Her investigation brought her into the murky world of state-sponsored trolling. Around the world, more governments are getting involved in harassment campaigns against journalists, activists and citizens. According to the Oxford Internet Institute, 47 countries conducted state-sponsored trolling campaigns in 2019. That’s up from 27 the year before.

Governments are using trolls and campaigns of abuse to silence critics, to sow discord and hold onto power. We meet the targets of government trolling campaigns and the researchers trying to combat them. What can we do about state-sponsored trolling?

Presenter: Mike Wendling

Reporter: Ant Adeane

(Photo: Person in the shadows on a computer. Credit: Getty Images)