5 ms·

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 Ru

by 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.
- rashkov 11y ago
  You might find this to be a good read: The Agency "From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities." http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html
  - api 11y ago
    Wow. When I wrote the previous I half thought I might be nuts, but this is actually more paranoia-inspiring than what I was suggesting. How did I not hear about this story?!? This isn't just fake news. It's a full-blown fake event. They created -- for a period of time -- a real live sort of virtual reality in which something happened that did not happen. Unlike earlier examples of fake history, this was live! A live breaking hoax! ... and of course, we absolutely can't assume that Russia is the only government or other agency doing this. That'd be fairly naive, especially given how easy it is and the potential both for offensive intelligence and profit. Take that ball and run with it and it gets very, very dystopian. To make something up: what if Fukushima didn't happen? Obviously I'm not actually suggesting this, but as we live more and more in a digitally-informed reality how plausible does faking a world-changing event become? Could we be headed for a world where there will be large percentages of people walking around believing that totally imaginary things are happening? Think about it. What proof do you actually have that Fukushima occurred? Unless you live in Japan, the answer is: "not much." This isn't new of course, but the Internet could definitely take it to the next level by allowing a much more realistic simulation of a real event to be delivered to a wider audience. Could you actually create a full blown parallel universe and lure a good number of people into it? We're sort of there already. There are whole weird pockets of people who think all kinds of strange things that are... umm... unlikely. But the scary nightmare fuel here for me is the idea of this being industrialized and well-financed. The potential for mass manipulation is kind of freaky. Now throw specialized AI sock puppets into the mix that can impersonate millions of people discussing the same non-realities and non-events. It's mechanized information warfare -- to old propaganda it's like comparing a machine gun to a musket. How many years would you say we are away from the first AI-powered industrial scale hoax delivered say... the day of an election? There'd be two choices: let the hoaxers sway the election, or cancel the election and play into their hands in another way.

by exelius 11y ago

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.

rashkov 11y ago
You might find this to be a good read: The Agency "From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities." http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html
- api 11y ago
  Wow. When I wrote the previous I half thought I might be nuts, but this is actually more paranoia-inspiring than what I was suggesting. How did I not hear about this story?!? This isn't just fake news. It's a full-blown fake event. They created -- for a period of time -- a real live sort of virtual reality in which something happened that did not happen. Unlike earlier examples of fake history, this was live! A live breaking hoax! ... and of course, we absolutely can't assume that Russia is the only government or other agency doing this. That'd be fairly naive, especially given how easy it is and the potential both for offensive intelligence and profit. Take that ball and run with it and it gets very, very dystopian. To make something up: what if Fukushima didn't happen? Obviously I'm not actually suggesting this, but as we live more and more in a digitally-informed reality how plausible does faking a world-changing event become? Could we be headed for a world where there will be large percentages of people walking around believing that totally imaginary things are happening? Think about it. What proof do you actually have that Fukushima occurred? Unless you live in Japan, the answer is: "not much." This isn't new of course, but the Internet could definitely take it to the next level by allowing a much more realistic simulation of a real event to be delivered to a wider audience. Could you actually create a full blown parallel universe and lure a good number of people into it? We're sort of there already. There are whole weird pockets of people who think all kinds of strange things that are... umm... unlikely. But the scary nightmare fuel here for me is the idea of this being industrialized and well-financed. The potential for mass manipulation is kind of freaky. Now throw specialized AI sock puppets into the mix that can impersonate millions of people discussing the same non-realities and non-events. It's mechanized information warfare -- to old propaganda it's like comparing a machine gun to a musket. How many years would you say we are away from the first AI-powered industrial scale hoax delivered say... the day of an election? There'd be two choices: let the hoaxers sway the election, or cancel the election and play into their hands in another way.