tech

More governments manipulate media with 'bots,' trolls: study

15 Comments
By Rob Lever

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Ironically, posts that counter factually questionable statements are often deleted. If they are completely off-topic; all well and good but slightly jarring that original statements can remain unchallenged.

Just me being precious, of course.

I think fake news is going to get a lot more messy in future.

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Now the world knows what Trump's "fake news" consists of -- Russian lies that Americans fall for, hook, line, and sinker.

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Anti-fascists stopped Mosley's rise. They stepped up and rained on his parade in the East end of London in 1936.

As a very young boy my old neighbour in Hackney was taken to see Mosley's Blackshirts march through the East End by his father. I guess it was what became known as the Battle of Cable Street. His father hoisted him up onto his shoulders and he clearly remembered seeing women hanging out of upper storey windows fling the contents of their chamberpots over the marching Blackshirts and their supporters down below. Some people got fire hoses and turned them on the fascists, gave them a real soaking, he said. The fascists got a battering that day and never tried it again, he said.

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I have opposed fascism since the early 70s but not by violent means, they are not necessary, reduce you to the same level as the opposition and ultimately undermine the democracy you are purportedly seeking to defend.

I'm all for non-violent means of opposing fascism & I don't want to Godwin but standing by when society slides into fascist ways... well, it doesn't always work out so well.

If we had grown up brutalised in, say, SA or NI/6 counties - seen friends and family interned, beaten, denied equal rights and all that goes with that oppression - would we have just stood by?

It's a difficult scenario and one, if I'm being honest, I can't really give a definite answer to.

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Toasted HereticToday 06:58 pm JST

Nelson Mandela and the ANC were once labelled terrorists

No matter how much you (or I) disapprove of the SA reigime of the time, the ANC were a terrorist organisation, their campaign of murder, destruction and intimidation can not be catagorised as anything else. Because they now have achieved a mantle of respectability does not change the nature of their past actions.

Any organisation that proposes, advocates, supports or carries out acts of violence to advance their political aims (no matter how abhorrent those they oppose may be) are by definition terrorists. If that is what Antifa does then they are a terrorist organisation.

I have opposed fascism since the early 70s but not by violent means, they are not necessary, reduce you to the same level as the opposition and ultimately undermine the democracy you are purportedly seeking to defend.

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It's common in Japan too. Right here on JT.

Yes, and only a troll would deny it. Sadly, it's all over the internet now.

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Antifa is an abbreviation for anti-fascism. This is a movement that dates back to the 1930's.

Yes, I know. They brawled with the brown shirts in the streets until the people became fed up and decided that they would settle for the Nazis over the Communists if it would finally restore order to the streets. If I were you, I'd be careful that you don't push people to make that choice again. I'm convinced that Trump managed to get elected because certain elements on the left have become far too extreme to be palatable to centrist voters like myself. Antifa is an example of that.

The bots and trolls will continue to do down the opponents of white nationalism and racists.

But if you look at some of the ads that Russian trolls were buying on Facebook, they were creating entire pages promoting precisely the extreme black identity politics in America that the far left does. So the strange truth of the matter is that rather than 'doing you down', they actually decided that just amplifying the far-left message verbatim was divisive enough by itself. Isn't that pretty damning of leftwing identity politics?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/30/blacktivist-facebook-account-russia-us-election

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Antifa is an abbreviation for anti-fascism. This is a movement that dates back to the 1930's.

I believe in non-violence but I'd be pretty foolish to pretend you can fight nazis with hugs.

I'd rather be associated with anti-fascism than said nazis. If that makes me foolish, so be it.

The bots and trolls will continue to do down the opponents of white nationalism and racists. That is why standing up to such nefarious ideologies is more important than ever.

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@Toasted Heretic

Apart from violent tactics, Antifa have my full support.

Yes, I've noticed. You've been praising Antifa alot in your comments, even suggesting that they should win the Nobel Prize. I don't mean to sound like a preachy parent here but my advice would be to distance yourself from any group or movement that even remotely advocates or tolerates violence. You can advocate for ideas you believe in without promoting a specific group that will, or has already, spiralled out of control. Trust me, it is not going to end well and you will look back and regret it one day. We are not living under apartheid and you are not Nelson Mandela, obviously. Setting cars on fire, punching people in the face, preventing people from expressing beliefs you disagree with, and trashing supermarkets in Hamburg in an effort to destroy capitalism and bring about the revolution is not something anybody should be proud of or wish to be associated with. At best, you are not helping anyone, at worst, we will see people elect another Hitler to restore order in the streets just like in the 1930s.

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Nelson Mandela and the ANC were once labelled terrorists. If Antifa are "terrorists", so be it.

Just because InfoWars claims NJ Homeland Security recognises them, doesn't make it true.

I don't recognise that news outlet as a truthful one and I definitely don't recognise US Homeland having any jurisdiction outside of the States.

Do people here really believe they only cropped up in the last few months? They've been around in various forms since the 1930's, all over the world.

And it's not an organisation, as such. It's a movement.

Apart from violent tactics, Antifa have my full support.

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Governments should be kept away from the Fourth Estate - be wary when government control creeps in

Some government leaders know they have to control as much media as possible because that's the way to control the population

Bloggers who attract more than 3,000 daily visitors must register their personal details with the Russian government

Damn, ya have to be registered there with the government for even the simplest of things now - they should start by registering their troll factories' workers' personal details

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It's common in Japan too. Right here on JT.

Do you really think there are paid trolls here on JT? I'm a bit sceptical. I've seen a few accusations directed at posters who comment on Russia related stories, but I tend to think that those posters are just contrarians and conspiracy theorists rather than paid trolls. There are alot of people who have a Russia fetish because of video games or movies. If they are paid trolls, they are quite ineffective in my opinion.

I think the bigger danger to civil discourse is dismissing the arguments of people we vehemently disagree with just because we now assume that they are paid trolls. If the propaganda they are spreading is stupid, it can be countered with reason and logic and I trust people to see through it.

I'm a bit worried about where the media is going with the fake news/paid trolls agenda, especially considering that they have their own financial incentives in discrediting the alternative media where these trolls and fake news purveyors are said to operate.

@Toasted Heretic

Sorry, but Antifa fits every definition of a terrorist organisation. They deliberately use violence and cause destruction around the world in an effort to silence and intimidate people and governments into submitting to their political agenda. If you think their tactics are in any way acceptable, it reflects very poorly on you.

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Nice try to slip Antifa in there. They actually are a terrorist organization as identified by the state of New Jersey office of Homeland security.

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No doubt about it.

Another interesting article here

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41982569

And the misinformation is spread and dissemintated and lapped up.

You have people believing that antifa is a terrorist organisation, London is a no-go area etc etc.

InfoWars and Breitbart and the varios Russian troll factories have achieved many of their goals, sowing division, uncertainty, mistrust and anarchy.

If it wasn't so destructive; you'd almost have to applaud their audacity.

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It's common in Japan too. Right here on JT.

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