Black knight NGOs and international disinformation

Abstract

Movements based on conspiracy theories and a fundamental rejection of liberal values are on the rise in traditionally democratic societies and those with authoritarian legacies. This article develops a theoretical approach that treats non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that generate and spread disinformation on international critical events as black knight NGOs and draws attention to their role online. We ask: whether and, if so, how disinformation by black knight NGOs spreads and what factors may facilitate this process? Empirically, we build on a case of a Swedish NGO, Swedish Doctors for Human Rights, in the context of the Syrian Civil War using X (formerly, Twitter) data from 2015 to 2019. We show that black knight NGOs can be damaging during critical events when information is scarce and uncertainty prevails. Additionally, they may affect the information ecosystem through two distinct mechanisms of legitimation: claiming authority in a particular subject and utilising legitimacy attributes, that is, appealing to authoritative figures and social roles conducive to forming a positive attitude towards the disinformation they provide. The findings contribute to the literature on non-state actors and their role in international disinformation.