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Troll Farms

Author

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  • Philipp Denter
  • Boris Ginzburg

Abstract

Political agents often aim to influence elections through troll farms -- organisations that disseminate messages emulating genuine information. We study the behaviour of a troll farm that faces a heterogeneous electorate of partially informed voters, and aims to achieve a desired political outcome by targeting each type of voter with a specific distribution of messages. We show that such tactics are more effective when voters are otherwise well-informed, for example, when the media is of high quality. At the same time, increased polarisation, as well as deviations from Bayesian rationality, can reduce the negative effect of troll farms and restore efficiency of electoral outcomes.

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  • Philipp Denter & Boris Ginzburg, 2024. "Troll Farms," Papers 2411.03241, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2411.03241
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ned Augenblick & Eben Lazarus & Michael Thaler, 2021. "Overinference from Weak Signals and Underinference from Strong Signals," Papers 2109.09871, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    2. Tversky, Amos & Kahneman, Daniel, 1992. "Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 297-323, October.
    3. John Patty & Roberto Weber, 2007. "Letting the good times roll: A theory of voter inference and experimental evidence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 293-310, March.
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