4 ms·

This is a long shot, but my hunch is that there's probably something political going on here. Reddit is typically the target of large scale pro-Russian propaga

This is a long shot, but my hunch is that there's probably something political going on here. Reddit is typically the target of large scale pro-Russian propaganda shilling/submissions, and, as far as I know, not well-used by Russians. With that in mind, Russia isn't actually that serious about its "war on drugs"-- it's probable that this was just a cover story.

gukov 11y ago
It's probably due to /r/UkrainianConflict/
- Uhhrrr 11y ago
  I followed that sub closely in its early days (I was worried about World War III) and I can see why Russia wouldn't like it. Pro-Russian propaganda gets called out pretty quickly. Pro-Western propaganda gets called out, too, but not as much.
  - sgfc 11y ago
    It spilled over into /u/MilitaryPorn as well. We had at least four guys from over there battling it out hard for a while with both posts and comments.
- bgilroy26 11y ago
  The discussion over there https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/3gr44w/russia_bans_reddit/ https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/3gr44w/r...
exelius 11y ago
It's all about consolidating control of the media in the hands of the Russian state. Reddit is uncontrollable, so they block it. Putin is trying to roll back Russia to the 'glory days' of communism when Russia was powerful enough to project its influence far outside its borders. I don't really think that type of state control is possible anymore -- it's just too easy to spread information around the world these days. Russia's economy is also not strong enough to make the kinds of promises (aka economic aid) that are required to gain that kind of influence in today's world. But along those lines, I would expect to see Russia block any other site that relies on user-submitted content. It's really hard to construct a narrative if everyone outside of Russia is saying something different.
- api 11y ago
  If you're looking for a rabbit hole, look into the links between elements of the Western 'alternative' media and Putin's propaganda apparatus. It's very interesting to wonder about how far this influence might go, especially since the alt-media sphere of late has become characterized by a vast array of oddly similar clearing houses for oddly similar talking points. http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2014/11/03/russian-propaganda-expose-globalresearch/ http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2014/11/03/russian-propagan... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Chossudovsky#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Chossudovsky#Criticism http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=259_1409830022 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=259_1409830022 (Warning: full foil deflector beanie mode engaged!) What do I mean by the vast array of oddly similar sock puppets? Just check your Facebook feed. You'll see a bunch of stories from sites with names like (I'm making these up but it would not surprise me if they were real) "organicrevolution.com", "upwithconsciousness.org", "globalspiritawakening.com". These sites carry a mix of conspiracy-tinged political news, "fear porn," and fluffy often new-agey click bait that looks designed to appeal to demographics that are "outside the mainstream." If I were a state propagandist targeting another state, that's who I'd single out to try to influence. (I wouldn't give two shits about their beliefs. We're talking realpolitik here.) These sites have a very stamped out look to them too, often with similar themes and designs and in some cases literally cloned content. For one actual example, try www.naturalnews.com -- "America's Truth Bureau". It has a million sock puppet clones all over the web spewing sometimes word-for-word-identical stuff. Note the "carrier wave" of new-agey and fear-porn click bait and the undercurrent of propaganda. I've been on the web since the late 1990s and I've really watched these sites spring up since around 2003-2004. The web's always had a lot of fringe and conspiracy content, but these sites are different. The style is different and the tone is different. Gone are UFOs, Roswell, the paranormal, or the other traditional tropes of www.fringe.com, replaced by what seems a different and more narrowly focused message. It seemed to get really intense around 2010 when the original pioneers of this style were joined by what seems to be thousands of stamped out sock puppet sites. I'm not exaggerating much. I feel like I can spot links with this 'style' in a second, and the domains are always different with new ones constantly appearing. The "old fringe" seems totally drowned out and marginalized now. I kind of miss it. It was a vital part of the web ecosystem. Where are my Roswell debris photos? (sniff sniff) Whether the anti-vaxx and similar stuff is merely to lure a credulous demographic or whether it represents some actual propaganda push for some mysterious reason is interesting to ponder. Psychological warfare is a real subject of study. I can speculate that maybe someone thinks invoking fear and disgust at basic "tier one" things like the food supply and the health care system is a good way to sow deep distrust. And fluoride? Fluoride scare mongering is a thing on these sites! That was John Bircher anti-commie propaganda, so I wonder if someone in the Kremlin thinks it's freaking hilarious to remix it and spew it back at us. It looks like the kind of web hydra that SEO-oriented content mills might churn out, but why? Who's writing those checks? Content mills and black hat SEO specialists definitely do not work for free. I guess it could be the alt-med industry, but we're talking about a now about ten year old octopus with many sock-covered tentacles. That's expensive. And why the political spin? Foil hats might be reasonable here, especially given the actual connections suggested in the links above. If only there were actual investigative journalists who investigated things. Sigh. BTW... I am in no way implying that we should all become jingo pro-Americans and drop any "counterculture" ideas we might have. I'm just saying people need to not be naive about the fact that there is more than one propaganda apparatus in the world. Something tells me Putin's goal (if it is him) is not to raise global consciousness and usher in the Age of Aquarius. If it's the alt-med industry, their goal is to elevate your spirit by removing weight from your wallet.
xentronium 11y ago
Roskomnadzor (the organization managing the runet blacklist) is known to ban sites for absurd reasons. For example, they added[1] github for a very old text about ridiculous ways to kill oneself (for example, as far as I remember, "sticking two pencils into your nose" and "pressing the Red Button" among them). After github blocked these for Russian ip addresses, the service was restored. Either way, in this case I'd bet on incompetence rather than political play. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8401784 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8401784 — relevant HN submission

gukov 11y ago

It's probably due to /r/UkrainianConflict/

Uhhrrr 11y ago
I followed that sub closely in its early days (I was worried about World War III) and I can see why Russia wouldn't like it. Pro-Russian propaganda gets called out pretty quickly. Pro-Western propaganda gets called out, too, but not as much.
- sgfc 11y ago
  It spilled over into /u/MilitaryPorn as well. We had at least four guys from over there battling it out hard for a while with both posts and comments.
bgilroy26 11y ago
The discussion over there https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/3gr44w/russia_bans_reddit/ https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/3gr44w/r...

