The Rise of Autocracy, Inc.: A Global Network of Power and Propaganda
Anne Applebaum’s “Autocracy, Inc.” exposes a disturbing trend: the increasing collaboration among autocratic regimes worldwide. Despite their disparate ideologies and geographical locations, these rulers share a common goal: preserving their power, enriching themselves, and expanding their influence. They achieve this through a complex web of cooperation, including sanctions evasion, mutual support with resources, and sophisticated digital propaganda campaigns. Their unifying principle, according to Applebaum, is a deep-seated contempt for liberal democracy and a commitment to undermining it at every turn. Democratic values such as accountability, transparency, and free media are direct threats to their authority, prompting them to actively suppress democratic movements whenever they emerge.
Autocrats employ a range of tactics to stifle dissent and consolidate their grip on power. Defamation campaigns, discrediting opposition leaders, and intimidating supporters are common strategies. While they generally avoid targeted killings to prevent the creation of martyrs, they readily resort to digital and physical harassment. These attacks extend beyond political opponents, ensnaring their families and creating a climate of fear that discourages political participation. Online hate campaigns, often fueled by state-sponsored troll factories, represent a particularly insidious form of mass bullying. Anonymous actors spread disinformation and vitriol, isolating their targets and rendering them “civilly dead.” This tactic aims to discourage ordinary citizens from engaging in political activity, creating an environment of apathy and resignation.
Beyond suppressing internal dissent, autocratic regimes actively work to discredit the very concept of democracy. They portray democratic societies as chaotic and violent, contrasting them with the supposed order and security of their own rule. They warn their populations against the “spiritual contamination of the West” and stoke nationalist sentiments. Russia, in particular, positions itself as the leader of a coalition of traditionalist states opposing the perceived weakness of democracies. This narrative is amplified through a relentless barrage of disinformation and propaganda designed to blur the lines between fact and fiction. The strategy, aptly described as “flooding the zone with shit,” aims to overwhelm public discourse and make it impossible to discern truth from falsehood.
A key component of this strategy is the manipulation of media. Autocratic leaders invest heavily in foreign media outlets and troll farms to shape international narratives. Russia’s RT, for example, disseminates propaganda through social media and fake websites, maintaining a significant presence in Africa. China’s state-funded media outlets, including Xinhua and CGTN, produce professionally crafted content that undercuts the pricing of Western media and promotes a favorable image of China and its allies. These narratives are further amplified by other state-sponsored media outlets, like Venezuela’s Telesur and Iran’s PressTV, creating a global echo chamber of autocratic propaganda. The content is carefully tailored to local audiences, often translated into regional languages and disseminated through a network of real and fake social media accounts. This sophisticated information laundering operation makes it extremely difficult to counter the spread of disinformation.
The ultimate goal of these information campaigns is to sow discord and deepen existing divisions within democratic societies. By fueling discontent and promoting extremist voices, autocrats aim to erode trust in democratic institutions and foster a climate of cynicism and disillusionment. Conspiracy theories and fake news reports are strategically deployed across countless platforms, with algorithms amplifying their reach. This manipulative tactic is not confined to domestic audiences. Autocratic regimes actively seek out sympathetic politicians and business leaders in democratic countries, building alliances and expanding their influence. They closely monitor each other’s successes and failures, adapting their strategies to maximize their impact.
The interference in the 2016 US presidential election, orchestrated by the Russian Internet Research Agency, is a prime example of these tactics in action. The widespread dissemination of falsified information demonstrated the vulnerability of democratic processes to foreign manipulation. Since then, these methods have become increasingly sophisticated and widespread, posing a serious threat to the integrity of democratic institutions around the world. Applebaum’s work serves as a stark warning about the growing threat posed by this interconnected network of autocratic regimes. She argues that countering this threat requires more than just fact-checking and reactive measures. It demands a proactive and coordinated effort to expose and dismantle the sophisticated propaganda machinery that fuels the rise of “Autocracy, Inc.” The future of democracy may depend on it.