Only today the Papadopoulos account tweeted that Downer was not "repping Australia" and that "America deserves the truth." The Greek-American energy analyst has portrayed himself as a victim and, in his counter-factual history of the Mueller probe, he is arguing that it is an Australian effort to attack a US presidential candidate, not a Russian effort to subvert US democracy. A call out to Australia. Tweets from an account purportedly belonging to George Papadopoulos, a one-time adviser to the Donald Trump campaign. Credit:Twitter As his two-week jail sentence start date nears, Papadopoulos has also hired a new legal representation to argue he shouldn't have to serve the time while another case is being decided. By Papadopoulos’ own admission, the intended audience for his some of his social media messages was Australia. In a November 4 tweet, (later deleted), Papadopoulos wrote: “Decided am going to start talking to Australia directly.”

He then made the fanciful claim that: “Alexander Downer was an errand boy for the Clinton’s," who "might have single-handedly disrupted the US-Australia relationship to safeguard his ties to the Clintons.” He also claimed the UK, Australia and the Obama administration was "running disinformation operations" against the Trump campaign. Earlier, on September 22, he posted: “Australia, if you are listening, do not sacrafice [sic] and damage your relationship with the USA to protect Alexander Downer. He sold you out for the sole purpose to try and sabotage Donald Trump to keep his links to the Clintons alive and well." Tweets from an account purportedly belonging to George Papadopoulos, a one-time adviser to the Donald Trump campaign. Credit:Twitter Papadopoulos’ social media effort appears to be, among other things, a crack at reshaping perceptions within Australia about Downer, Western intelligence and the Mueller probe, while potentially sowing distrust between Australia and its traditional allies. Papadopoulos’ counter-narratives underscore how easy it is to bring misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theory into the public sphere in part because social media platforms allow for disinformation to be shared and spread easily.

Partially, also, the human mind welcomes information - even if false - that reaffirms biases, an issue relevant to understanding the spread of propaganda online. Fairfax Media reached out to Papadopoulos for comment. Deleted tweet from a Twitter account purportedly belonging to George Papadopoulos. Credit:Twitter On October 16, the Papadopoulos account tweeted (but later deleted): "I didn’t want to have to expose the biggest political scandal in modern history which will surely sever security relations between [the] US-UK-Australia to some extent. I was enjoying living on the Greek islands. But, guess life works in mysterious ways and I am happy I was called." If such counter-factual statements tweeted by Papadopoulos gain traction with the public (and The Australian, for example has twice given them front page coverage), they can generate confusion about the events surrounding Downer, Papadopoulos, and the Australia-UK-US relationships in a time of considerable political disruption.

Papadopoulos appears to have deleted a suite of tweets (captured and published here), after he made clear that he had secured contact with Australia’s media. George Papadopoulos, former campaign adviser to Donald Trump, arrives for sentencing at federal court in Washington in September. Credit:Bloomberg In a November 18 tweet, still visible, Papadopoulos distinguished that he "adored" Australia, while claiming Downer was trying to "drive a wedge between us". Fred P. Hoffman, former US intelligence officer with experience in information operations, described Papadopoulos’ campaign as appearing “to be an individual effort at disinformation." A Gofundme account bearing Papadopoulos's name and photograph is even looking for donations to support his cause.

The conspiratorial claims by Papadopoulos would be simply unusual if they didn’t follow a pattern seen elsewhere involving public figures, Russia, social media, and a counter-narrative of events. These efforts too often involve online fundraising. Russia has also sought to sow divisions between Western allies, such as the Five Eyes alliance, for decades. Maria Butina, the Russian national who is accused of illegally acting as an agent for Russian government in trying to infiltrate Republican circles in the US, is being championed by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, which has a picture of her on their official twitter account with the hashtag #FreeMariaButina. The MariaButinaFund webpage offers a brief description of the young Russian student who “championed peace and positive relations between her homeland and the United States,” while in the US. “She studied international relations to make a difference, but after graduating with honours, she was arrested by the US government for crimes she did not commit.” “Now she needs your help,” the pitch concludes.

Elevating the accused to a victim is another theme seen in online campaigns whose protagonists have links to Russia. Edward Snowden (based in Russia) and Julian Assange (whose role in Russia aiding Russia’s effort in 2016 is being investigated) have both been portrayed as martyrs to noble causes. In each of these cases, including Papadopoulos’s, there has been a geopolitical dimension. The Greek-American energy consultant came to public light for his role in the Trump-Russia investigation. Butina is accused of acting as an undeclared agent for Russia in the US. Snowden and Assange have made claims against Western governments that mix facts with fiction. Keir Giles, a fellow at the London-based Chatham House, described Papadopoulos's recent effort “in the same vein but less competent and less effective,” than Butina, Snowden or Assange. Butina, Snowden, Assange “have a clearly defined relationship with Russia, but in the case of Papadopoulos everything went off the rails before it could get that far.” “Snowden and Assange did stupid things that helped the Russians, whether or not they were actually being assisted or encouraged by Russia at the early stages of doing them,” he said.

“Papadopoulos could have gone down that track but it all came unstuck first.” In this way, Giles says Papadopoulos’ efforts aren’t identical with the others. There is no visible support from Russia, either. “He looks like another individual that in a former, pre-Twitter age would have been found in the park shouting his conspiracy theories at the pigeons,” said Giles. Nevertheless, as seen with the use of conspiracy theory around the Skripal poisonings, Seth Rich’s death, or Q-Anon, poor logical consistency is no barrier to their spread. Often, all that’s needed to fuel disinformation online is for a compelling idea to be inserted into the fertile ground of an audience willing to believe it.