exelius 11y ago

It's all about consolidating control of the media in the hands of the Russian state. Reddit is uncontrollable, so they block it. Putin is trying to roll back Russia to the 'glory days' of communism when Russia was powerful enough to project its influence far outside its borders. I don't really think that type of state control is possible anymore -- it's just too easy to spread information around the world these days. Russia's economy is also not strong enough to make the kinds of promises (aka economic aid) that are required to gain that kind of influence in today's world. But along those lines, I would expect to see Russia block any other site that relies on user-submitted content. It's really hard to construct a narrative if everyone outside of Russia is saying something different.

api 11y ago
If you're looking for a rabbit hole, look into the links between elements of the Western 'alternative' media and Putin's propaganda apparatus. It's very interesting to wonder about how far this influence might go, especially since the alt-media sphere of late has become characterized by a vast array of oddly similar clearing houses for oddly similar talking points. http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2014/11/03/russian-propaganda-expose-globalresearch/ http://toinformistoinfluence.com/2014/11/03/russian-propagan... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Chossudovsky#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Chossudovsky#Criticism http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=259_1409830022 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=259_1409830022 (Warning: full foil deflector beanie mode engaged!) What do I mean by the vast array of oddly similar sock puppets? Just check your Facebook feed. You'll see a bunch of stories from sites with names like (I'm making these up but it would not surprise me if they were real) "organicrevolution.com", "upwithconsciousness.org", "globalspiritawakening.com". These sites carry a mix of conspiracy-tinged political news, "fear porn," and fluffy often new-agey click bait that looks designed to appeal to demographics that are "outside the mainstream." If I were a state propagandist targeting another state, that's who I'd single out to try to influence. (I wouldn't give two shits about their beliefs. We're talking realpolitik here.) These sites have a very stamped out look to them too, often with similar themes and designs and in some cases literally cloned content. For one actual example, try www.naturalnews.com -- "America's Truth Bureau". It has a million sock puppet clones all over the web spewing sometimes word-for-word-identical stuff. Note the "carrier wave" of new-agey and fear-porn click bait and the undercurrent of propaganda. I've been on the web since the late 1990s and I've really watched these sites spring up since around 2003-2004. The web's always had a lot of fringe and conspiracy content, but these sites are different. The style is different and the tone is different. Gone are UFOs, Roswell, the paranormal, or the other traditional tropes of www.fringe.com, replaced by what seems a different and more narrowly focused message. It seemed to get really intense around 2010 when the original pioneers of this style were joined by what seems to be thousands of stamped out sock puppet sites. I'm not exaggerating much. I feel like I can spot links with this 'style' in a second, and the domains are always different with new ones constantly appearing. The "old fringe" seems totally drowned out and marginalized now. I kind of miss it. It was a vital part of the web ecosystem. Where are my Roswell debris photos? (sniff sniff) Whether the anti-vaxx and similar stuff is merely to lure a credulous demographic or whether it represents some actual propaganda push for some mysterious reason is interesting to ponder. Psychological warfare is a real subject of study. I can speculate that maybe someone thinks invoking fear and disgust at basic "tier one" things like the food supply and the health care system is a good way to sow deep distrust. And fluoride? Fluoride scare mongering is a thing on these sites! That was John Bircher anti-commie propaganda, so I wonder if someone in the Kremlin thinks it's freaking hilarious to remix it and spew it back at us. It looks like the kind of web hydra that SEO-oriented content mills might churn out, but why? Who's writing those checks? Content mills and black hat SEO specialists definitely do not work for free. I guess it could be the alt-med industry, but we're talking about a now about ten year old octopus with many sock-covered tentacles. That's expensive. And why the political spin? Foil hats might be reasonable here, especially given the actual connections suggested in the links above. If only there were actual investigative journalists who investigated things. Sigh. BTW... I am in no way implying that we should all become jingo pro-Americans and drop any "counterculture" ideas we might have. I'm just saying people need to not be naive about the fact that there is more than one propaganda apparatus in the world. Something tells me Putin's goal (if it is him) is not to raise global consciousness and usher in the Age of Aquarius. If it's the alt-med industry, their goal is to elevate your spirit by removing weight from your wallet.

xentronium 11y ago

Roskomnadzor (the organization managing the runet blacklist) is known to ban sites for absurd reasons. For example, they added[1] github for a very old text about ridiculous ways to kill oneself (for example, as far as I remember, "sticking two pencils into your nose" and "pressing the Red Button" among them). After github blocked these for Russian ip addresses, the service was restored. Either way, in this case I'd bet on incompetence rather than political play. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8401784 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8401784 — relevant HN submission