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More On the "Cuban Twitter" Scam

Posted by timothy on from the disrupting-the-moral-purity-of-the-cuban-autocracy dept.

We mentioned a few days ago the USAID-funded SMS social network that was connecting Cubans against the wishes of the Cuban government. Now Glen Greenwald's The Intercept has more on this kind of back-channel government intervention via what he characterizes as "the Internet propaganda bucket." Advocatus Diaboli (1627651) writes with an excerpt: "These ideas–discussions of how to exploit the internet, specifically social media, to surreptitiously disseminate viewpoints friendly to western interests and spread false or damaging information about targets–appear repeatedly throughout the archive of materials provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Documents prepared by NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ–and previously published by The Intercept as well as some by NBC News–detailed several of those programs, including a unit devoted in part to "discrediting" the agency's enemies with false information spread online.

The documents in the archive show that the British are particularly aggressive and eager in this regard, and formally shared their methods with their U.S. counterparts. One previously undisclosed top-secret document–prepared by GCHQ for the 2010 annual "SIGDEV" gathering of the "Five Eyes" surveillance alliance comprising the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S.–explicitly discusses ways to exploit Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media as secret platforms for propaganda."

51 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. What does it mean to be British? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It has been said that the essence of Britishness is fair play. Speaking as a public school educated (that's private boarding school, to you Yanks) toff, I can say with certainty that this is not true at all. The essence of Britishness is hypocrisy. In our hearts we are not standard-bearers of freedom and democracy, but temporarily embarrassed imperialists. And those of us whose mathematical aptitude did not win us a place in the City find themselves landed with a Civil Service job, a job with much the same purpose but with the requirement to do more of what we are told.

    1. Re:What does it mean to be British? by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 2

      Let everyone speak, but control the podium supply. Make podiums expensive, but give them away free to those saying what you want to be heard. Use this to control the discussion. Give the illusion that every position you think is important is supported by a rational majority and opposed by a fringe of maniacs. If a subject isn't important to your agenda but is contentious, keep it constantly in the public sphere and use it to keep people divided against each other. Say as little as you can yourself.

      That's what it means to be English.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
  2. from a year ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    and this is from a year ago..

    Bolivian President Evo Morales expels USAID, 1 May 2013 (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-22371275)

    Bolivian President Evo Morales has said he will expel the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Mr Morales accused the agency of seeking to "conspire against" the Bolivian people and his government. US state department spokesman Patrick Ventrell rejected the allegations as "baseless and unfounded".

    1. Re:from a year ago by bmo · · Score: 2

      Patrick Ventrell rejected the allegations as "baseless and unfounded"

      Legalese for "true."

      --
      BMO

  3. Three interesting things by jodido · · Score: 3, Interesting

    About the US cyberattack on Cuba. First of all, it failed, as every US attack on Cuba has failed. Second, the US puts form over content--the idea that if you get people to follow your Twitter feed sports scores, when you say "OK! Everyone out to the Plaza to overthrow the government!" that hundreds of thousands of people will show up and try to overthrow the government, even if they didn't know they wanted to (which in Cuba most people don't). Third, the continuing destruction of internet trust on the part of the US. And fourth, their willingness to put people at risk without telling them they're putting them at risk.

    1. Re:Three interesting things by Erikderzweite · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The real question is, to what extent was the US involved in other countries? Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine? Different counties, same scenario. Social media play a major role at the beginning and during each uprising.

      Which also raises the question whether blocking social media is an act of censorship or an attempt to neutralize foreign involvement in internal affairs.

    2. Re:Three interesting things by Jmc23 · · Score: 1

      ah, but you forgot to take into account that the tweets come with subliminal messages based on advances in EBS, steganographically concealed using the latest alien compression tech.

      --
      Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
    3. Re:Three interesting things by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      I guess you never heard of radio free Europe.

      This has happened since the start of the cold war. The US has done this with Cuba in some form or another since castro confiscated private industry and expelled the foreign owners and workers.

      And yes, closing down twitter in a country is about the same as jamming a radio signal with the added benifit of hampering opposition communications.

