Since April, a change in Twitter’s algorithm has given greater visibility to a large number of accounts linked to Russian and Chinese propaganda, according to the US Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).
Between August 2020 and early April 2023, Twitter had included in its terms of service the following rule: “Regarding state-affiliated media accounts, Twitter will not recommend or extend their visibility to users.
However, at the beginning of April, this rule disappeared from the conditions of use of the social network. The American media Semafor has also carried out a study indicating that this rule was no longer applied. Finally, to clarify the point, the platform completely removed this mention on April 21.
“Although the information in open access does not allow viewing Twitter’s algorithms, the analysis of the platform’s data makes it possible to estimate the dates on which these changes have occurred,” continues the research unit.
The algorithm in question
For the DFR Lab, it is in fact a discrete evolution in the algorithm of the social network that is the cause of these sudden changes. To carry out this study, the DFR Lab focused in particular on the accounts monitored by three media outlets: the Russian outlet RT (whose French-language account was removed from Twitter last year), the Chinese outlet CGTN (China) and PressTV ( Iran).
In total, 42 accounts linked to these three outlets were observed, concentrating on the most active accounts since the beginning of 2023. The latter, although experiencing a period of decline in their number of subscribers, have seen them skyrocket in a specific period. .
RT had at least 9 accounts labeled “state-affiliated” until this clarification was removed. His three most followed accounts each have between one and several million subscribers. RT Arabic, the most followed, had 5.2 million subscribers at the beginning of 2023.
These are the numbers shown by DFR Lab for two of them: RT Arabic and RT Com (the generic account of Russia Today).
These two charts actually show renewed interest at the end of March. While RT Arabic is gradually heading towards its early 2023 levels, RT Com has already surpassed them in the space of 15 days, just after experiencing a sharp loss.
There are 28 accounts linked to the Chinese medium CGTN, among them, CGTN America, destined for the United States, is the one that has experienced the most drastic development.
PressTV, an account affiliated with the Iranian state, experienced significant growth in its number of subscribers, with more than 10,000 new subscribers in the first half of April.
“Although multiple factors may contribute to this rally, its sudden and simultaneous appearance, after a period of decline, signals a platform-wide turnaround in late March,” says DFR Lab.
Source: BFM TV
