Abstract:

Disinformation spread on social networking platforms poses a major threat to national security. The present study is an attempt to investigate the challenge of disinformation and fake news in social media and their impact on security. To provide context for this challenge, the paper focuses on answering the following research questions: (1) what is the reach of disinformation in social media? (2) how is disinformation spread in social media? (3) what strategies do social bots employ in order to spread disinformation? In order to meet the objectives of the study and answer the research questions, a thorough literature review has been carried out with mixed research techniques. The findings of the study show that a great deal of disinformation is distributed by social bots that attack, hijack and manipulate discourse in social media. The use of social bots for disseminating disinformation brings substantial damage: they can exert a direct impact on the election results and therefore pose a serious threat to democracy. Futhermore, bots promote certain values, mislead and polarise public opinion and have a far-reaching political and economic impact. The analysis of disinformation dissemination strategies allows us to understand the problem, tackle it and deter more effectively.