Opinion Manipulation in the Farsi Twittersphere

• In Event: Extremism and Polarization Online

Abstract

For Iranians and the Iranian diaspora, Farsi Twitter provides an important alternative to state media and outlet for political discourse. But this understudied online space has become an opinion manipulation battleground, with diverse actors using inauthentic accounts to advance their goals and shape online narratives. Examining trending discussions crossing social cleavages in Iran, we explore how the dynamics of opinion manipulation differ across diverse issue areas. Our analysis suggests that opinion manipulation by bots and trolls is significantly more common in divisive political discussions than non-divisive or apolitical discussions. We show how Twitter’s network structures help to reinforce the content propagated by opinion manipulators in divisive political discussions. Analyzing both the content and structure of online discussions in the Iranian Twittersphere, our results contribute to a growing body of literature exploring the dynamics of online opinion manipulation and influence operations, while improving our understanding of how information is controlled in the digital age.

Authors

• Amirhossein Farzam, Duke University

• parham moradi, shahid Beheshti university

• Zahra Padar

• Saeedeh Mohammadi, Shahid Beheshti University

• Alexandra Arons Siegel, University of Coloardo Boulder