Strategically matching messaging to the platform: The case of “Biolabs” on Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit

Abstract

An important Russian strategic disinformation campaign, early in the Ukrainian war, contended that the United States was involved in clandestine biological weapons development in Ukraine under the sign “biolabs.” Depending on the platform, the propaganda messaging appeared differently. This study uses a multi-modal approach, featuring Image Plotting, to study the waves of messaging related involved in the biolabs campaign including both the qualitative analysis of text and the analysis of the images. Each platform includes a clear visual and textual strategy which align with known Russian strategies and multi-modal campaign operations.