Developing a Civil Society Response to Online Manipulation

The report argues that civil society is uniquely positioned to conduct independent, cross-platform research on online manipulation. It proposes a system based on eight design principles—including data hunger, shareable modules, and a focus on human impact—to move beyond ad hoc toolkits toward a deployable system. The framework emphasizes the need for a 'human infrastructure' consisting of multidisciplinary teams (data scientists, OSINT practitioners, and subject matter experts) and broad coalitions to ensure the response is transparent, actionable, and rooted in societal values.

• The document identifies three existing approaches to detecting illicit online influence: 'Bad Actor Driven Research', which monitors known actors; 'Message Driven Research', which identifies specific themes or stories; and 'Spotting Anomalies in Big Data', which analyzes engagement patterns. The report argues that a successful civil society capability must harness the complementarity of these three methods to mitigate their individual weaknesses.
• A proposed detection system for civil society should be an evolving system rather than a static toolkit, guided by eight core design principles: being 'data hungry', utilizing 'shareable modules', 'fast tech dev', 'reactive data vis', 'learn from itself', 'from society, for society', 'from evidence to ideas', and keeping 'human impact at its heart'.
• Detection capabilities should operate across three distinct levels: the 'content level' (detecting falsehoods or conspiracy theories), the 'account level' (identifying automated or compromised accounts), and the 'network level' (identifying bot nets or coordinated harassment campaigns).

APA

Miller, C., & Colliver, C. (n.d.). Developing a Civil Society Response to Online Manipulation. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/isd_201.pdf

Chicago

Miller, Carl, and Chloe Colliver. Developing a Civil Society Response to Online Manipulation. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, n.d. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/isd_201.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Miller |first1=Carl |last2=Colliver |first2=Chloe |title=Developing a Civil Society Response to Online Manipulation |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/isd_201.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{millernddeveloping, author = {Miller, Carl and Colliver, Chloe}, title = {{Developing a Civil Society Response to Online Manipulation}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/isd_201.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }