A Deeply Fractured US

[dimsum]

So does this mean I'll stop seeing multiple Facebook posts each day telling me how magnificent Russian military equipment is?

Unlikely.

 

[OldSolduer]

So does this mean I'll stop seeing multiple Facebook posts each day telling me how magnificent Russian military equipment is?

It’s crap for the most part

 

[dimsum]

Related:

Unsealed FBI Doc Exposes Terrifying Depth of Russian Disinfo Scheme

New court documents reveal that Russia is keeping a very, very long list of influencers to spread its propaganda.

newrepublic.com

But sure, “hoax”.

 

[Furniture]

Related:

Unsealed FBI Doc Exposes Terrifying Depth of Russian Disinfo Scheme

New court documents reveal that Russia is keeping a very, very long list of influencers to spread its propaganda.

newrepublic.com

It's sad that so many people allowed their dislike of the politics of the sitting government to blind them to the reality of Russia.

 

[brihard]

Related:

Unsealed FBI Doc Exposes Terrifying Depth of Russian Disinfo Scheme

New court documents reveal that Russia is keeping a very, very long list of influencers to spread its propaganda.

newrepublic.com

Jumped out at me:

“Of particular note, the documents released Wednesday included an affidavit that noted a Russian company is keeping a list of more than 2,800 influencers world wide, about one-fifth of whom are based in the United States, to monitor and potentially groom to spread Russian propaganda.”

Sounds like things probably an us problem too.

 

[Remius]

Jumped out at me:

“Of particular note, the documents released Wednesday included an affidavit that noted a Russian company is keeping a list of more than 2,800 influencers world wide, about one-fifth of whom are based in the United States, to monitor and potentially groom to spread Russian propaganda.”

Sounds like things probably an us problem too.

Given that Lauren Chen is Canadian…

Yeah, « independant and alt journalists » that some are so enamoured with and turn to. They are likely also the most vulnerable to these types of ops. The money is hard to pass up…

 

[FJAG]

Remember when Radio Free America saturated the USSR to tell the truth to the communists behind the Iron Curtain? Well, guess what? Communications go both ways. It seems the Russians have set up an IO campaign that exploits easy access to social media and the prevalence of individuals that are either more than happy to pass on the content or amenable to whatever the compensation is for doing so. There are many ways to use the monetization system of social media. The Russians just seem to be good at it and have organized to use it.

Time to wake up.

 

[Furniture]

Given that Lauren Chen is Canadian…

Yeah, « independant and alt journalists » that some are so enamoured with and turn to. They are likely also the most vulnerable to these types of ops. The money is hard to pass up…

There is a history of mainstream journalists falling into the same trap, so lets not pretend one group is better than the other. People are susceptible to influence, whether it's money or other lures.

In this case Russia took advantage of the extremely polarized nature of Western politics at this time, and the desire of some to "own" the sitting government. If it was a Republican in the oval office, I'm sure Russia would have gone after the other end of the political spectrum.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Remember when Radio Free America saturated the USSR to tell the truth to the communists behind the Iron Curtain? Well, guess what? Communications go both ways. It seems the Russians have set up an IO campaign that exploits easy access to social media and the prevalence of individuals that are either more than happy to pass on the content or amenable to whatever the compensation is for doing so. There are many ways to use the monetization system of social media. The Russians just seem to be good at it and have organized to use it.

Time to wake up.

The sword is indeed double edged - but RFE and Voice of America (both still around today generating news content, in fact) flew their flags very clearly and you know who's talking. Now? Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe not so much in more than a few cases where content providers get cash through the back door.

Mind you, proving everything old is new again, there was always ways of "saying" things "sponsored" by governments that weren't clearly sponsored by governments.

How the CIA Funded & Supported Literary Magazines Worldwide While Waging Cultural War Against Communism

Over the course of this tumultuous year, new CIA director Mike Pompeo has repeatedly indicated that he would move the Agency in a “more aggressive direction.” In response, at least one person took on the guise of former Chilean president Salvador Allende and joked, incredulously, “more aggressive”?

www.openculture.com

 

[brihard]

Noteworthy that the legal mechanism the U.S. got them with is foreign agent registration, something we’re bringing in soon.

 

[Remius]

There is a history of mainstream journalists falling into the same trap, so lets not pretend one group is better than the other. People are susceptible to influence, whether it's money or other lures.

Right. So independent journalists aren’t always as independent as some think they might be.

In this case Russia took advantage of the extremely polarized nature of Western politics at this time, and the desire of some to "own" the sitting government. If it was a Republican in the oval office, I'm sure Russia would have gone after the other end of the political spectrum.

Right as well. I am sure there are plenty of info ops being played on all sides. In this case having Russian friendly anti Ukraine positions that the right seems to have adopted plays into their interests. They are more than happy to spread that non interventionist talking point.

 

[Furniture]

Right. So independent journalists aren’t always as independent as some think they might be.

Right as well. I am sure there are plenty of info ops being played on all sides. In this case having Russian friendly anti Ukraine positions that the right seems to have adopted plays into their interests. They are more than happy to spread that non interventionist talking point.

100%

Just like with the infamous "bot farms" from the 2016 election, Russia will play whatever game it thinks will work, and sow the most discord.

 

[Good2Golf]

Sounds like things probably an us problem too.

If you spell Russia as C-h-i-n-a, then yes.

 

[brihard]

If you spell Russia as C-h-i-n-a, then yes.

Or both

 

[Brad Sallows]

Now is a good time to remember that whatever the Russians did in 2016 was not thought to be influential enough to matter. With the cost of a presidential run in the neighbourhood of $1B, a $10M expenditure isn't much. There's no particular reason to argue that the agents provocateur are "punching above their weight", either.

 

[RangerRay]

If you spell Russia as C-h-i-n-a, then yes.

China is our biggest problem but Russia and Iran are in like dirty shirts too.

 

[dimsum]

I cover the far right for a living. This is why I wasn’t surprised to find Canadians embedded in an alleged Russian propaganda scheme

Readers may be surprised to learn a number of Canadians are actually at the centre of an alleged foreign plot in the U.S.

www.thestar.com

Another Lauren (Southern) enters the chat…

 

[Remius]

I cover the far right for a living. This is why I wasn’t surprised to find Canadians embedded in an alleged Russian propaganda scheme

Readers may be surprised to learn a number of Canadians are actually at the centre of an alleged foreign plot in the U.S.

www.thestar.com

Another Lauren (Southern) enters the chat…

Explains a lot…