Russia ‘tried to swing election for Corbyn’
Experts warn it is impossible to prove who was behind social media ‘bots’
![Jeremy Corbyn campaigning ahead of last year's general election](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wRJjfWGyJDeYKFKdU7E4a8-415-80.jpg)
Russia attempted to swing last year’s general election in favour of Jeremy Corbyn by using social media robot accounts to promote the Labour leader, an investigation by The Sunday Times has concluded.
Research conducted with Swansea University identified some 6,500 Russian Twitter accounts that rallied behind Labour in the run-up to June’s vote, sending messages that were seen by millions of voters.
Analysis of these accounts, many of which used female English names, found nine out of ten messages about Labour were supportive of the party’s campaign. The same proportion of tweets about the Conservatives were hostile.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Around 80% of the automated accounts were created after Theresa May called the snap election. They were more active at key moments including the launch of the Conservative Party manifesto, the Manchester Arena bombing and televised election debates.
The fake accounts identified so far “are just the tip of the iceberg”, The Sunday Times says, and academics are asking Twitter to investigate the true scale of Russian meddling in British politics.
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Matt Hancock expressed concern about the suggestion that state actors were behind the automated accounts, adding it was “absolutely unacceptable for any nation to attempt to interfere in the democratic elections of another country”.
However, The Independent says experts “cautioned that it was impossible to prove who was behind the networks, their motives or what impact they had in the ‘murky’ world of information warfare”.
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, dismissed the assertion that Russians “tried to swing the election” in Labour’s favour as a “classic Sunday Times smear campaign”.
“This is ludicrous,” he told Sky News. “If I remember rightly, the Russian Embassy was putting out supportive noises towards the Tory party.
“If there’s an issue here about anything with Russian influence in our society, it’s about Russian oligarchs funding the Tory party – let’s have an inquiry into that.”
Russia has faced repeated accusations it sought to meddle in both the 2016 Brexit vote and US presidential election with social media ‘bots’. Data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica has been accused of illegally harvesting millions of people’s private data to specifically target swing voters with bespoke messages.
While online micro-targeting has become a major part of election campaigning in recent years, there is little evidence about how much it affects the outcome.
Swansea University Professor Oleksandr Talavera, who led the Sunday Times investigation, pointed to a study suggesting sentiments expressed on Twitter could affect the stock market. He said this suggested there might be an impact on elections, but added there is currently no way to quantify the outcome.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The origin and evolution of the Kamala Harris coconut meme
The Explainer You think it just fell out of a coconut tree?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Labour's first week in power
In the Spotlight The NHS, prisons and housing are at the top of a to-do list which risks crashing into 'wall of economic reality'
By The Week UK Published
-
How conservative is Labour?
Today's big question Keir Starmer's party triumphed in the general election despite prioritising 'wealth creation and growth, not redistribution'
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
General election: Britain heads to the polls
In depth Voters have remained 'curiously unengaged' throughout a campaign which seems to many like a foregone conclusion
By The Week UK Published
-
Bellwether seats and 'big beasts' at risk: how election night will unfold
In the Spotlight Excitement will 'really ramp up' as key constituencies declared through the night
By The Week UK Published