State-Sponsored Disinformation Around the Globe: How Politicians Deceive their Citizens
Oxford: Routledge (2025), xiii, 336 pp.
Contains index
Series: Routledge Studies in Media, Communication, and Politics
ISBN 978-1-032-63296-4 (pbk); 978-1-032-63294-0 (ebook)
"This book explores the pervasive and globalised trajectory of domestic disinformation. It describes specific operations and general apparatuses of disinformation that are sponsored by the State institutions in several countries around the world, such as governments, political parties, and politicians. With an international team of expert authors, this volume meticulously scrutinises instances of State-sponsored disinformation across a diverse spectrum of 14 countries encompassing Western and Eastern Europe, North and Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It examines how political landscapes amplify or constrain disinformation, advancing a comprehensive understanding of its dynamics in the contemporary global milieu. The book is organised in three sections that gather case studies from democratic, non-democratic, and transitional regimes." (Publisher description)
1 Introduction: Deceiving from the top: state-sponsored disinformation as a contemporary global phenomenon / Martin Echeverría, Sara García Santamaría, And Daniel C. Hallin, 1
PART I: THEORETICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF STATE-SPONSORED DISINFORMATION
2 Theoretical understanding of State-Sponsored Disinformation / Petros Iosifidis, 21
3 Rethinking disinformation for the global South: Towards a particular research agenda / Grisel Salazar Rebolledo, 37
4 Statistics and state-sponsored disinformation: Understanding the propaganda war on numbers / Ahmed Farouk-Radwan And Jairo Lugo-Ocando, 56
PART II: LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES
5 Populist disinformation: Mapping the discursive connections between online populism and disinformation in the US / Michael Hameleers, 75
6 From tragedy to oblivion: State-sponsored disinformation in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster [South Korea] / Hyo-Jeong Lee, 89
7 Spanish far-right and environmental disinformation: VOX’s obstructionist discourse on the climate crisis on Twitter / David Vicente Torrico And María Díez-Garrido, 105
8 Combatting and defeating Chinese propaganda and disinformation: A case study of Taiwan’s 2020 elections / Aaron Huang, 121
PART III: ELECTORAL DEMOCRACIES
9 State-sponsored disinformation in Brazil: Distrust and delegitimisation of the electoral system through the use of political authority Facebook accounts / Raquel Recuero, Liziane Soares Guazina, And Bruno Araújo, 139
10 Citizen’s participation on social media against state-sponsored disinformation during the pandemic in Argentina / Adriana Amado, 157
11 State-sponsored disinformation in Greece: From the Novartis scandal to the wiretapping of politicians, journalists, and citizens / Sophia Kaitatzi-Whitlock And Alexandros S. Moutzouridis, 174
12 Investing in fake news? The disinformation industry in Kenya’s 2022 elections / Samuel Kamau And Alphonce Shiundu, 194
PART IV: ELECTORAL AND CLOSED AUTOCRACIES
13 Discourses and policies of disinformation in Turkey / Mine Gencel Bek, 219
14 Disinformation under the guise of democracy: lessons from Hungary / Gábor Polyák, Ágnes Urbán, Petra Szávai And Kata Horváth, 231
15 Russian Federation’s FIMI prior to its Intervention in Ukraine / Bohdan Yuskiv And Nataliia Karpchuk, 250
16 The genealogy of state-sponsored disinformation in Nigeria: Elections, political deception, and governing through the lens of post-truth / Paul A. Obi, 270
17 State-sponsored Disinformation through digital media in Malaysia / Pauline Pooi Yin Leong And Benjamin Yew Hoong Loh, 287
18 State-sponsored disinformation, hate speech, and violence: Mapping conceptual connections through Iran’s anti-Bahá’í propaganda / Andrés Shoai And Sergio García Magariño, 302
19 From censorship to disinformation: Cuba’s official discourse on contentious activism / Cosette Celecia Pérez And Julio Juárez Gámiz, 317
PART I: THEORETICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF STATE-SPONSORED DISINFORMATION
2 Theoretical understanding of State-Sponsored Disinformation / Petros Iosifidis, 21
3 Rethinking disinformation for the global South: Towards a particular research agenda / Grisel Salazar Rebolledo, 37
4 Statistics and state-sponsored disinformation: Understanding the propaganda war on numbers / Ahmed Farouk-Radwan And Jairo Lugo-Ocando, 56
PART II: LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES
5 Populist disinformation: Mapping the discursive connections between online populism and disinformation in the US / Michael Hameleers, 75
6 From tragedy to oblivion: State-sponsored disinformation in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster [South Korea] / Hyo-Jeong Lee, 89
7 Spanish far-right and environmental disinformation: VOX’s obstructionist discourse on the climate crisis on Twitter / David Vicente Torrico And María Díez-Garrido, 105
8 Combatting and defeating Chinese propaganda and disinformation: A case study of Taiwan’s 2020 elections / Aaron Huang, 121
PART III: ELECTORAL DEMOCRACIES
9 State-sponsored disinformation in Brazil: Distrust and delegitimisation of the electoral system through the use of political authority Facebook accounts / Raquel Recuero, Liziane Soares Guazina, And Bruno Araújo, 139
10 Citizen’s participation on social media against state-sponsored disinformation during the pandemic in Argentina / Adriana Amado, 157
11 State-sponsored disinformation in Greece: From the Novartis scandal to the wiretapping of politicians, journalists, and citizens / Sophia Kaitatzi-Whitlock And Alexandros S. Moutzouridis, 174
12 Investing in fake news? The disinformation industry in Kenya’s 2022 elections / Samuel Kamau And Alphonce Shiundu, 194
PART IV: ELECTORAL AND CLOSED AUTOCRACIES
13 Discourses and policies of disinformation in Turkey / Mine Gencel Bek, 219
14 Disinformation under the guise of democracy: lessons from Hungary / Gábor Polyák, Ágnes Urbán, Petra Szávai And Kata Horváth, 231
15 Russian Federation’s FIMI prior to its Intervention in Ukraine / Bohdan Yuskiv And Nataliia Karpchuk, 250
16 The genealogy of state-sponsored disinformation in Nigeria: Elections, political deception, and governing through the lens of post-truth / Paul A. Obi, 270
17 State-sponsored Disinformation through digital media in Malaysia / Pauline Pooi Yin Leong And Benjamin Yew Hoong Loh, 287
18 State-sponsored disinformation, hate speech, and violence: Mapping conceptual connections through Iran’s anti-Bahá’í propaganda / Andrés Shoai And Sergio García Magariño, 302
19 From censorship to disinformation: Cuba’s official discourse on contentious activism / Cosette Celecia Pérez And Julio Juárez Gámiz, 317
