Belarus Catches Up to Russia With Its Own Pro-government ‘Troll Factory’ · Global Voices
Belarusians are noticing suspiciously similar comments under news articles—are government trolls to blame? Images mixed by <PERSON>.
As the relations between Russia and the West soured over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, Kremlin officials have been intensifying their information manipulation efforts. This summer for the first time the world found out about Russian troll factories—the secretive agencies that hire people to write and spread pro-Kremlin propaganda on the Internet.
It turns out, there is a online troll factory in Belarus as well. Several months ago local media detected accounts posting similar positive comments about the Belarusian ruble to US dollar exchange rate. The dollar exchange rate has soared almost six-fold during the last five years, with the Belarusian ruble heavily dependent on the state of neighboring Russia's economy, which is currently in deep trouble. At the end of August, 2015, the US dollar surpassed 17,000 Belarusian rubles—a record high. For reference, at the beginning of 2011 one US dollar cost 3,000 Belarusian rubles.
It was in August of this year that journalists of the opposition newspaper Nasha Niva (Our field) first noticed that some users were praising the ruble, at the time when it was so unstable. The suspected trolls would write that they “believed in ruble” and that Belarusians would overcome all temporary difficulties: “Don’t panic! Everything's gonna be alright!” Journalists dutifully copied all the “suspicious” comments and published a collection of them on their website (many original comments have since been deleted after the “unmasking.”)
In general, the Belarusian trolls are seen using three main tactics. 564
First, one should say that everything is alright and that any concerns about the issue are simply a sign of panic.
Решили посеять панику? Зря. Валюты в обменниках хватает. Покупайте! И вообще-то, в стране все под контролем)))
So you decided to spread panic? It's no use. There is enough currency in exchange offices. Buy it! And, by the way, everything in the country is under control.
Second, one should mention that Belarusians don't need dollars, because they spend their money in Belarus, not in the US.
Навошта мне гэтая амерыканская валюта!? Я усе свае дабро берагу у беларуских рублях. Я жыву у Беларуси, а не у Амерыцы
What do I need this American currency for? I keep all my savings in Belarusian rubles. I live in Belarus, not in America.
And thirdly, always blame the West.
Все мы понимаем, почему происходит падения рубля: сейчас это явно спровоцировано из вне. И если бы власть сегодня «показушно» сдерживала курс, то неизвестно к чему бы это привело к концу года. 564