The death of Russian mercenary leader, Vladimir Prigozhin, has sparked international debate about the implications it may have for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government. Studies conducted by sociologists at San Francisco State University have revealed a correlation between the death of Prigozhin and an increase in the activity of pro-Kremlin internet trolls.
Prigozhin was the founder of “Wagner Group”, a private army of military contractors who fought Russia’s wars in Ukraine and Syria. His death in late January has been met with conflicting reports, including claims that he was killed while fighting in Syria.
In the days following Prigozhin’s death, researchers at the university had recorded a spike in the activity of pro-Kremlin trolls, who are believed to be connected to Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA). The trolls used Prigozhin’s death to shift blame away from Putin and instead blame the West for meddling in Russian affairs.
The trolls would post messages that suggested Prigozhin was taken out by an assassination plot orchestrated by Western intelligence agencies. Some believed the US had targeted Prigozhin in retaliation for his involvement in Ukraine’s civil war, while others suggested he was killed in order to stop him from exposing information about corruption within the Russian government.
The conclusions of the study mirror similar campaigns conducted by the IRA in the past. The trolls have often taken to social media as a way to distract from or even defend Russia against Western criticism.
The implications of the trolls’ activity are perhaps the most concerning, as the findings suggest that this could be used as an effective method to influence public opinion about Russia. The use of trolls as propaganda is concerning, as it can be difficult to know how effective they are at influencing public opinion.
The implications of Prigozhin’s death, and the subsequent increase in activity by internet trolls, remain to be seen. However, this research has revealed a correlation between the two events and has shown the potential of online influence campaigns to affect public opinion. It is unclear how much these campaigns are able to influence real world events, but their impact should not be downplayed.