Викриття How Russian bots use twitter trends to spread anti-Ukrainian narratives
Twitter has a network of bots that, under the guise of ordinary users, spread anti-Ukrainian narratives, while applying social network trends. For example, under the hashtag #harniunia (cutie), such bots talk about a “nuclear strike” that “Russia has prepared and is about to strike”. Or they are convinced that Ukraine is doing the dirty work of the United States by fighting Russia. However, the most popular publications are distributed with the thesis that “the Union of Poland and Ukraine is futile”, because, they say, Poland should “somehow” take care of itself.
Thus, bots use a popular hashtag among Twitter users to destabilize sentiment and gently spread what they want. Like, if it is distributed by ordinary users, it is worth thinking about the information. However, the disseminated Russian narratives and anti-Ukrainian messages are part of the Russian propaganda used by Moscow against Ukraine and Ukrainians.