Dappi (@dappi2019) was an anonymousTwitter account that conducted smear campaigns against progressiveopposition parties in Japan between 2019 and 2021. During this period, the account posted highly biased tweets designed to discredit and undermine the reputation of the country's progressives while simultaneously praising the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and conservative opposition parties. While active on Twitter, Dappi made a number of false or defamatory claims aimed at swaying public opinion against progressive opposition parties, which led to the targeted individuals filing a lawsuit. In 2021, it was revealed that the account was operated by a company with close ties to the LDP.
While operating anonymously, Dappi amassed around 176,000 followers as of November 2021.[10] The account was highly influential, attracting attention from members of the National Diet.[1]
Almost all tweets were posted during regular office hours, roughly between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. JST, and rarely on weekends, leading to speculation that the account was not an individual activity[3] and that there was a coordinated or organized effort behind it.[1]
In July 2020, the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office responded to a freedom of information request seeking government records related to Dappi by refusing to confirm or deny the existence of such records, citing concerns that doing so could potentially "impede the effective execution" of their duties and "pose a significant risk to national security". According to Newsweek, the wording of the response, which indirectly implied a connection between the account and the agency, further deepened suspicions surrounding Dappi.[13]
Dappi had been criticized for posting highly biased[3] video clips that were edited out of context,[5] creating a false impression or misrepresentation of opposition parties and media outlets:[11]
In October 2020, Dappi posted a tweet falsely claiming that an employee of the Ministry of Finance's Kinki Local Finance Bureau had committed suicide after House of Councillors members Hiroyuki Konishi [ja] and Hideya Sugio from the CDP "grilled him for an hour" over a public document tampering scandal involving the government's land sale to a nationalist school operator. No such meeting had taken place. Konishi and Sugio later filed a defamation lawsuit against the company behind Dappi (see § Revelation and aftermath).[10]
During a party leaders' debate in June 2021, Yukio Edano, the leader of the CDP, criticized Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga for diverting the discussion with personal memories of the 1964 Olympics. Dappi manipulated this criticism by tweeting a selectively edited video clip of the debate, in which the portion where Suga talked about the Olympics was completely removed. This manipulation falsely implied that Edano rejected discussions on COVID-19. BuzzFeed News conducted a fact-check and confirmed that Dappi's tweet was false.[15]
The company behind the account was identified as Ones Quest (ワンズクエスト), an Internet company headquartered in Tokyo.[2] On October 6, they filed a lawsuit against Ones Quest at the Tokyo District Court, seeking damages for defamation.[6]
Ones Quest was engaged in business transactions with the LDP. According to a political income and expenditure report published by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the LDP's Tokyo metropolitan chapter made five payments totaling ¥4.04 million (US$29,100) to Ones Quest between March and August 2021. The report also shows the LDP chapter had expenditures of around ¥780,000 in 2020.[4] There is speculation that Dappi was part of the LDP's efforts to manipulate public opinion online.[10] The LDP has denied the allegations.[7]
Ones Quest later admitted that one of its employees was responsible for Dappi's tweets, but denied any institutional involvement in the account,[17] claiming the tweets were the private activities of an employee and unrelated to company operations.[5]
^ abcdHatachi, Kota (October 11, 2021). 野党批判を繰り返すアカウント「Dappi」の運営法人? 自民党支部や国会議員が取引、政治資金収支報告書などで明らかに [Operating entity of Dappi, the account repeatedly attacking the opposition: clear connections with LDP branches and members of the National Diet exposed in political funding reports]. BuzzFeed News (in Japanese). Retrieved June 7, 2023.
^ abcde「Dappi」裁判、被告企業「ツイートは従業員が私的に投稿」と主張 今回も出廷せず [Dappi trial: Defendant company claims "tweets were posted privately by an employee," fails to appear in court again]. Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). February 28, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
^ ab野党攻撃ツイッター「Dappi」が自民党と取引⁉ 正体はIT企業 ネット工作まん延か [Is the opposition-targeting Twitter account Dappi affiliated with the LDP? The truth revealed: It is an IT company involved in online manipulation]. Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). October 13, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
^Watanabe, Tsuyoshi (November 15, 2021). なぜ人々は野党・マスコミ批判のSNSアカウントに惹かれる? マスメディアに代わる"疑似環境"を求めるユーザーたち [Why are people drawn to opposition party and media–criticizing social media accounts? People seeking an alternative "virtual environment" in place of mainstream media]. Aera. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
^Fujisaki, Masato (October 16, 2021). 岸田首相はDappi疑惑を放置して衆院選を戦うのか [Will Prime Minister Kishida ignore the Dappi scandal and proceed to the Lower House election?]. Column. Newsweek Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved June 6, 2023.
^Hatachi, Kota (June 10, 2021). 党首討論「哀れな枝野」と拡散の動画は誤り。菅首相の「東京五輪の思い出」が編集され全カットに [Fake video clip circulating online with caption "Pathetic Edano": Prime Minister Suga's "memories of the Tokyo Olympics" completely edited out]. Fact Check. BuzzFeed News (in Japanese). Retrieved June 6, 2023.
