1/10 *BRIGADING* - Why it matters and what you should know about it. Last week we covered astroturfing, see the thread below for more details.
Think of brigading as astroturfing’s more authentic cousin
Think of brigading as astroturfing’s more authentic cousin
2/10 What is brigading?
Brigading is when members of one community swarm another online community, making normal operations impossible due to volume of comments, posts, off-topic discussions
Brigading is when members of one community swarm another online community, making normal operations impossible due to volume of comments, posts, off-topic discussions
3/10 This @Arstechnica story from @jbrodkin is a useful example - 1. The bots are an example of astroturfing, where real people’s data was stolen to make submissions look legitimate on behalf of an unknown actor
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…
4/10 and 2. The @LastWeekTonight case is an example of brigading, where the submissions are real and genuinely felt, but they’re also sparked by a call to action. Both cases are mass online actions, but one is genuine and one is not.
5/10 That said, often brigading is just harassment and abuse. Take the recent zoombombing phenomenon, where regular calls are disrupted by organised digital vandalism (we love the reporting btw @TaylorLorenz & @daveyalba)
nytimes.com/2020/04/03/tec…
nytimes.com/2020/04/03/tec…
6/10 The response to brigading is often to delete accounts, block people (if they can do it quickly enough), or look to the platform for an admin-level response.
7/10 As an observer, your key tools are 1. search (“Why are people tweeting ‘so-and-so phrase’?). We’ve linked a useful thread below:
8/10 Your 2nd key tool is google trends data - have a look for the search frequency of a particular phrase or hashtag. If it’s just spiked out of nowhere, you could be looking at a brigade (or a news event)
9/10 Couple of notes: bots can brigade too - don’t assume there are always people behind it. That might limit the effectiveness of google trends data. Second, while a brigade might look authentic, it can also be an example of astroturfing
10/10 There are layers upon layers! So be aware, be cautious of 'trending', and know what the activity you’re looking at online really is!
