Table 2: Observed Strategies, Tools and Techniques of Social Media Manipulation in Bahrain Account Types Messaging and Valence Content and Platforms Communication Strategies Automated, Human, Fake Progovernment messages, attacks on opposition, polarisation (sectarianism), trolling ad harassment Creation of disinformation, Twitter, Facebook trolls Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found. Organizational Capacity and Resources Cyber troop activity in Bahrain is limited, but computational propaganda has increased following the upheaval caused by the Arab Spring in 2011. This coincided with Western PR firms being employed to manage Bahrain’s image domestically and abroad, with the hiring of eighteen firms for promotional campaigns since February 2011, spending at least US$32 million in contracts (Al-Fardan, 2012). However, the extent to which these firms were involved in computational propaganda is unknown. Nonetheless, it was also revealed in 2016 that a Canadian company, Netsweeper, was paid US$1,175,000 for supplying the Bahraini government with a “national website filtering solution” (Pearson, 2016). Table 3: Cyber Troop Capacity in Bahrain Team Size Resources Spent Activity Levels (USD) Coordination Capacity Measure At least US$1,175,000 Temporary Centralised Medium Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found. Bahrain has reportedly been the target of foreign manipulation campaigns. The Ministry of Interior alleged that prior to parliamentary elections in November 2018, 40,000 SMS messages were sent that informed citizens that they had been removed from the electoral register. The government denied sending the messages but alleged that while some were sent in Bahrain, they also came from Iran. The Ministry of Interior also claimed that social media accounts calling for a boycott of the elections were run by users in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon (Freedom House, 2019). References Al-Fardan, R. (2012, August 23). Bahrain government hires 18 western companies to improve image after unrest. Bahrain Watch. https://bahrainwatch.org/blog/2012/08/23/bahrain-government-hires-18-westerncompanies-to-improve-image-after-unrest/ Bahrain Center for Human Rights. (2011, May 22). Bahrain: After destruction of the actual protesting site at ‘the Pearl’, the government shifts to eliminate virtual protests. Bahrain Center for Human Rights. http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/4101 Bahrain Mirror. (2018, June 6). Bahrain: Opposition Activists Receive Threatening Messages from Instagram Account. Bahrain Mirror. http://bahrainmirror.com/en/en/news/47497.html 39