    4. Re:Three interesting things by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Which also raises the question whether blocking social media is an act of censorship or an attempt to neutralize foreign involvement in internal affairs.

      It is censorship. The rationale for the censorship may be to reduce foreign involvement, but it is still censorship. It doesn't magically become "not censorship" based on your reason for doing it.

    5. Re:Three interesting things by Erikderzweite · · Score: 2

      Please... I lived it. But the situation is a bit different here: radio free Europe, Voice of America, BBC etc. were mass media, they claimed higher ground and freedom from government censorship, but they still had owners, countries of origin and so on.

      Social networks are controlled differently, the agents there pose as common people, changing and influencing the opinion of those who read but doesn't post (i.e. the majority of users). Often post from social networks are used in the western media to form an opinion about the situation in a country. And information is a very powerful weapon, see Iraq. And the best thing about it: zero credibility. Remember Amina Arraf? The Syrian lesbian blogger who was arrested by the government. Real name: Tom MacMaster, US citizen. For quite some time Arraf was a widely cited symbol of the Syrian rebellion against tyranny. The facts from the Syrian government that such person does not exist were ignored by the media. And that was the doing of a single person. Now imagine the organization behind it, say, NED. Zero credibility, free to invent facts and even a discovery of a hoax will not reverse the already formed opinion: a brief admission at worst: the media don't like admitting own mistakes.

    6. Re:Three interesting things by temcat · · Score: 1

      Which also raises the question whether blocking social media is an act of censorship or an attempt to neutralize foreign involvement in internal affairs.

      It can well be both. And foreign involvement in the so called internal affairs can be a good thing, too. No, you are not free to oppress your own citizens. And no, the USA is not always in the right. But neither are the governments of the countries you listed.

    7. Re:Three interesting things by jodido · · Score: 1

      "Castro" didn't expel anyone. When the wealthy lost the sources of their wealth--ie, it became the property of all instead of the property of the few--they voluntarily left and went to a country that values getting rich at the expense of others, chiefly the U.S.

  4. Yawn by Jiro · · Score: 1, Informative

    This is just a mountain made out of a molehill by leftists who are fans of the government of Cuba and don't like when Western governments try to undermine it. I have news for them: doing things like this is the intelligence agencies' *job*. They're supposed to spy; that's why they're called spy agencies, and Cuba couldn't be a more deserving target.

    If Cuba doesn't do such things itself, it's only because of lack of budget in these post-Soviet days, not lcak of scruples. (Remember when Cuba used to send "advisors" to Africa?)

    (Would I like it if Cuba did that here? No, of course not. But I wouldn't like it if Cuba dropped bombs on us either, yet I'm not foolish enough to say that it's immoral to drop bombs on another country.)

    1. Re:Yawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Idiot, this is not spying, it is a propaganda campaign.

    2. Re:Yawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      This is just a mountain made out of a molehill by leftists who are fans of the government of Cuba and don't like when Western governments try to undermine it. I have news for them: doing things like this is the intelligence agencies' *job*. They're supposed to spy; that's why they're called spy agencies, and Cuba couldn't be a more deserving target.

      I have news for you: USAID is *not* an intelligence agency. From their website under "What We Do":

      • "USAID is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential."

      For a second, I thought you might've simply posted in the wrong thread...but you didn't, did you. So you ARE an idiot.

    3. Re:Yawn by khasim · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is just a mountain made out of a molehill by leftists who are fans of the government of Cuba ...

      False dichotomy. Rejecting A does not mean accepting B.

      ... and don't like when Western governments try to undermine it.

      See above.

      I have news for them: doing things like this is the intelligence agencies' *job*.

      Just because someone is paid to do something does not mean that anyone has to support that.

      They're supposed to spy; that's why they're called spy agencies, and Cuba couldn't be a more deserving target.

      Since Cuba is not a threat to the USofA in any way that statement is incorrect. There are many ways Cuba could be "a more deserving target".

