), as they call each other. Behind that production chain there is a team of 34 NAFO members from all over the world, as the promoter of that community explained to ‘Politico’.

Experts and ordinary citizens

This peculiar alliance has not stopped joining soldiers to their ranks. Every day they post more than 5,000 messages on Twitter, according to an analysis of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. “The Internet has turned propaganda into an unprecedented weapon of destabilization in which all citizens can participate (…) and the idea of ​​​​resistance that Ukraine relies on may be leading people to contribute through networks,” points Carmen Colominaprincipal investigator at CIDOB, expert in disinformation.

“The Internet has turned propaganda into an unprecedented weapon of destabilization in which all citizens can participate” -Carme Colomina, CIDOB researcher

Among these users there are profiles of all kinds, from experts in military intelligence to ordinary citizens interested in the conflict. “On Telegram I saw the massacre of civilians, the most horrible thing I’ve seen in my life (& mldr;) I asked for a week of vacation and spent 15 hours a day answering all the Russian lies & rdquor ;, says a user who prefers to keep his anonymity for fear of reprisals. The growing popularity of NAFO has also led several politicians, such as the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleskii Reznikovor the former president of Estonia, Thomas Hendrik Ilves, to join the cause. “This has grown so much that nobody knows how many we are & rdquor ;, celebrates Alvar.

Many of them are from Baltics or from Eastern Europe, but the Spanish-speaking community continues to grow. “I always used the networks to chat with my friends, but after the invasion I decided to help by translating Ukrainian information,” explains Andriy, a 32-year-old Spaniard born in Lviv. “I have a nephew in Ukraine and I wanted to help. It makes me very angry to see characters like Pedro Baños or Bea Talegón defend the Russian point of view while they are killing people there & rdquor ;.

meme war

Information wars have been waged for a long time in the social networks and spaces like Telegram. Controlling the narrative is key for both sides. Aware of this, NAFO accounts seek to document the course of the war and incessantly amplify information that uncovers Russian actions, from journalistic investigations to open sources from groups such as bellingcat.

Operating as a digital guerrilla, NAFO members have turned to memes, a mainstay of internet culture that in just a few years has gone from being a niche resource to becoming embedded in more and more propaganda tactics. “Use memes of political humor and irony is a very useful strategy to reach young people and avoid censorship & rdquor ;, adds Colomina. From soldiers dancing to artillery in actionboth the Ukrainian and Russian governments have deployed this memetic communication.

NAFOs have also used the ‘shitposting‘, as it is known in internet jargon to publish aggressive and ironic content to attack, wear down and drive their rivals to despair. And they do it with a code of their own, referring to pro-Russians as ‘Vatniks‘ either ‘Tankies‘, insults with which to belittle those who blindly defend the actions of the Kremlin, or as orcs, in relation to mythological monsters. Thus, it is usual to see them ‘trolling’ Russian diplomats or make fun of Vladimir Putin and the strategic flaws of the hitherto unsuccessful Russian military campaign. “We live in a very cynical and distrustful society and propaganda is also making fun of the other to delegitimize their cause”, adds Pérez Triana.

mutual defense

When a user is bullied by Russophile accounts, they only have to write the hashtag #Article5 –in relation to NATO’s mutual defense clause– and other members of NAFO appear to counter the attack with memes and information. “So you don’t feel alone & rdquor ;, says Andriy. The ‘fellas’ also correct each other to prevent the spread of possible hoaxes.

Part of NAFO’s success is due to being a self-managed community. His only rule is to help Ukraine, regardless of ideological differences. “We are people who feel helpless for not being able to help. There are very aggressive, absurd, documentary, left or right, but that doesn’t matter & rdquor ;, says an anonymous member. Even so, they denounce that pro-Russian accounts pose as members of NAFO to “say barbarities & rdquor; and delegitimize the movement. It is also common for them to be accused of being in the pay of NATO, the INC or the tycoon george soros. “This is something totally altruistic, nobody has given us any guidelines & rdquor ;, says Alvar.



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