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Thirty Countries Use 'Armies of Opinion Shapers' To Manipulate Democracy (theguardian.com)

The governments of 30 countries around the globe are using armies of so called opinion shapers to meddle in elections, advance anti-democratic agendas and repress their citizens, a new report shows. From a report on The Guardian: Unlike widely reported Russian attempts to influence foreign elections, most of the offending countries use the internet to manipulate opinion domestically, says US NGO Freedom House. "Manipulation and disinformation tactics played an important role in elections in at least 17 other countries over the past year, damaging citizens' ability to choose their leaders based on factual news and authentic debate," the US government-funded charity said. "Although some governments sought to support their interests and expand their influence abroad, as with Russia's disinformation campaigns in the United States and Europe, in most cases they used these methods inside their own borders to maintain their hold on power."

4 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is climate change one of the topics? by interkin3tic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Russia sells fossil fuels AND more land becomes usable with climate change. Climate change destabilizes the current world order, which is obviously the goal of Russia trying to nudge the US into an isolationist position and countries to withdraw from the EU.

    The only reason one would have to doubt that climate change denialism is being promoted by foreign adversaries is the same reason one would doubt that our adversaries were trying to convince us Trump would be good: You don't like the implications and are too stupid to realize the damage will happen no matter what you believe.

  2. Lol, "Opinion Shapers" by sunking2 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That used to be anyone who had an opinion and shared it. Now we need a new phrase for it in order to generate clicks. I hate what the world is becoming....

  3. i bet the USA is just as guilty by FudRucker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    if you think the USA is all good and benevolent and honest then you are part of the problem because the USA has been meddling in politics in both the USA and worldwide for over a century

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  4. Re:Is climate change one of the topics? by bobbied · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Excuse me... I'm not arguing that the earth isn't getting warmer...

    My point is that the dire predictions being made are invalid being overstated alarmist over reactions to what we are seeing. Al Gore (and others) where wildly wrong with their predictions about what would happen. Why? Why did Al do this? To sell tickets, to sell his ideas for carbon credits (which would make him a load of money), not to save the earth from a fate worse than death. Where are those hurricanes he talked about being more frequent and stronger that he said would happen? He was wrong on that over the last 12 years at least.

    If the alarmists where wrong 12 years ago, starting with Al G, how do we know that the alarmist prophesy we get in the headlines today is right? What's changed? Do we have better data? Better models? Better theories? Proof that our dire predictions are getting better? Um.. No on all accounts.

    Maybe you have some information I don't? Please share if you do.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101