A Cross-Domain Study of the Use of Persuasion Techniques in Online Disinformation

TL;DR

This study conducts a large-scale, multi-domain analysis of persuasion techniques in disinformation narratives, revealing domain-specific employment patterns and illustrating how context influences persuasion strategies, with a detailed case study on climate change disinformation.

Contribution

It introduces a state-of-the-art classifier for persuasion techniques and provides the first comprehensive cross-domain analysis of disinformation strategies.

Findings

Different persuasion techniques are used disproportionately across domains.

Linguistic, psychological, and cultural factors influence persuasion strategies.

The climate change disinformation case study illustrates adaptation of tactics.

Abstract

Disinformation, irrespective of domain or language, aims to deceive or manipulate public opinion, typically through employing advanced persuasion techniques. Qualitative and quantitative research on the weaponisation of persuasion techniques in disinformation has been mostly topic-specific (e.g., COVID-19) with limited cross-domain studies, resulting in a lack of comprehensive understanding of these strategies. This study employs a state-of-the-art persuasion technique classifier to conduct a large-scale, multi-domain analysis of the role of 16 persuasion techniques in disinformation narratives. It shows how different persuasion techniques are employed disproportionately in different disinformation domains. We also include a detailed case study on climate change disinformation, highlighting how linguistic, psychological, and cultural factors shape the adaptation of persuasion strategies to fit unique thematic contexts.