The feeling of being back in the 2000s this Monday morning. On the social network However, nothing abnormal happened that morning on Skyrock. No controversy, no extra words. Difool’s name was mainly used online by Russian propaganda after the attack in Moscow on Friday evening.
On a red background, several publications relayed by different accounts expose the same message: Ukraine sponsored the attack by “manipulating the Islamic State”. Volodymyr Zelensky is described as a “terrorist on cocaine”. And each publication follows the same procedure of not leaving any message outside of the published image. Only a well-intentioned hashtag. Here “Morning de Difool”, but also “Inès Reg” or “Urgence Attentat”. For Tristan Mendès France, lecturer at Paris Cité University and specialist in disinformation, the choice is not trivial. “I call it ‘hashtag predation.’ Accounts will systematically try to use trending hashtags to try to contaminate or spread propaganda content more widely.”
An “opportunistic” practice
Although this phenomenon is very common, not all accounts hide the same profile. First of all there are the bots, “automated accounts which will systematically use all the trending hashtags to push content, whether marketing, commercial or ideological propaganda”, summarizes Tristan Mendès France. A “predatory” and “opportunistic” practice to gain visibility. But other profiles, this time controlled by real humans, will instead decide to push propaganda through the use of a new hashtag. For example around fake news about Zelensky.
However, hashtag logic can sometimes become counterproductive. “On X, the current system means that if we add too many hashtags, we are depreciated in algorithmic terms. One or two is enough.” It’s hard to imagine another account here than that of Francis Lalanne, a singer who describes himself as an anti-vax “whistleblower”. On his X account, each publication is buried under around forty diverse hashtags, all linked to current events. Here, Kate Middleton and Brigitte Macron. There, Beijing Express or Koh Lanta. A technique that is not recommended and which would not bring anything very beneficial.
The phenomenon remains especially visible on Contacted on the question of moderation, the Skyrock editorial staff has not yet responded to our requests.