How Russian Malign Information Influence Exploits Western Loneliness

Rising loneliness in the Western world has weakened social networks and reduced interpersonal trust. Concurrently, malign information influence (MII) has become more pervasive. Albin Östervall and Charlotte Wagnsson synthesise literature from multiple fields to argue that loneliness may heighten susceptibility to MII, and that Russia, as a key disseminator of MII, is both exploiting and exacerbating Western loneliness. They explore how these dynamics impact personal and societal MII resilience.