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Using content and behavior for characterizing online influence campaigns
Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 11:00 am-12:00 pm Calendar
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Abstract
Online social spaces have emerged as theaters of information warfare that proceed both separate from and in conjunction with real-world conflict, with influence operations launched by both state- and non-state actors, and targeting both domestic and international audiences. This talk examines methods for characterizing, tracking, and discovering these influence campaigns across online spaces. Using signals from language, information-sharing, and social interaction, we identify potential strategies of Russian manipulation in the US 2016 election, methods for tracking multiple campaigns from several countries over time, and insights about levels of sophistication across campaigns. The talk ends with an overview of our current work in discovering new influence campaigns, characterizing multi-modal signals in these efforts, and potential frameworks for assessing impact of influence campaigns and counter-messaging efforts in online spaces.
 
Zoom: https://umd.zoom.us/j/98806584197?pwd=SXBWOHE1cU9adFFKUmN2UVlwUEJXdz09
(passcode if needed: clip)
 
Bio
Cody Buntain is an assistant professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland and a research affiliate for NYU's Center for Social Media and Politics, where he studies online information and social media. His work examines how people use online information spaces during crises and political unrest, with a focus on information quality. His work in these areas has been covered by the New York Times, Washington Post, WIRED, Business Insider, and NBC. Prior to UMD, he was an assistant professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a fellow at the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship.
This talk is organized by Wei Ai