It is social engineering.

The art of manipulating the public through social media is a very developed field by now. It is made even easier through the abuse of "volunteer moderators" on social media.

A bit of push here and there, some sowing of ideas, suppression of "disruptive" opinions, promotion i.e. normalization of fringe characters, add in a dash of specific attacks based on the target's internet history, and a small group of folk, with the assistance of technology, can effectively steer public opinion.

It is not easy to defend against this, especially to a populace who consider themselves living in a land "free of propaganda".

It is ironic, that a country who prides itself on its exceptionality, fall into a crisis because it is, in fact, unexceptional.