Table 2: Observed Strategies, Tools and Techniques of Social Media Manipulation in
Ecuador
Account Types Messaging and Valence
Content
and Platforms
Communication
Strategies
Human,
Pro-party, Attack opposition, Disinformation, Trolls,
Automation, Fake, Distracting, Suppressing
Amplification
Hacked
speech
Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube,
Instagram,
Telegram,
WhatsApp
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found.
Organizational Capacity and Resources
According to documents leaked in 2016, Fernando Alvarado, Secretary of Communication,
took U.S.$81,915.76 in commissions related to contracts made by Kenneth Godwin with the
Presidency (Ecuador Transparente, 2016). Another document proposed the management of a
24/7 community manager and other security implementations for the monthly fee of
U.S.$15,000, which included the creation of a troll centre to influence public opinion on social
media by, among other tactics, attacking and harassing dissidents (Ecuador Transparente,
2016).
The government also spent U.S.$5.2 million between August 2012 and July 2013 on a contract
with Illuminati Lab to develop a centre in which to use profiling and manipulation techniques.
This was the company that had a major role during the 2013 general election. Additionally, the
government spent U.S.$7.1 million on a surveillance campaign to extradite Galo Lara. Of that
budget, U.S.$6.7 million were spent between 2013 and 2014 on Emerging MC de México SA
de CV and U.S.$280.000 on Ximah Digital SA («Secretaría Nacional de Inteligencia gastó
$ 7,1 millones para desprestigiar a opositor Galo Lara», 2019).
Table 3: Cyber Troop Capacity in Ecuador
Team Size
Resources
Spent Activity Levels
(USD)
Coordination
Capacity
Measure
During Correa’s
Centralised
Currently
administration, contracts
minimal
with several firms,
which ranged from
U.S.$280.000 to
U.S.$6.7 million.
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found.
References
Alpert, M. (2018, February 9). «Noise and Confusion»: Fake News in Ecuador. Snopes.com.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/02/09/how-fake-news-has-factored-into-ecuadorsrecent-votes/
BBC News. (2015, January 30). President Correa’s troll warfare. BBC News.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-31057933
Carpenter-Arévalo, M. (2019, September 24). In Latin America, the business of trolling
threatens Twitter’s disruptive power. TechCrunch.
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