Russian Social Media Influence: Understanding Russian Propaganda in Eastern Europe

Russia is engaged in an active, worldwide propaganda campaign. As part of this campaign, Russia disseminates propaganda to Russian speakers in the Baltics, Ukraine, and other nearby states through a variety of means, including traditional and social media. In some cases, it has used this outreach to sow dissent against host and neighboring governments, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. The purpose of this project was to better understand the nature and effectiveness of pro-Russia outreach on social media and identify counter messaging opportunities. To gain this understanding, RAND Corporation researchers conducted a study that drew on multiple analytic research methods.