INFORMATION OPERATIONSCyber Activists Confront Russian Information Operations

Published 31 January 2022

Russian information operations against the Western democracies will grow in number, scale, and sophistication in the coming years. A new study examines the role of cyber activists in Western societies in fighting back against the growing problem of Russian disinformation.

Russian information operations against the Western democracies will grow in number, scale, and sophistication in the coming years. This is partially caused by the worsening state of relations between the West and Russia, partially by the global trend of the gradual shift of social and public life from the analog to the digital world.

The German Marshall Fund (GMF) has just released a study, written by Adéla Klečková – titled The Role of Cyber “Elves” Against Russian Information Operations – which examines the role of cyber activists in Western societies in fighting back against the growing problem of Russian disinformation.

Here are the study’s Introduction and Conclusions.

Introduction
Guerrillas of brave elves taking down hordes of dark trolls in an ideological conflict over the future of humanity. This is not the beginning of a fantasy novel but a somewhat accurate description of everyday realities in cyberspace across Europe. The “elves”—a group of cyber activists fighting pro-Kremlin propaganda and disinformation campaigns—are a growing yet little-known phenomenon. Having started in 2014 as less than 20 individuals in Lithuania, the movement expanded to 13 Central and Eastern European countries, and it counted about 4,000 volunteers by 2021. Given the size and the pace of growth of the elves, together with their successful yet unadvertised missions, it would be unwise to overlook or underestimate this movement.

Russian information operations against the Western democracies will grow in number, scale, and sophistication in the coming years. This is partially caused by the worsening state of relations between the West and Russia, partially by the global trend of the gradual shift of social and public life from the analog to the digital world. Already short of capacity to effectively counter pro-Kremlin information operations, Western stakeholders must seek and support innovative means to counter Russian information war. Cyber activism is one of them.

This paper explains how the elves have played and will play an essential role in countering Russian information operations, and it provides Western stakeholders with recommendations for how to enhance the activities of the elves. The data for this paper were collected for over a year, including through semi-structured interviews with the elves, visiting their cyber world and working with the data they have gathered, and attending their biggest international event—the Elves Academy. This paper provides a unique and comprehensive insight into the elves’ cyber realm and activities.