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Coordinated Activity Modulates the Behavior and Emotions of Organic Users: A Case Study on Tweets about the Gaza Conflict

Priyanka Dey, Luca Luceri, Emilio Ferrara

TL;DR

This study analyzes how coordinated malicious actors on Twitter influence the discourse around the Gaza conflict by examining ~3.5 million tweets from ~1.3 million users over 62 days. Using the Luceri unmasking-based approach, it identifies 1,034 coordinated users via a fused similarity network and evaluates their effectiveness with metrics such as RTP, RR, O2CR, and TSR, finding meaningful cross-group dissemination. Over time, interactions between coordinated and organic users increase, and organic content post-interaction shows elevated negative emotions and anger-driven polarization. The work highlights the potential for narrative manipulation on social platforms and underscores the need for enhanced detection and nuanced understanding of emotional and behavioral shifts in organic users.

Abstract

Social media has become a crucial conduit for the swift dissemination of information during global crises. However, this also paves the way for the manipulation of narratives by malicious actors. This research delves into the interaction dynamics between coordinated (malicious) entities and organic (regular) users on Twitter amidst the Gaza conflict. Through the analysis of approximately 3.5 million tweets from over 1.3 million users, our study uncovers that coordinated users significantly impact the information landscape, successfully disseminating their content across the network: a substantial fraction of their messages is adopted and shared by organic users. Furthermore, the study documents a progressive increase in organic users' engagement with coordinated content, which is paralleled by a discernible shift towards more emotionally polarized expressions in their subsequent communications. These results highlight the critical need for vigilance and a nuanced understanding of information manipulation on social media platforms.

Coordinated Activity Modulates the Behavior and Emotions of Organic Users: A Case Study on Tweets about the Gaza Conflict

TL;DR

This study analyzes how coordinated malicious actors on Twitter influence the discourse around the Gaza conflict by examining ~3.5 million tweets from ~1.3 million users over 62 days. Using the Luceri unmasking-based approach, it identifies 1,034 coordinated users via a fused similarity network and evaluates their effectiveness with metrics such as RTP, RR, O2CR, and TSR, finding meaningful cross-group dissemination. Over time, interactions between coordinated and organic users increase, and organic content post-interaction shows elevated negative emotions and anger-driven polarization. The work highlights the potential for narrative manipulation on social platforms and underscores the need for enhanced detection and nuanced understanding of emotional and behavioral shifts in organic users.

Abstract

Social media has become a crucial conduit for the swift dissemination of information during global crises. However, this also paves the way for the manipulation of narratives by malicious actors. This research delves into the interaction dynamics between coordinated (malicious) entities and organic (regular) users on Twitter amidst the Gaza conflict. Through the analysis of approximately 3.5 million tweets from over 1.3 million users, our study uncovers that coordinated users significantly impact the information landscape, successfully disseminating their content across the network: a substantial fraction of their messages is adopted and shared by organic users. Furthermore, the study documents a progressive increase in organic users' engagement with coordinated content, which is paralleled by a discernible shift towards more emotionally polarized expressions in their subsequent communications. These results highlight the critical need for vigilance and a nuanced understanding of information manipulation on social media platforms.
Paper Structure (12 sections, 4 equations, 3 figures)

This paper contains 12 sections, 4 equations, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Data
  3. Methodology
  4. Coordinated Activity Detection
  5. Measuring Coordinated Users' Effectiveness
  6. Characterizing User Interaction Dynamics
  7. Organic Users' Behavior After Interactions
  8. Results
  9. Effectiveness of Coordinated Activity
  10. Interactions Increase Over Time
  11. Emotion Modulation by Coordinated Users
  12. Conclusions

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Inter and intra-group engagement proportions between organic and coordinated users after $k$ interactions
  • Figure 2: Changes in negative emotions after 3 interactions. Each change is significant (MW test: * p<0.01, ** p<0.001).
  • Figure 3: Distribution of Anger deltas for 3 days interval over repeated interactions between organic and coordinated users. Noteworthy, the Anger deltas become increasingly polarized, suggesting that repeated interactions with coordinated activity leads to increasingly extreme changes in Anger emotion.