NATO warned that Russian trolling was undermining the potential for advancing democracy through social media.
"The implications are stark: the democratizing possibilities of social media appear—at least in the case of Twitter in Russia—to have been greatly undermined," the report said.
The practical implications for journalists, policymakers, and analysts who measure Twitter activity is that it could skew public opinion surveys. "Failure to account for bot activity will—at best—result in junk statistics," the report said.
The report was the first of a regular publication called "Robotrolling" on social media published quarterly by the center, an international NATO unit based in Latvia.
I remember when some people thought Twitter and social media were key tools for revolt.
They are tools. Tools a powerful state can use for aggression and control.
