The role of external network actors in shaping the protest attitudes of Russian social media users

Abstract

The article presents the results of an applied political research of the information flow of external pressure aimed at the formation of protest attitudes among Russian social media users. Currently, the activities of external actors in the network dimension are focused not so much on the launch of established scenarios of colour revolutions, but rather on the implementation of new hybrid schemes based on prolonged manipulative influence, implementation of a chain of special information and psychological operations, dissemination of fakes, incitement of social and ethnic discord, gradual soft deconsolidation and disorganisation of the state and society. The scientific problem is dictated by the types of contradictions that the basic provisions of the network and cognitive approaches are aimed at analysing and explaining. The research methodology is based on the general principles of social media predictive analytics and includes the use of cognitive mapping of digital content and automated social media analysis. Based on the results of the study, the authors draw conclusions about the basic characteristics of the information flow under study, describe the role of external network actors in the formation of protest attitudes of Russian social media users, and substantiate the political risks of the implementation of such activities.

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