Russian Embassies & Social Media in the Indo-Pacific Region: A Comparative Analysis of Telegram & Twitter

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand what is being said by Russian embassies on social media, throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific holds special significance for Canada, as the only region with a unique strategy from Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Advancing Canadian economic and security interests in the region is a top priority for government. However, other nations like Russia have contradictory foreign policy goals for the region. Therefore, it is essential to understand the information environment within the region. As issues of disinformation and state-sponsored influence campaigns have become a prominent issue for western nations, more research is needed. This paper will begin to fill in a gap in this data, by looking at an under-studied region for disinformation – the Indo-Pacific. The objective is to examine this new dataset to see what is being said by these Russian embassy accounts: how does embassy messaging vary over time - by country, and by platform. Additionally, what topics are the embassies commonly discussing, and what potentially damaging narratives are they promoting. The findings of this paper can be used to inform diplomatic communications and messaging strategies by Canada and allied nations looking to counteract Russian influence in the Indo-Pacific.