WASHINGTON \u2014 Online trolls appear to be targeting U.S. veterans and military members on social media in an effort to confuse and unsettle the community, according to a new Oxford University study released this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers from the school\u2019s Computational Propaganda Project found \u201csignificant and persistent interactions between current and former military personnel and a broad network of Russia-focused accounts, conspiracy theory focused accounts, and European right-wing accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings prompted officials from Vietnam Veterans of America to request executives from Facebook and Twitter to work more closely with federal agencies to protect troops, veterans and military families from disinformation campaigns led by foreign irritants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor months we\u2019ve been quietly trying to push Facebook to close down fake pages that are imitating Vietnam Veterans of America, and to stop Russian bots from harassing our advocates, to no avail,\u201d said John Rowan, president of Vietnam Veterans of America<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo far these social media companies have failed to step up, which is why we need the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In VVA\u2019s case, the harassment centers around a months-old imposter Facebook page set up by Bulgarian activists. Group officials said they have been alarmed by the false news stories being shared on the page \u2014 which include doctored videos of vandalized war memorials \u2014 and its rapid growth in followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials also said VVA staffers have been targeted by online spam-bots sharing false, partisan news stories. Kris Goldsmith, assistant director for policy and government affairs for VVA, chronicled that abuse on Twitter last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those actions seem to fit the pattern uncovered by the Oxford researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They said their findings show that veterans and military members on social media are \u201camong the most sophisticated news consumers,\u201d often sharing the least amount of false and misleading information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it also apparently makes them targets for would-be trolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe public tends to place trust in military personnel and veterans, making them potentially influential voters and community leaders,\u201d the study states. \u201cGiven this trust and their role in ensuring national security, these individuals have the potential to become particular targets for influence operations and information campaigns conducted on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers said the problem seems more pronounced on Twitter than Facebook, although disinformation on both social media networks present potential problems. Rowan said both networks need to \u201cimmediately shut down all fake veteran pages and spam bots\u201d and work with federal authorities on long-term fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report is available online at the Computational Propaganda Project\u2019s web site.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n