Exploring Factors Contributing to Trust in the Russian Government: An Analysis of Pro-Kremlin Twitter Accounts

Abstract

In the months leading up to Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government launched an information operation belittling or even mocking claims of an imminent invasion. Despite the transparent deception, many Twitter users appeared to be supportive of the Russian government shortly after the launch of the invasion. This thesis aims to identify factors that could contribute to persisting trust in official Russian communication channels by analyzing public user data of over 27 000 Twitter accounts that kept engaging positively with official Russian communication channels.

Ultimately, clear contributing factors could not be identified that would explain this continued trust, if we are to operate under a definition of trust that is closely tied to factual accuracy. Instead, content analysis, following data and external links suggest that positive engagements with official Russian communication channels and other unreliable sources are driven by distrust in Western political institutions and legacy media. This distrust does not appear to have a clear left or right political leaning.