From Russia with fear: fear appeals and the patterns of cyber-enabled influence operations

This paper looks at the fear-based strategies used by Russian state-sponsored actors on social media. It highlights structured campaigns that is similar to political advertising that is meant to influence public opinion, specifically looking at 2015-2016 period. The authors analyze Facebook ads that are linked to the Russian Internet Research Agency that timed with significant domestic events like protests or acts of violence, believing that they meant to amplify societal division. The structure of these campaigns often first started by highlighting a threat, then suggesting vulnerability, but following up with a way for response. Although the findings were not statistically causal, “strong associations exist between Russian ad emissions on Facebook and societal unrest in the period.” (Etudo 2023)