兰德-新闻报道中的坏角色-追踪国家行为者操纵新闻的行为（英）-2021.11-20正式版.docx

BADACTORSINNEWSREPORTINGTRACKINGNEWSMANIPULATIONBYSTATEACTORSChristianJohnsonWilliamMarcellinoheglobalspreadofthecoronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19)createdfertilegroundforattenptstoinfluenceanddestabilizedifferentpopulationsandcountries.Inresponsetothis.RANDCorporationresearchersconductedaproof-of-conceptstudyfordetectingtheseeffortsatscale.Marryingalarge-scalecollectionpipelineforglobalnewswithmachine-learninganddataanalysisworkflows,theRANDteamfoundthatbothRussiaandChinaappeartohaveemployedinformationmanipulationduringtheCOVID-19Pandemicinservicetotheirrespectiveglobalagendas.Thisreportisthesecondinaseriesoftworeports;thefirst(Matthews,Migacheva1andBrown,2021)focusedonqualitativeanddescriptiveanalysisofthesamedatareferredtointhisreport.Here,wedescribeOuranalyticworkflowsfordetectinganddocumentingstate-sponsoredmalignandsubversiveinformationefforts,andWereportquantitativeresultsthatSupportthequalitativefindingsfromthefirstreport.IntroductionAspartofOuranalysis,wesearchedforbothdifferencesandsimilaritiesinthetopicsdiscussedbyRussian,Chinese,andWesternnewsmedia,andwefoundthatconspiracytheoriesandgeopoliticalposturingwererelativelycommoninRussianandChinesenewsarticlesComparedwithWestern(U.S.andUK)articles.TheworkwedescribeherelaysthefoundationforarobustprotectivecapabilitythatdetectsandshedsIightonstateactorinformationmanipulationandmiscondctintheglobalarena.Disinformation,Propaganda,andTruthDecayTheworldisexperiencingacrisisrelatedtodisagreementsovertheestablishedtruth,aphenomenonthatRANDreferstoasTruthDecayashiftinpublicdiscourseawayfromfactsandanalysisthatiscausedbyfourinterrelateddrivers(RichandKavanagh,2018):1. anincreasingdisagreementaboutfactsandanalyticalinterpretationsoffactsanddata2. ablurringofthelinebetweenopinionandfact3. anincreasingrelativevolume,andresultinginfluence,ofopinionandpersonalexperienceoverfact4. adecliningtrustinformerlyrespectedsourcesoffactualinformation.RANDwww.rand.orgTruthDecayisaseriousthreattobothdomesticU.S.andinternationalsecurity,onethatisbeingexacerbatedbymaligneffortsfromavarietyofnationalbadactors.Theseill-intentionedeffortstomisuseinformatiarelabeledmanywaysreadersmighthaveseentheseeffortslabeledasdisinformation,misinformation,fakenews,andinformationoperations.Forclarityandconsistency'ssake,weusethedefinitionstakenfromRichandKavanagh,2018,intheremainderofthispaper.OurdefinitionofconspiracytheoriescomesfromDouglasetal.,2019.(SeetheKeyInformationDefinitionsbox.)TRUTHE)E3 二：一二，KEYINFORMATIONDEFINITIONSDisinformationFalseormisleadinginformatiospreadintentionally,usuallytoachievesomeMisinformationpoliticaloreconomicobjective,infIuencepublicattitudes,orhidethetruth(asyonymforpropaganda)FalseormisleadinginformationthatisConspiracyspreadunintentionally.byerrorormistakeInformationthatattemptstoexplainthetheoriesultimatecausesofsignificantsocialFakenewsandpoliticaleventsandcircumstanceswithclaimsofsecretplotsbytwoormorepowerfulactorsNewspaperarticles,televisionsnewsshows,TopicDefinitionorotherInformationdisseminatedthroughbroadcastorsocialmediathatareintentionallybasedonfasehoodsorthatintentionallyusemisleadingframingtoofferadistortednarrativeNewsManipulationfromBothChinaandRussiaWefoundthatduringtheCOVID-19pandemic,bothRussiaandChinaengagedinnewsmanipulationthatservedtheirgeopoliticalgoals.1AlthoughEnglish-languagenewsmediafrombothnationsdidengageIntraditionalreportingonCOVID-19reportingoninfection,deathrates,andmedicalresponsesgloballyIheyalsoconducteddistinctmediaeffortsthatappeartobepolitiCallydrivennewsmanipulation.WefoundthatRussianmediaadvancedanti-U.S.conspiracytheoriesaboutthevirusandthatChinesemediaadvancedpro-ChinanewsthatlaunderedBeijing'sreputationintermsofCOVID-19response.Additionally,wefoundthatearlyinthepandemic,RussianmediasupportedChina'sefforttoburnishitsreputation.Intotal,threemainpillarsOfChineseandRussiannewsabouttheCOVID-19pandemicwereidentified.First,unsurprisingly,ChineseandRussiannewsagenciesreportedonstorieswithbroadinterestthatis,newstopicscoveredSimiIarIybyWesternnewsagencies.GoodexampiesofthispillararearticlesdescribingthecasenumbersanddeathsrelatedtoCOVID-19.ThesecondpillarofnewsstoriesconsistsOfarticlesthatperformgeopoliticalreputation-launderingonbehalfofRussiaandChina.ManyChinesenewsarticles,fore×arple,praiseChina'shandlingofthepandemicandhighlightitsdonationsofaidtoforeigncountries.interestingly,RussiannewspraisesChinainasimilarway.RussiannewsalsoappearedtodownplaytheoriginalVID-19outbreakinWuhan.(Weconsidertheinteractionbetweenthesedifferentpillarslaterinthisreport.)Finally,RussianandChinesenewsagenciespromotedconspiracytheoriesregardingCOVID-19andthepublichealthmeasuresimplementedtocontainit.ExamplesofnewsinthispillararethesuggestionthatC0V!D-19isabioweaponorotherwiseengineeredinaIaboratoryortheideathatcontact-tracingeffortsarepartofaneffortbygovernmentandtechnologycompaniestotrackcitizens.TheSuccessofourproof-Of-Concepts