KYRGYZSTAN Introduction Attempts to manipulate public debates and control the flow of online information are reported in Kyrgyzstan, where freedom of expression and the degree of press freedom is greater than in other Central Asian states (Rysaliev et al., 2012). Anonymous fake commentators are reported as the most widespread form of computational propaganda. According to Yulia Barabina, who leads the press office of former presidential candidate Jenishbek Nazaraliev, anonymous online posts are triggered by political events such as elections and disputes—a tactic which is used by the government as well as other political parties (Rysaliev et al., 2012). Alongside domestic manipulation, Kyrgyzstan has been the target of foreign influence operations. In January 2019, Facebook removed a network of accounts that originated in Russia and targeted Central Asian states including Kyrgyzstan (Gleicher, 2019). Censorship and attempts to control the Internet have increased following the government’s fight against extremism (Freedom House, 2019). Most recently, in response to the prevalence of fake social media accounts, the Kyrgyz parliament adopted a new law ‘On Manipulating Information’ on 25 June 2020. This is part of a series of legislation proposed by the government in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the law is to address false and inaccurate information spreading online. Internet users would have to make their identity clear when using social media platforms, and the creation of anonymous accounts may be treated as a criminal offence. The civil society organisation Article 19 (2020) has cautioned that it contains vague and overboard terms, giving authorities the power to block Internet sites and shut down social media accounts. This law could stifle Kyrgyzstan’s nascent investigative journalism community, which is most active online and on social media (Simpson, 2020). Investigative journalist outlets are subject to harassment, physical attacks and cyber-attacks (Reporters Without Borders, 2020). Bolot Temirov, the founder and chief editor of Kyrgyz website Factcheck (Factcheck.kg), was assaulted by three men in January 2020. This comes after Factcheck and other websites had reported on the corruption scandal around the influential former customs official Raimbek Matraimov, leading to the suggestion that the assault was in response to Temirov’s investigative work (CPJ, 2020). An Overview of Cyber Troop Activity in Kyrgyzstan Organizational Form Cyber troop activity is reported to originate from both the government and opposition parties. The earliest reports of the use of trolls were the linked to the 2010 parliamentary elections in which “trolls for virtually all the main players were visible on many Russian- and Kyrgyzlanguage websites” according to Yulia Barabina. Temirov claims that “we have the teams of the ex-president and current president actively opposing [each other] in cyberspace” including the use of creating “fake reports” (Центр-1, 2018). Factcheck’s research found in July 2018 that a small-scale network of fake accounts on Facebook supported President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, alongside another network supporting his rival, the former President Almazbek Atambayev (Freedom House, 2019). 235