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Russian Trolls Created Facebook Events Seen By More Than 300,000 Users (cnn.com)
"Posing as American activists, Russian government-linked trolls created 129 Facebook events between 2015 and 2017," writes CNN. An anonymous reader quotes their report:
On multiple occasions, the events prompted real Americans to take to the streets. In a written statement Facebook gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee released on Thursday, the social media network said that the events created by one Kremlin-linked troll group were seen by more than 300,000 Facebook users. About 62,500 users marked that they would attend the event, and an additional 25,800 expressed an interest in attending.
Facebook told Congress it does "not have data about the realization of these events," but CNN has previously found evidence that the Russian group successfully convinced Americans to attend the demonstrations. The events were organized on a range of divisive issues and were designed to pit Americans against each other.
"The company also told Congress it had removed Kaspersky Lab from a list of free anti-virus offerings it provides users."
Facebook told Congress it does "not have data about the realization of these events," but CNN has previously found evidence that the Russian group successfully convinced Americans to attend the demonstrations. The events were organized on a range of divisive issues and were designed to pit Americans against each other.
"The company also told Congress it had removed Kaspersky Lab from a list of free anti-virus offerings it provides users."
It's not a witchhunt.
It's a CNN.COM article.
That's the dirty secret -- propaganda and astroturfing works. Social media is a dream come true for the practitioners of the Soviet-style dark arts of mass brainwashing and information-attack.
Which makes the fecklessness and arrogance of the social media barons ("this time it's differet", "the Internet changes everything") all the more galling. They sniffed their own techno-libertarian farts, believed their own bullshit, and then, due to their obstinate refusal to come to terms with the destructive power of their platforms, nearly destroyed the republic.
I'm not holding my breath, waiting for fucking idiots like Jack Dorsey or Mark Zuckerberg to wake up. I'm out. If Russian and Chinese security-state fascists are given a free pass to attack us, really the only thing we can do is opt out and do the only thing we can do individually to make things as hard as possible for the enemy.
You are deflecting.
Deflection is a Russian propaganda tactic.
On what planet did Putin and his cronies think the West wouldn't throw the kitchen sink at them in retaliation for the election hack?
Did these mongs REALLY think they could hold us off forever simply by gaslighting us on Twitter? ("there is no proof of collusion, there is no proof of hacking, whatabout this, whatabout that, etc etc). So fucking stupid.
The arrogance and naivete defies belief.
First of all, chill. The purpose was to get people riled up and divisive, and by being outraged you are playing into their hand.
Furthermore, if you are outraged don't propagate by posting about it - that just amplifies the effect.
Secondly, does this de-ligitimize at least one major riot here in the US? Was there (at least) one instance where US people did not feel strongly enough to protest, but were egged on by outside influences?
Doesn't that mean that there is *less* discontent in the US than what might be inferred from protests?
The US would be a land of harmony and zero social division, governed perpetually by enlightened Democrats who are our intellectual superiors, if only Russia hadn't bought 100k worth of Facebook ads.
Well I appreciate it because it confirms a personal belief I've been holding since the elections: Russia (the nation.. not the "people") has been playing both sides of the board. A divided USA would be nothing but beneficial to them. A new civil war (wishful thinking on their part) would be a wet dream come true. The same assholes you see screaming about Trump are the same assholes you see screaming about Clinton. Both sides want to create bandwagons to "stop" the other.
Why not? Russia's information warfare campaign is fascination and world-changing, and VERY interesting to nerds. After all, most of the vectors of Putin's information assault on the West are enabled by the Web and social media.
Some make believe accounts made some make believe events that other accounts (make believe or not) said they were going.
"not have data about the realization of these events," WFT, CNN?
A reporter reports about half the story, how hard can it be to research if these said "events" were real or not? My guess, none ever happened. But, isn't a quality news report one that has the complete story? This report isn't sufficiently researched to have any utility besides stirring the pot.
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NICE!! you wont find much unbaised posts here. US propaganda = GOOD, Russian propaganda = BAD.
But i'm with you and do love these posts.. as you said, the US has been doing the exact same thing for decades against many countries, but the US citizens seem to have a serious issue when it is done to them? They didnt seem to mind having decent democratically elected leaders thrown out to bring in tyrants in the name of "freedom".
Look, I'll admit I'm a rank amateur up front. But I reached 1,000,000 eyeballs during the 2016 election.
If the Ruskies can only pull off 300,000 eyeballs then I am pretty damn impressed with myself.
Caution: Contents under pressure
Read the post histories of some of the folks on these threads where Mueller, Russia, Trump are involved and try to guess who is associated with Russia propaganda mills. Then go look at the user histories. You think there isn't Russian propaganda active today on /.?
So somebody scams your grandparents of their life savings (and your inheritance).
Who are you going to blame for that?
These people were scammed by sophisticated Russian military information-warfare outfits. How are people, who are unaware of the fascist threat, going to defend themselves against that?
The war in Syria is about a Natural Gas Pipeline that the west wants and Russia does not.
Nice deflection attempt. Try harder, though.
Jesus christ.
