Many people were using social media to follow last weekend’s march on Moscow by the Wagner mercenaries. And they weren’t the only ones: intelligence services were also watching with great interest. What kind of information do they obtain from social media and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Many people were using social media to follow last weekend’s march on Moscow by the Wagner mercenaries. And they weren’t the only ones: intelligence services were also watching with great interest. What kind of information do they obtain from social media and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Livestream videos of the march, Google Maps images showing the location of the Wagner mercenaries and journalists reporting on their advance gave a clear picture of what was going on in Russia last weekend. While it was interesting for anyone wanting to keep a close eye on the news, intelligence services have also been using social media as a source of information in recent years, says Willemijn Aerdts (Institute of Security and Global Affairs). This relatively new method of gathering information is known as socmint (social media intelligence).
