iLander
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- May 23, 2010
- Messages
- 6,731
We recently had a very active troll here, and I grew increasingly suspicious of her. Near-constant postings, rude remarks, bombastic and aggressive in the extreme. At one point I told her I thought she was a Russian troll, only half-believing it myself. As she went on, many of us stopped posting here and went to other forums or venues.
But then I read this old article in the NYTimes (from 2015!) and my suspicion is not as crazy as it seems. The article is about the Russian troll farm work within their own country, but according to our intelligence they used their propaganda machine against us during the election. Article is fascinating with interviews of troll farm employees and examples of how it all works, and how it used in the US even before the election.
Full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html?_r=0
Excerpts:
One Russian newspaper put the number of employees at 400, with a budget of at least 20 million rubles (roughly $400,000) a month. During her time in the organization, there were many departments, creating content for every popular social network: LiveJournal, which remains popular in Russia; VKontakte, Russia’s homegrown version of Facebook; Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; and the comment sections of Russian news outlets. One employee estimated the operation filled 40 rooms.
Also, by working every day to spread Kremlin propaganda, the paid trolls have made it impossible for the normal Internet user to separate truth from fiction.
“The point is to spoil it, to create the atmosphere of hate, to make it so stinky that normal people won’t want to touch it,” Volkov said, when we met in the office of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. “You have to remember the Internet population of Russia is just over 50 percent. The rest are yet to join, and when they join it’s very important what is their first impression.” The Internet still remains the one medium where the opposition can reliably get its message out. But their message is now surrounded by so much garbage from trolls that readers can become resistant before the message even gets to them.
PS is an extremely large forum, do not believe for one minute that it is "too small" to attract the attention of a troll farm. My point is not to attack a single member, it is to make everyone suspicious of aggressive interactions on the internet. Interactions that are so rude, so painful, that they make you want to walk away. These could be the work of a paid professional.
BE SKEPTICAL. For me it's a reflex, I think everyone needs to learn it.
But then I read this old article in the NYTimes (from 2015!) and my suspicion is not as crazy as it seems. The article is about the Russian troll farm work within their own country, but according to our intelligence they used their propaganda machine against us during the election. Article is fascinating with interviews of troll farm employees and examples of how it all works, and how it used in the US even before the election.
Full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html?_r=0
Excerpts:
One Russian newspaper put the number of employees at 400, with a budget of at least 20 million rubles (roughly $400,000) a month. During her time in the organization, there were many departments, creating content for every popular social network: LiveJournal, which remains popular in Russia; VKontakte, Russia’s homegrown version of Facebook; Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; and the comment sections of Russian news outlets. One employee estimated the operation filled 40 rooms.
Also, by working every day to spread Kremlin propaganda, the paid trolls have made it impossible for the normal Internet user to separate truth from fiction.
“The point is to spoil it, to create the atmosphere of hate, to make it so stinky that normal people won’t want to touch it,” Volkov said, when we met in the office of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. “You have to remember the Internet population of Russia is just over 50 percent. The rest are yet to join, and when they join it’s very important what is their first impression.” The Internet still remains the one medium where the opposition can reliably get its message out. But their message is now surrounded by so much garbage from trolls that readers can become resistant before the message even gets to them.
PS is an extremely large forum, do not believe for one minute that it is "too small" to attract the attention of a troll farm. My point is not to attack a single member, it is to make everyone suspicious of aggressive interactions on the internet. Interactions that are so rude, so painful, that they make you want to walk away. These could be the work of a paid professional.
BE SKEPTICAL. For me it's a reflex, I think everyone needs to learn it.
I'm sure this post is full of typos, I'm tired.
nothing you say would bother me, so...SOCK IT TO ME BABY!!..
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