This story never ends, Russia did this, Russia did that, always very little or circumstantial evidence, or something like "up to 6 fake accounts were made, with over 32 followers!"
Unless something significantly concrete, ground slamming and thorough comes out which outright proves some kind of real huge conspiracy, then all this looks like is crazy people on a witch hunt.
FUTHERMORE even if it were real, it's up to people to vote with their conscience / brain, assuming they have one.
On top of this, even IF the Russia email hack Hillary thing is real (or was Russians) the point should be the bloody evidence revealed, don't play the distraction game, if her emails clearly proved she was a liar or trouble or whatever (I don't even know what it was) why are we desperately trying to look the other way?
Note: NOT an American, didn't even vote in your election and I know Trump is an idiot, but the republicans didn't win your election, the fucking democrats lost it by omitting Bernie.
So tired of this political stuff on /., what next? Another in depth article about how every single white male programmer is without question a rapist or something?
The goal is to cause chaos. The bait-and-switch approach is that you take advantage of a shocking event (mass shooting, disaster, etc) and let loose your army of bots to organize protests with 100,000 followers on one side, and an opposing event with 100,000 followers on the other side.
If nothing happens, meh, it cost you nothing except paying some guys in St. Petersburg to shitpost. Try again after the next shocking event.
If you get lucky, you get 500 protestors on one side of the street, and 500 counterprotestors on the other side of the street, and they start throwing insults, bricks, and molotovs at each other.
Then you sit back and enjoy the chaos you've created -- not just the localized disruption of the riot but the fact that everybody you lured into a riot leaves with hardened feelings against their opposition.
Lather, rinse, repeat. More chaos, more violence, and maybe you get really lucky and kick off a civil war. Your greatest geopolitical adversary basically punches itself in the face and off the global stage while you sit back and way "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!"
Look upthread -- notice that some of the ACs are vehemently supporting one side of the story, and some of them are just as vehemently supporting the other side. Maybe only a few of them are actual information warfare guys. But it only takes a few to get the rest of the ACs (sincere readers with partisan opinions) to tear at each other's throats.
Basically, they're doing this in real life: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trollbait-nobody-is-right
And they're going to keep on doing it as long as it continues to work.
But we do carpet bomb them with smart ordinance, like cluster bombs. Cluster bombs where the bomblets look like toys to children. So when it's unexploded ordnance, they can play with the bomblets. Until they go boom.
So that's different, right?
But they hate us for our freedoms.
"They're American bombs. They hug you to death." -- Jimmy Dore
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BMO
Russian information warriors definitely play both sides -- to the level of ridiculousness.
They were caught organising riots in Baltimore, by having trolls (sitting in the same room!), posing as both BLM activists and alt-right skinheads simultaneously, trying to organise civil unrest.
It's simply unbelievable what America in general -- and social media bosses in particular -- are allowing Putin and his vile regime to get away with.
Heads must roll.
I'm a libtard.
The Hillary viewpoint with the DNC and Podesta Emails boils down to this:
"We would have won if those meddling kids didn't expose our lies"
It's literally something out of Scooby Doo.
Trump and trumpism isn't the result of the goddamned Russians, it's the result of 40+ years of stultification of the American Public. Ever since the Southern Strategy. The Republicans have been courting the idiots ever since then, and don't fucking argue this point with me, because it was Nixon's own words as to what rubes he was going after.
And ever since then, they've become the Republican Base.
Gone are the Barry Goldwaters. The GOP (grand?) is now composed of grifters, wannabes, assholes, racists, and tools. Since this matches much of the American Public, it's no wonder that Trump won, because he is all of that, and more.
And what gets me is that the Democrats should be /hammering/ the Republicans on policy. Except that it's "Russia Russia Russia." Which the American Public doesn't give two shits about. So we have tools like Tom Perez in charge of the party, someone who would stab you in the back (politically) as much as look at you.
No platform. No policy. Just skulduggery.
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BMO
Whataboutism at its finest. Good work AC (anonymous comrade). It will work better next time if you at least go to the trouble to set up a sock-puppet account. Spread the word to your team.
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
Trump was elected by a mere 79,000 votes in some heavily targeted districts. So, 250% of Trump's "margin or victory" Very significant.
So, take heart Anonymous Comrade, you may have gotten Trump elected.
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
Adults don't think treason or confrontation with Russia or anything resulting from the whole situation is FUN. In fact, calling a national disaster fun because it humiliates a political party you dislike is the sort of thing Trump does. You're just another symptom of the same juvenile insanity Trump suffers from.
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The West doesn't carpet bomb entire villages with dumb ordinance, WW2-style like the Russians do.
No, the Americans just used WW1-style* white phosphorus bomb during the siege of Raqqa and Mosul.
*White phosphorus ammunition was first used by the British in 1916.
The worst part is that we knew it was going to happen and exactly what they would do. The leaked GCHQ manual on trolling laid out all the techniques that Russia is using. GCHQ uses them too... But apparently forgot to develop any ways to detect or defend against them.
Since GCHQ knew, that means the NSA knew as well, as also failed to do anything about it.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC