authoritarians

12:20 Feb 24, 2018 

The query text seems t be from https://www.fpri.org/article/2018/01/terrorism-social-media-... . The relevant paragraph reads:

Social media, at its height, offered a platform for discussion across diverse audiences and led to uprisings usurping dictators during the Arab Spring. But bad actors with motivation, money, manpower and know-how will always come to these information gateways to pursue their objectives. Criminals, terrorists and authoritarians see the Internet and social media as a cost effective open doorway into the very heart of their adversaries. Authoritarians worldwide now recognize the power of the Kremlin’s social media manipulation and if left unchecked, will copy and deploy Russia’s playbook against their enemies. Lesser-educated populations around the world predominately arriving in cyberspace via mobile phones will be particularly vulnerable to the social media manipulation of terrorists and authoritarians.

Clearly, 'authoritarians' is used here in the sense of people who enjoy unbridled political authority.