troll farm

A coordinated operation, typically employing many workers, that manufactures and amplifies inauthentic online content, including fake social media accounts, automated bots, fabricated quotes, and divisive posts, to manipulate public opinion, spread disinformation, or interfere in elections. Troll farms may be state-sponsored or commercially operated and often work across multiple platforms simultaneously. Russia’s Internet Research Agency, indicted by Special Counsel Mueller in 2018, is the most prominent example documented as a state-linked troll farm targeting U.S. elections.