There's a story going around: after the drone strikes on Yandex...
Valdemar Osted@ValdemarOsted
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Oct 13, 2026
~1 min read
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There's a story going around: after the drone strikes on Yandex data centres, comments on AfD and MAGA accounts collapsed.
We monitor 17,000+ politicians, media and civil society accounts in 30+ countries. 50,000+ posts a day.
So we checked.
We don't see it. 🧵
We monitor 17,000+ politicians, media and civil society accounts in 30+ countries. 50,000+ posts a day.
So we checked.
We don't see it. 🧵
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We took 76 AfD politicians and 136 MAGA accounts on Facebook.
We compared each post with that account's normal. Same post age. Same weekday. Same time of day.
AfD after the strikes: −8% to +5%.
MAGA: +4% to +10%.
That's ordinary day-to-day noise.
We compared each post with that account's normal. Same post age. Same weekday. Same time of day.
AfD after the strikes: −8% to +5%.
MAGA: +4% to +10%.
That's ordinary day-to-day noise.
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In the days after the strikes, new posts from MAGA accounts drew 480,000 to 560,000 comments a day.
In late September it was around 370,000.
That's not a collapse.
In late September it was around 370,000.
That's not a collapse.
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What we can't say:
We only have Facebook for these accounts
And we only have 2–3 days of data after the strikes.
No drop doesn't prove there are no bots. It just means the collapse people describe isn't in our data.
We only have Facebook for these accounts
And we only have 2–3 days of data after the strikes.
No drop doesn't prove there are no bots. It just means the collapse people describe isn't in our data.
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All numbers come from our own data at Common Consultancy.
We track how agendas form on social media. Across Europe and the US. Every day.
We track how agendas form on social media. Across Europe and the US. Every day.