      If Cuba doesn't do such things itself, it's only because of lack of budget in these post-Soviet days, not lcak of scruples.

      Circular reasoning. And you even admit that Cuba is not doing the same to the USofA.

      But I wouldn't like it if Cuba dropped bombs on us either, yet I'm not foolish enough to say that it's immoral to drop bombs on another country.

      That entirely depends upon how YOU define YOUR "morality".

    4. Re:Yawn by jc42 · · Score: 1

      ... this is not spying, it is a propaganda campaign.

      "Yawn" indeed. What baffles me is how anyone think this differs from any other propaganda campaigns throughout human history. It is because it's "on a computer", which means that most people will forget all precedent and pretend that it's something new?

      In particular, the mass media here and everywhere else has always cooperated with the wishes of the people in power. That's part of the price of staying in business, regardless of what your local laws (or Constitutions) might say. The distribution of information is rapidly moving online, so of course the same medium becomes part of the distribution system for propaganda. Every government (and every marketing organization) in the world is hard at work trying to control what we can read here.

      Why are we pretending that this is somehow new and unprecedented?

      It has always been true that we need to learn to be skeptical of essentially everything anyone tells us. People are always trying to trick us into believing things for their own profit, and most people don't care if those things are true, only whether they can profit from others believing them.

      So yeah: "Yawn."

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    5. Re:Yawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I have news for you: The Intelligence Agencies use other agencies as cover for their activities. USAID has a long, long history of being used for intelligence purposes. In was an open secret even before documents were released in 2007 that proved it. Countries routinely kicked USAID out for spying, like Eritrea in 1995.

    6. Re:Yawn by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Idiot, this is not spying, it is a propaganda campaign.

      And the best propaganda is the truth. If Cuba's government can be undermined by citizens having access to social media, then it is time for a new government.

    7. Re:Yawn by cavreader · · Score: 1

      Actually it gives Cuban citizens a non-governmental channel they can use to communicate with one another. Such communication doesn't necessarily need to be political in nature. Twitter was born out of the efforts to provide Iranians with a way to communicate that could bypass the government controls.

    8. Re:Yawn by currently_awake · · Score: 1

      No wonder nobody trusts the American government. The rest of the world doesn't need to make stuff up when the truth is worse.

    9. Re:Yawn by dryeo · · Score: 2

      I'd rather live in Cuba then some of Americas right wing allies such as Saudi Arabia or their right wing puppet countries such as Haiti. Now you might look at Saudi Arabia as a libertarian right wing paradise where the citizens don't pay taxes and can do what ever they want as long as they follow the social mores which comes naturally but I don't like the slavery. And of course in Haiti you're free to struggle to get a job for $3 a day, save and become rich but the truth is it is hell on Earth for most of its citizens, but they do enable your underwear to be slightly cheaper.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    10. Re:Yawn by Dr+Max · · Score: 1

      Maybe it dosn't differ from the other propaganda, but that dosn't mean it should be done. No one likes any goverment misleading them for their own motivations, even if you do it the most, or for the longest, or if other countries do it do, it will still piss off the public.

      --
      Rocket Surgeon.
  5. They can't touch me by someone1234 · · Score: 1

    I don't read twitter, no facebook account. And on YouTube i watch only funny cat videos!

    --
    Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
  6. Sneaky. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    I don't mind a government overseas propaganda division, really. It's one of the few effective counters against countries that operate their own censorship and propaganda systems. It's the sneaking around that I really don't like. Be honest about it.

    1. Re:Sneaky. by Erikderzweite · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Reminds me of a map about the Maidan tweets here: http://www.ibtimes.com/ukraine...

      One may wonder, how many of those UK and US tweets were from Ukrainians living in these countries (US has a rather large Ukrainian diaspora, the UK doesn't) and how many were associated with intelligence agencies. Interesting are the blips on the map from Bahrain at the crucial moments.

    2. Re:Sneaky. by LiquidPaper · · Score: 1

      I agree with you. But propaganda MUST be clearly identified as such. Thats why you have the [Advertisement] logo on newspapers or in the Google search page.

