Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

fhs.se
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • harvard-cite-them-right
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
The paperboys of Russian messaging: RT/Sputnik audiences as vehicles for malign information influence
Swedish Defence University, Department of Political Science and Law, Political Science Division.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0198-2221
2023 (English)In: Information, Communication and Society, ISSN 1369-118X, E-ISSN 1468-4462, Vol. 26, no 9, p. 1849-1867Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article examines the reception and dissemination of ‘maligninformation influence’ (MII) in a liberal democracy; informationsponsored by authoritarian regimes or other hostile actors andprojected through international broadcasting outlets acrossborders. The study contributes to the scarce research on thereception of narratives transmitted by the Russian statesupported media platforms RT and Sputnik, exposingcharacteristics, political attitudes, and sharing behaviors of RT/Sputnik consumers. A nationwide, representative survey (n: 3033)from November 2020 revealed a surprisingly high number ofSwedish RT/Sputnik consumers (7%), with an overrepresentationof young, men and supports of non-parliamentarian parties andthe right wing, nationalist Sweden Democratic Party. Theseconsumers are somewhat more willing than non-consumers todisseminate news on social media and in real life despite beingdistrustful of the sources. The findings strengthen previousresearch in demonstrating the attractiveness of identity grievancenarratives among alternative media consumers, yet the resultsshow that RT/Sputnik consumers also aligned with narratives thatcontrasts with national security policy. They state less trust inpoliticians, institutions, the media, news, and journalism, yet arecomparatively prone to share unreliable or untrue news contenton social media and in real life. The analysis thus identified asection of media consumers who can function as vehicles for thedissemination of MII. The article contributes to the underresearched problem of the potential of MII to take root andprovides a basis for future qualitative research that can refine andprovide nuance to the knowledge of reception of MII.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. Vol. 26, no 9, p. 1849-1867
Keywords [en]
information influence, media audience, narratives, RT, sputnik
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Research subject
Political Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-10748DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2022.2041700ISI: 000760142800001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:fhs-10748DiVA, id: diva2:1640743
Available from: 2022-02-25 Created: 2022-02-25 Last updated: 2023-09-04Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full text

Authority records

Wagnsson, Charlotte

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Wagnsson, Charlotte
By organisation
Political Science Division
In the same journal
Information, Communication and Society
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 2183 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • harvard-cite-them-right
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf