Description
This paper sheds new light on Russian social media operations and their impact on the international political and media environment. By analyzing the social media strategy of the Kremlin’s international news broadcaster RT, I identify a variety of features that the channel uses to promote its content online. I argue that apart from the widely discussed trolls and bots techniques, the strategy of RT entails a skillful manipulation of algorithms used by Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. In particular, I show how RT constructs an attractive SEO (Search Engine Optimization) through the use of keywords, titles, topic organization, website architecture and the content of messages. Thus, the paper argues that a big part of Russian influence online is, in fact, a result of RT and its employees’ efforts to increase the so-called “organic traffic” through social media platforms. In order to understand this, I have employed a systematic frame and counter-frame analysis model. The paper thus shows how RT makes some of its content go viral on social media. My findings challenge the existing literature on Russian online media abroad that primarily focuses on artificial dissemination of content. The paper thus points to the problem of normative chambers in the so-called ‘post-truth’ age. It draws attention to the need of conceptualizing the role of social media in international politics proposing to theoretically approach it as a sphere of international two-way communication where interpretations and narratives are reinforced and amplified by citizens actively participating, enhancing, and disseminating these discourses.