    3. Re:Sneaky. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      The US operates a propaganda program. Not much of a censorship program though.

    4. Re:Sneaky. by temcat · · Score: 1

      Should the native government's propaganda be labeled that way, too?

  7. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by Crashmarik · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Did he ever have legitimacy ?

    There was never any doubt that this was being done. The questions is do you want the NSA having your info or Facebook and Google.

  8. how long before COINTELPRO agents post here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ... trying to derail/distract/deride/divert

    Cheney should be shitting bricks right now.

  9. Qui Bono by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1

    How much did all of this cost?

    Let's be blunt here. The purpose of this program was never to in any way seriously affect the Cuban regieme. The purpose of this program, like so many others at the NSA, was to "legitimize" bonuses and to buy new Cadillacs for NSA managers and senior officers. If General Alexander's Star Trek office revealed one thing, it is that the NSA has a culture of gorging at the public trough.

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  10. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by Erikderzweite · · Score: 1

    Why? Because there may be no "angry common people overthrowing a corrupt tyranny and dying for freedom", merely "people misled by foreign provocateurs into destabilizing their own country"?

  11. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by SpankiMonki · · Score: 2

    Remember when Snowden's leaks were about blowing the whistle on illegal wiretapping of American citizens? Does anyone else feel like he's long lost all legitimacy?

    This "Cuban Twitter" kerfuffle was exposed by the Associated Press. It has nothing to do with Snowden or the NSA.

  12. Re: Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by heypete · · Score: 2

    Do I think he's lost legitimacy? No.

    At the very start he turned over all his data to a few journalists (Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, etc.) and they are the ones who choose to publish articles based on the data he gave to them. Snowden has said he doesn't retain any of the documents or data himself, and has no control over what is published or not. That's entirely up to the journalists.

  13. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    Does anyone else feel like he's long lost all legitimacy?

    No. The worst you can say is he should have given the data to a different journalist. He hasn't had anything to do with these releases for a long time.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  14. Humans use tools available to them by Jmc23 · · Score: 1

    News at 11

    --
    Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
  15. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by davester666 · · Score: 1

    Yes, there was doubt.

    Lots of people bought into the gov't saying "oh, no, we would never do that" as earlier whistleblowers came forward. The gov't just switched tactics to "we need to spy on you for your own good".

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  16. The same as VoA by wiredlogic · · Score: 1

    This is no different than Voice of America radio which has been broadcasting propaganda for decades without anyone getting their panties in a bunch.

    --
    I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
  17. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by jc42 · · Score: 1

    What does Snowden have to do with this? I haven't seen his name associated with it before.

    This isn't criticism; maybe he is involved; I don't know. Can you give a few cites that explain the link?

    --
    Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  18. Re:Why should I be outraged? by quantaman · · Score: 1

    The US is supposedly selling Democracy, free speech, and freedom of the press.

    Government propaganda, particularly covert government propaganda, has no place in Democracy. By using these methods to influence foreign populations not only is the US is undercutting its own message, they're doing through the agency (USAID) that is supposed to be spreading that message.

    This is why sunlight is essential, because without it governments fall victim to group think and short sighted objectives and lose the ability to plan for the long term by standing on principal.

    --
    I stole this Sig
  19. It seems the Cold War never ended by compucomp2 · · Score: 1

    and American imperialism is alive and well. I praise Cuba for their continued heroic resistance to the great evil in their backyard. It must greatly anger the American empire that they cannot break a small island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

    1. Re:It seems the Cold War never ended by dryeo · · Score: 1

      It's worse then that. Cuba is the symbol of American Imperialism. When they first decided to become a major player, they planned a war with Spain, did a false flag operation, surprised and defeated Spain and made Cuba a puppet state in the name of freedom and gave it to the Mafia to run. Then those awful Cubans revolted, threw out Batista (sp?) and did awful things like giving the average person shoes and free medical. The truth is that in that part of the world, the average Cuban is better off then lets say the average Haitian or even Mexican. A Mexican might have free speech but if he practices it he may well lose his head or worse.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    2. Re:It seems the Cold War never ended by clarkkent09 · · Score: 1

      Cuba is a horrible shithole in every way imaginable. I won't waste my time trying to convince somebody like you but look it up yourself:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

      Not to mention the economy where workers are paid on average $19/month and lack even basic necessities and cannot legally change jobs, move, own property, own a cellphone or a computer without government permit etc etc.

