Open AccessFake news, disinformation and the democratic state
Author(s) -
Julian Richards
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
la revista icono 14
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.2
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 1697-8293
DOI - 10.7195/ri14.v19i1.1611
Subject(s) - disinformation , referendum , democracy , politics , narrative , government (linguistics) , state (computer science) , political science , political economy , media studies , law , sociology , social media , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm
From the 2014 referendum in the UK on Scottish independence, a number of political leaders in the West have accused the Russian government of industrial-scale organised disinformation, designed to undermine the democratic process. A number of allegations have also suggested that the Kremlin has been providing financial and other aid to far-right groups in the West to disrupt the political process. In this analysis, the case study of the UK is taken in the period 2014-20. An examination is taken of current research on the scale and effect of organised Russian disinformation strategies; and the emerging official narrative in the UK government about how to deal with the problem. This narrative reveals a complex interplay between defending democracy, while maintaining a “hands-off” approach and ensuring that tech business is welcomed.