Table 2: Observed Strategies, Tools and Techniques of Social Media Manipulation in
Argentina
Account Types Messaging and Valence
Content
and Platforms
Communication
Strategies
Automation,
Human,
Fake and Real
Pro-government and proCreation of disinformation, Twitter, Facebook,
party,
Mass reporting content,
WhatsApp,
Attacks on opposition,
Data-driven strategies,
Instagram
Trolling,
Trolls, Amplification
Distracting messages
strategies
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found.
Organizational Capacity and Resources
Legislative changes in 2017 included digital advertising as a form of regulated political
advertisements; coincidentally or not, the government reduced its budget on advertising by 7%.
The journalist Marco Bonelli estimated the investments at around 200 million pesos (El Pais,
2018).
Although there is not much evidence-based information on government or political parties’
cyber troop capacities in Argentina, it is worth noting the existence of volunteer-led
manipulation activities. In 2019, Ariel Garbarz and other Peronist, Socialist, Communist and
Trotskyist activists coordinated anti-Macrist campaigns on Twitter (Gian, 2020a). On the
opposing side, the Macrist volunteer cyber troops organisation Banquemos was founded in
2015 and is led by Ricardo Benedetti, a former public servant. In 2019 it gathered activists
from the three political parties of the coalition Juntos por el Cambio. This group coordinated
efforts to attack the opposition and call for rallies on Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. They
also propagated such narratives as "if the Kirchnerist come back, we'll be Venezuela". There
are around fifteen people involved at the national level, but they also have district and city
coordinators (Gian, 2020b).
Table 3: Cyber Troop Capacity in Argentina
Team Size
Resources
Spent Activity Levels
(USD)
Coordination
Capacity
Measure
Temporary
Decentralised
Low
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found.
References
Alconada Mon, H. (2019a, August). Guerra de trolls: La disputa electoral en las redes
sociales. La Nación. https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/guerra-trolls-disputa-electoralredes-sociales-nid2274363
Alconada Mon, H. (2019b, September). «El señor de los trolls»: Así funciona el mundo de las
campañas sucias y las bases de datos irregulares. La Nación.
https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-senor-de-los-trolls-asi-funciona-el-mundo-de-lascampanas-sucias-y-las-bases-de-datos-irregulares-nid2286145
Alconada Mon, H. (2019c, September). Gastón Douek: «No me adjudico ninguna fake news;
ponemos sobre la mesa hechos reales». La Nación.
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