Manipulation of public opinion using methods such as orchestrated bot campaigns and fake polls on party ratings, which tries to impose a distorted picture of political reality on citizens, is becoming more frequent as the elections in Podgorica get closer.
This is what the editor-in-chief of the portal "Raskrinkavanje.me" assessed for "Vijesti". Darvin Murić, talking about the so-called coordinated astroturfing campaigns of political actors carried out by bots in comments on portals and social networks ahead of the elections in the capital scheduled for September 29.
The goal of such campaigns is to create a false impression, either positive or negative, about individuals, events, phenomena... They are carried out by the so-called bot accounts, i.e. automated or fraudulently created profiles used for mass posting of comments. The task is the manipulation of public opinion through the glorification of political or commercial interests, attacking opposing views or spreading misinformation, mostly according to predetermined instructions.
Darvin Murić says that the matrix of such orders is essentially the same everywhere.
"You see that some users are commenting literally from morning to night, on every possible topic, and it's clear that commenting has become a profession. It is practically impossible for one person, regardless of life habits, (un)employment, biorhythm, to comment at three o'clock in the morning, eight in the morning, four in the afternoon...", says the interlocutor.
He says that almost all parties do this, some with more, some with less success.
"The vocabulary of the bots is roughly similar, the sentences have a similar wording, the same topics are always discussed, regardless of whether the article is about sports, music, politics...", explains the interlocutor.
Invitations to vote, slogans, criticism...
By analyzing the comments on the "Vijesti" portal, on about 150 texts related to the elections, in the period from September 11 to 18, it was observed the existence of bots in almost all the lists that will go to the polls in Podgorica, and their activity is increasing as closer to the election date.
List "Europe now - Democrats - Even stronger - prof. Dr. Saša Mujović", "DPS - Both in word and deed - Dr. Nermin Abdić", "Jakov Milatović - For a better Podgorica", "Revolution - This can no longer be done - Srđan Perić" and "Time for order - Party of European Progress - Duško Marković" had, according to "Vijesti" analysis, the greatest support of bots in the mentioned period.
The activity of their "supporters" was mainly reflected in the glorification of the past achievements of those lists and the people who represent them, as well as the plans for the development of Podgorica that these actors presented in the election programs, along with attacks and criticisms of political opponents.
Comments on the texts were written, in most cases, in time intervals of 15 to 45 minutes, which were repeated several times during the day. As for the number of bot comments, it varied from a few to dozens.
The Reversal bots acted differently than accounts that supported other political options. Users "Sneki", "Floki", "Han", "Kal", "Ljiki", "Sansa", "Laki", "Gilly", "Party", "Atilla" and others appeared predominantly in articles unrelated to Reversal, that is, in the announcements of other newspapers.
Mostly, in the first part of the sentence, they would criticize the work of one of those parties/coalitions, and then state that Uopret is "the only option", calling the list holder of that movement Srdjan Perić to, among other things, "restrain the partitocracy".
Users "Iced Viking", "AlanDelon1", "malanevjesta", "BarkestBarker", "Registrator123" and a few others supported Milatović's list by criticizing the work of the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), pointing out that is a candidate for mayor of that list Luka Rakcevic "the right choice" and as the only one who does not see Podgorica "as a stepping stone".
Accounts such as "pg cg", "velle", "cile mile", "pg", "Podgorica Montenegro" and others stated that the DPS candidate Nermin Abdić it has their voice and that of their family, praising Abdić's work as a doctor and criticizing the ruling parties.
Users "represija", "Branislav Radicevic", "Nole_legenda", "agriculturkizkuca", "DjeJePecat", "MrgudMarkov", "DrzavnikCG" and similar supported candidates from the lists of PES and Democrats Saša Mujović. They emphasized his references as the former dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Montenegro, as well as his work as the Minister of Energy.