      Yes they are better of than Haiti, the country that compares badly even with worst African countries, so you got that one right. But given the history and demographics of Cuba, there is potential for so much more which is being wasted due to a deluded and selfish leadership clinging on to a failed ideology for their personal benefit.

      --
      Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
  20. Re:Um, what? by currently_awake · · Score: 1

    In my opinion, all countries benefit from more transparency and openness in their government. Possibly the USA would care to lead by example?

  21. It's more than that ! by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1

    We're watching you, so behave

    It's more like "We will make sure that you'll be very miserable if you do not behave"

    Thank you, England, for teaching America how to take this program worldwide.

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
  22. jc42: resident troll by Rujiel · · Score: 1

    It differs from other propaganda because it's happening HERE On /. There are establishment trolls all over this place trying to shape public opinion. How can you act so blasse, You say this is nothing new, but clearly it must be, because this concept didn't even occur to you! You don't even mention it. So spare me your lazy yawns so long as you lazily look past the elephant in the room. Waiting for cold fjord to post here.

    1. Re:jc42: resident troll by jc42 · · Score: 1

      Well, I didn't mention the propaganda on /. because it didn't occur to me that anyone would think it special. The astroturfers and other propagandists have been here since before I had an account, and a lot of their work is so blatant that it's hard to miss. So it's not that the propaganda here didn't occur to me; it's more like I thought it such a cheap shot that I'd be criticized (and possibly downloaded) for wasting reader time by mentioning something so obvious.

      Not that there's anything about this that's special to /. either. A growing and well-known problem on sites to attempt to collect ratings of various sorts from users is that companies pay their people to spend time watching such sites and flooding the rating system with bogus positive ratings and reviews. Companies routinely set up hundreds or thousands of accounts for this purpose.

      This goes back to the early days of online forums. An especially clumsy one showed up back in the 1980s, when a lot of BBs, newsgroups, etc. found that any occurrence of the string "Armenia" in any message would trigger the automated submission of thousands of bot-generated messages from Turkish extremists, filling up disk systems and making the site useless until they were purged.

      The propagandists have gotten a bit more subtle since then, but they've always been with us. /. has had them since the early days of 5- and 6-digit id numbers.

      And "blase" (only one 's', and the 'e' really should have an acute accent, but /. garbles it ;-) isn't really the right word. It's more like we need to acknowledge that propaganda is and will remain "part of the landscape". Rather than get all excited about it, we should be quietly working to limit the junk, and try to find ways to get the real info more visible. Exposing propaganda is most useful if it's done in a matter-of-fact manner, rather than as a shouting match.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  23. Re: Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by Rujiel · · Score: 1

    Every story he places on theintercept.org gets pages of mentions on google news. But please, keep peddling your lonely illusion that no one cares. No one will buy it, of course--the fact that you trolls have to fill this place with your nonsense shows just how hypocritical your claims of "no one cares!" really are.

  24. Re:Snowden's leaks has gone off the rails by temcat · · Score: 1

    I like how you're bitter about Maidan. But I have to agree with the wording you chose. It may or may not be the former or the latter, that's for sure.

  25. Still walking around the main issue by Rujiel · · Score: 1

    Corporate astroturfing is one thing, but the matter being discussed in this thread is one of paid government shills. You're insisting this is nothing new, which is incorrect--the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 has enabled domestic propaganda for the first time since the cold war. http://thecable.foreignpolicy.... Yes, paid trolls on forums IS new. And it's clear you don't give a shit, because again, you won't even acknowledge the issue. You aren't the least bit concerned when dozens of posts of "fuck beta!" spam very specific threads here?