Security researchers at Cardiff University in Wales say a conspiracy theory that has taken over social media as Duchess Kate’s health remains shrouded in mystery (even before she revealed her cancer diagnosis last week) is that Russian It is said to have been amplified by disinformation campaigns.
There were understandable concerns about the health and whereabouts of the Princess of Wales while she recovered from a “planned abdominal surgery” in January and began chemotherapy treatment in private, but Kremlin contractors also He was taking advantage of the enthusiasm for the royal family to promote the royal family. -Russian and anti-Ukrainian stories.
“We have a long-term research program investigating disinformation and manipulation online, and what we did in this particular case was to drive traffic around articles about the Princess of Wales. As we were monitoring it, we noticed an unusual spike in traffic,” Professor Martin Innes, director of Cardiff University’s Institute for Security, Crime and Intelligence, told ABC Australia radio presenter Patricia Karvelas.
Innes said that when the researchers looked into the spike more closely, they found that they “were seeing unusual activity and patterns of behavior in some of the accounts that we recognized from our previous research into certain Russian disinformation groups. ” he said.
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Security researchers at Cardiff University say the conspiracy theories that have dominated social media as Duchess Kate’s health remains shrouded in mystery – even before she revealed her cancer diagnosis last week – are linked to a Russian disinformation campaign. It is said that it was amplified by (Andy Cheung/Getty Images)
He further added, “The group in question has been around for several years and is very well known in the open source research community. What they were doing in this particular example was in the story .”
Rather than posting original content about the princess’s health himself, he said, “we will find popular posts, respond to them, and insert our own content in the comments and replies.” .
“Typically, the content will either denigrate Ukraine, praise Russia’s achievements in the war, or talk about the integrity of Russia’s recent elections,” he added.
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Interest in Princess Middleton’s health reached fever pitch shortly after Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that she would undergo “planned abdominal surgery” and postpone her royal duties until Easter.
To put the rumors to rest, on March 10, the princess posted a photo with her children and wished Brits a happy Mother’s Day. News agencies such as the Associated Press deemed the photo “manipulated” and removed it, saying it did not meet reporting standards.
Conspiracy theories surrounding Duchess Kate’s health have reached a fever pitch in recent months. (Jonathan Brady – Pool/Getty Images)
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Despite Middleton admitting that she likes to “experiment with editing” from time to time, the photo further fueled conspiracy theories that were already spinning out of control.
Rumors only began to die down after the princess announced in a video message on March 22 that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
Innes told NBC News and the New York Times that researchers have identified 45 social media accounts associated with the Russian disinformation group Doppelgänger.
He also pointed out that the group did not start the conspiracy theory, but rather grabbed onto it.
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“Russia-related accounts aren’t driving the coverage, they just jumped on it,” he told NBC News. “It was already framed in terms of a conspiracy, so there’s no need for a foreign actor to set that frame. It’s something that can already be exploited.”
Duchess Kate announced in a video message on March 22 that she was suffering from cancer. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Innes explained that it is strategic to respond to posts rather than create original content, as comments are harder to regulate by social media platforms.
“Obviously they have an ideological agenda, but what’s interesting about this group is that they’re not part of the National Security Agency, which is behind other disinformation campaigns. “These are some of the people involved that we have seen in,” he told ABC Australia. “They are commercial organizations contracted by the Kremlin to distribute social media messages, resembling a kind of shadowy PR firm.”
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Innes explained that campaigners want to get paid as well as having an ideological objective. He said they will try to achieve “performance metrics” by “jumping on popular stories and hijacking them.”
He said: “Not only have they managed to push the narrative they want, but they also have an interest in fulfilling the contract. “It’s an easy way to do that.”
Duchess Kate’s disappearance from public life has created a vacuum in which conspiracy theories thrive on social media. (Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
Innes told NBC News that the group’s focus is on “destabilizing” the government, monarchy and media and “undermining trust in institutions.”
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“There’s so much attention on the story of the Princess of Wales that if you just insert your message and jump on certain hashtags, especially if you’re persistent, you’ll get a lot of attention and you’ll get a lot of attention to some of the messages you want to convey. Please be careful,” he told ABC Australia.
Wales-based researchers also identified that shadowy PR firms operating in Pakistan, Indonesia and other countries are using the enthusiasm for the princess to further their own agenda.
“And this is now a very regular occurrence, and really any hot topic, political or celebrity, tends to attract this kind of attention,” he warned. “It’s almost like a magnet that attracts people who want to increase their follower count and get attention for the message they want to convey.”