They constantly repeated the achievements of the current government, of which Mujović is a part, i.e. the increase of the minimum wage for pensioners and other citizens, the progress in the negotiations on joining the European Union (EU), stating that a vote for DPS is "a vote for returning the minimum wage to 222 euros".
Branislav Radicevic is a member of the PES in the Assembly of the capital, but it is not clear whether he is behind the order with that name.
Commentators "Senad", "krivi", "Lepe-tane", "Nikolina" and others praised the results Duško Marković as a former prime minister and stated that he is the holder of the list of the Party of European Progress (SEP) Ilija Mugoš "the right choice", while repeating the party slogan - "it's time for order".
Thanks, but they also lie
Murić says that on the "Vijesti" Facebook page, as one of the most popular in Montenegro on that network, a lot of bot activity has been registered. He explains that such users are easy to spot.
"They have generic profile photos that can be picked up from any site, and the so-called Their 'cover' or cover photo is, as a rule, some beautiful part of Montenegro, they add a bunch of friends, share content related to the party in order to increase visibility... We also have those with fake names, who carry out the party's commands through bad humor. says Murić.
He says that the task of these orders is clear - they praise the party and its president, and attack the opponents. He adds, however, that such users often create fake news.
"What did the editorial staff of 'Raskrinkavanja' become convinced of when misinformation was released from just such orders that (an official of the Civil Movement URA) Milos Konatar confirmed that it will Nebojša Šofranac to be on the URA list, if (DPS MP) Andrija Nikolić promised to Adem Jashari to get a street in Podgorica, that (candidate for councilor) Nađa Liljanić said that Jakov Milatović's list will cooperate with the DPS...", he stated.
Speaking about the campaigns in which bots participate and their potential influence on the elections, Murić assesses that the problem in Montenegro is that most of these types of manipulations are legal, i.e. which is not prohibited.
"We see some unrealistic promises, which have nothing to do with local government, bot activities, lots of misinformation, and all of that is, in essence, when we look at the laws, allowed. Citizens should make judgments based on accurate information and thus decide who they will vote for," says the interlocutor, saying that every vote obtained through disinformation or any other manipulation - has a detrimental effect on electoral integrity, although it does not necessarily represent a violation of the law.
Murić: Citizens are also deceived by polls
Murić points out the publication of false and dubious public opinion surveys as a form of manipulation of citizens, which, he says, has become characteristic of Montenegro.
According to him, before the elections, they pour in from all sides, both from Botov's party accounts, and from portals which, he claims, clearly support certain electoral lists, that is, parties.
Murić states that certain parties also conduct polls on the streets, so they publish them without the consent of the polled. He said that some of the interviewees confirmed to the "Raskrinkavanje" portal that they did not know that it was a party poll, but that they thought it was a media poll.
"So, the parties are trying to present reality to us as they want us to see it, and they are very ready for manipulations", states the editor of "Raskrinkavanja".
And the biggest countries under attack
An example from the USA shows that bots and their activities can significantly influence political and social situations. After the presidential elections held there in 2016, in which Republican candidate Donald Trump won, testimonies in Congress pointed to the interference of Russian "farm" bots in the election process. The bots, it was said at the time, were spreading misinformation and fueling divisions in American society.
They mostly shared "incendiary" content, and the most famous example from that period is the "Pizzagate" affair - fake news that the New York police discovered a pedophile ring involving high-ranking officials of the American Democrats, which was run from pizzerias across the United States.
In the summer of 2017, a group of political activists in the United Kingdom discovered how to abuse the dating app "Tinder" to attract voters. They created a bot that would automate flirting with real people, and after a certain amount of time, the flirting would switch to highlighting the policies of the British Labor Party.
In the 2017 French presidential election, the share of "traffic" on then-Twitter (now Ix) generated by bots doubled between the first and second rounds of voting.
A 2019 study by the prestigious British Oxford University found the existence of organized campaigns to manipulate public opinion through online platforms in 70 countries.
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