Participatory Propaganda in Seven Simple Steps

36 37
While it can be argued that leaks increase
transparency and hold governments to account,
there is an adverse effect, as well. Populists use
hacks and leaks to deliberately erode trust in the
government, decreasing faith in the established
order fuelling anti-elite cynicism. 58 This tactic
worked well against Hillary Clinton, who as a former
First Lady, and long-time politician could easily be
taken as the embodiment of the established order.
The sensationalism that surrounds a data leak in
the media can often distract from other important
questions, such as who is behind it and what are
their motives? This is not to say that the substance
of a leak is not important, however, understanding
the context is equally as imperative.
With inflammatory content created to manipulate
the target audience in hand, it’s time for step three:
analysed made mention of “Wikileaks” in this
timeframe too: the seven right-leaning pages
mentioned “Wikileaks” 131 times accounting for
2.72% of all posts made on average, whereas the
left-leaning pages referenced it 47 times, or in
just 0.46% of all posts. The pages for InfoWars,
Sean Hannity, and Wake Up & Reclaim America
referenced “Wikileaks” on average more than the
others accounting for 44% of all mentions found.
Of course, sometimes data hacks or leaks aren’t
really needed to turn someone’s words against
them. An ad in which Clinton is quoted as referring
to young African-American men as “superpredators”
and other manifestations of it were
used to dissuade African-American voters from
supporting Clinton and were delivered to that
demographic via Facebook’s targeted advertising
platform. 59