Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior. / Eady, Gregory; Paskhalis, Tom; Zilinsky, Jan; Bonneau, Richard; Nagler, Jonathan; Tucker, Joshua A.

In: Nature Communications, Vol. 14, 62, 2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Eady, G, Paskhalis, T, Zilinsky, J, Bonneau, R, Nagler, J & Tucker, JA 2023, 'Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior', Nature Communications, vol. 14, 62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9

APA

Eady, G., Paskhalis, T., Zilinsky, J., Bonneau, R., Nagler, J., & Tucker, J. A. (2023). Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior. Nature Communications, 14, [62]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9

Vancouver

Eady G, Paskhalis T, Zilinsky J, Bonneau R, Nagler J, Tucker JA. Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior. Nature Communications. 2023;14. 62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9

Author

Eady, Gregory ; Paskhalis, Tom ; Zilinsky, Jan ; Bonneau, Richard ; Nagler, Jonathan ; Tucker, Joshua A. / Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior. In: Nature Communications. 2023 ; Vol. 14.

Bibtex

@article{a9c167d8986c42919d281cf8caf9e65d,
title = "Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior",
abstract = "There is widespread concern that foreign actors are using social media to interfere in elections worldwide. Yet data have been unavailable to investigate links between exposure to foreign influence campaigns and political behavior. Using longitudinal survey data from US respondents linked to their Twitter feeds, we quantify the relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and attitudes and voting behavior in the 2016 US election. We demonstrate, first, that exposure to Russian disinformation accounts was heavily concentrated: only 1% of users accounted for 70% of exposures. Second, exposure was concentrated among users who strongly identified as Republicans. Third, exposure to the Russian influence campaign was eclipsed by content from domestic news media and politicians. Finally, we find no evidence of a meaningful relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and changes in attitudes, polarization, or voting behavior. The results have implications for understanding the limits of election interference campaigns on social media.",
author = "Gregory Eady and Tom Paskhalis and Jan Zilinsky and Richard Bonneau and Jonathan Nagler and Tucker, {Joshua A.}",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9",
language = "English",
volume = "14",
journal = "Nature Communications",
issn = "2041-1723",
publisher = "nature publishing group",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior

AU - Eady, Gregory

AU - Paskhalis, Tom

AU - Zilinsky, Jan

AU - Bonneau, Richard

AU - Nagler, Jonathan

AU - Tucker, Joshua A.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - There is widespread concern that foreign actors are using social media to interfere in elections worldwide. Yet data have been unavailable to investigate links between exposure to foreign influence campaigns and political behavior. Using longitudinal survey data from US respondents linked to their Twitter feeds, we quantify the relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and attitudes and voting behavior in the 2016 US election. We demonstrate, first, that exposure to Russian disinformation accounts was heavily concentrated: only 1% of users accounted for 70% of exposures. Second, exposure was concentrated among users who strongly identified as Republicans. Third, exposure to the Russian influence campaign was eclipsed by content from domestic news media and politicians. Finally, we find no evidence of a meaningful relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and changes in attitudes, polarization, or voting behavior. The results have implications for understanding the limits of election interference campaigns on social media.

AB - There is widespread concern that foreign actors are using social media to interfere in elections worldwide. Yet data have been unavailable to investigate links between exposure to foreign influence campaigns and political behavior. Using longitudinal survey data from US respondents linked to their Twitter feeds, we quantify the relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and attitudes and voting behavior in the 2016 US election. We demonstrate, first, that exposure to Russian disinformation accounts was heavily concentrated: only 1% of users accounted for 70% of exposures. Second, exposure was concentrated among users who strongly identified as Republicans. Third, exposure to the Russian influence campaign was eclipsed by content from domestic news media and politicians. Finally, we find no evidence of a meaningful relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and changes in attitudes, polarization, or voting behavior. The results have implications for understanding the limits of election interference campaigns on social media.

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9

DO - 10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36624094

VL - 14

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

SN - 2041-1723

M1 - 62

ER -

ID: 344365067