Study: Russian Trolls Supremely Effective At Exploiting American Fear, Anger Online

Divisive and toxic social media posts created by Russian trolls have become all too common over the past five years or so. You know the kind: they’re poorly worded, sloppily constructed, and serve to spread a message of hate and controversy. But, are these thinly veiled attempts at manipulation actually effective at influencing Americans? According to a recent study conducted at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the answer to that question is an emphatic yes.

Of course, the main purpose of posts by Russian trolls is to incite arguments among different groups or ideologies: conservatives versus liberals, pro-life versus pro choice, pro-immigrant groups versus border wall enthusiasts, etc. Researchers say as outrageous as much of this content appears to be, Americans can’t help but to click.

After analyzing over 2,500 of these Russian posts, researchers discovered they generated clickthrough rates as much as nine times higher than the norm in digital advertising campaigns. In a rather poor reflection of human nature, it seems that controversy, lies, and fear mongering do very much equal clicks.

“We found that fear and anger appeals work really well in getting people to engage,” says lead author Chris Vargo, an assistant professor of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design at CU Boulder, in a release.

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