NDM 25

Pro-Putin social media campaign hijacked by critics

A hashtag created by Pro-Putin supporters on Twitter trended but the actual hashtag itself ha seen taken by those who criticise Vladimir Putin and the whole of the Russian political system. 

• "has been used almost 7,000 times on Twitter in the same period."

• "The hashtag has been among the top trending topics on Russian social media since 14 January, and has been used almost 7,000 "

• "Russian-backed accounts have previously been accused of manipulating conversations on social media and running disinformation campaigns."

• Mr Putin needs 300,000 signatures from across the country to secure his place on the ballot for the election on 18 March.

The hashtag praised Putin with it being used 7,000 times n Twitter, they have been linked to be created for the purpose to also to coincide with efforts to collect signatures in support of Mr Putin's campaign for re-election. They also, included pictures of people going to vote/ sign the petition for Putin to be apart of the elections in Russia. 

However, these were also done by Russian bots rather than people and as it has happened before with data given to Facebook and 2012s Russian involvement in the US elections there is no doubt that Russian parties have used Twitter as a gateway to targeting their audiences. 

This reinforces the idea  that new and digital media in some form does reinforce dominant hegemonic views, but that there now more opportunities for the audience to challenge them through social media platforms such as Twitter and come in contact with alternative views, which is what critcs of Putin were doing by counterign the "positive" views of Putin: 

 --A critic wrote: "Russia needs roads, education, medicine, to fight against corruption, gasification, free higher education, alternation of power, parliamentary regime, freedom of enterprise and free media. This is what Russia needs and not Putin.