Jessikka Aro
Jessikka Aro specializes in Russia, extremism and information warfare. In 2014 she started to investigate the pro-Kremlin social media trolls techniques and influence on public debates outside Russia’s borders, and nowadays her reports are widely quoted and used in troll investigations internationally.
Due to her investigations, she became the target of serious and still ongoing international propaganda and hate speech campaign. In 2019 Aro published a best-selling investigative book about Kremlin’s information warfare in Finnish, and the book will be translated to several languages.
She trains reporters and general public to recognize and counter online disinformation. Aro is also lobbying for better legislation to counter hybrid threats and protect citizens from state-sponsored online security threats, and she has witnessed in the US Congress. In 2019 the US State Department awarded her with the precious International Women of Courage Award, but the award was mysteriously rescinded by president Donald Trump’s administration.
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Programpunkt på Webbdagarna Stockholm 17-18 mars:
Så jobbar de ryska trollen – en berättelse om hat, hot och mod
Jessikka Aro är den finska journalisten som granskat och skrivit om såväl ryska trollfabriker, ett arbete hon har vunnit många priser för, bland annat det finska Stora journalistpriset. Hör henne på Webbdagarna, när hon berättar om trollimperium, näthat, pistolskott i telefonluren och hotfulla kampanjer för att tysta henne starka röst.