5 ms·

The method in question is here RT using Twitter advertising to reach out to millions of Twitter users. RT itself is small but the reach comes from the cheap adv

The method in question is here RT using Twitter advertising to reach out to millions of Twitter users. RT itself is small but the reach comes from the cheap advertising. They spent ~ $250k in total which is pretty small compared to total ad budget of a number of PACs. There are many individuals who donate more than that amount and could easily spend it on Twitter ads.

leggomylibro 9y ago
They also spent a lot of man-hours spreading and sharing that content, making it look like it was supported by 'American citizen' sockpuppet accounts, and coordinating that effort across several platforms to actively drive a consistent and singular message. Not the sort of thing that a grassroots could easily manage; buying a few hundred ads was just a small part of the wider propaganda and sabotage. Twitter has just been complete shit at figuring out what happened on their platform, anyways; half of their 'identifications' come from, "Facebook told us this account was a sockpuppet on their platform..."
- grandalf 9y ago
  What content are you talking about? RT has published a lot of great stories that are are not flattering to the US (such as about the Flint Michigan water crisis) but are absolutely legitimate news stories that our corporate media doesn't care to report on. Might RT simply have the goal of getting a foothold in American news reporting by serving an underserved market? If learning more about the drastic mishandling of the Flint Michigan water crisis stirs class conflict in America, are you telling me you think that is a bad thing? It's what is missing from our democracy!
  - FilterSweep 9y ago
    > Might RT simply have the goal of getting a foothold in American news reporting by serving an underserved market? What, exactly is the underserved market here? Who exactly are they serving with propaganda?
    - grandalf 9y ago
      > propaganda What is the propaganda you are referring to? You seem to assume all of RT's content is propaganda but can't name or link to any stories that qualify. Lol.
  - leggomylibro 9y ago
    Sure, and so was Al Jazeera, but you still have to recognize that they are literally mouthpieces for the nations of Russia and Qatar, respectively. It's like Voice of America. They can break real stories of corruption and dysfunction, but I'd like to see them investigated and picked up by a more impartial source before I'm going to give them much headroom. Which is another reason why local journalism is so important and criminalizing/demonizing it for being unflattering is so heinous.
FilterSweep 9y ago
> They spent ~ $250k in total which is pretty small compared to total ad budget of a number of PACs. One could argue their reach is more efficient than pulling out a million dollar 30 second ad aired to less people. Also consider the millions in marketing materials that RT don't need.

leggomylibro 9y ago

They also spent a lot of man-hours spreading and sharing that content, making it look like it was supported by 'American citizen' sockpuppet accounts, and coordinating that effort across several platforms to actively drive a consistent and singular message. Not the sort of thing that a grassroots could easily manage; buying a few hundred ads was just a small part of the wider propaganda and sabotage. Twitter has just been complete shit at figuring out what happened on their platform, anyways; half of their 'identifications' come from, "Facebook told us this account was a sockpuppet on their platform..."

grandalf 9y ago
What content are you talking about? RT has published a lot of great stories that are are not flattering to the US (such as about the Flint Michigan water crisis) but are absolutely legitimate news stories that our corporate media doesn't care to report on. Might RT simply have the goal of getting a foothold in American news reporting by serving an underserved market? If learning more about the drastic mishandling of the Flint Michigan water crisis stirs class conflict in America, are you telling me you think that is a bad thing? It's what is missing from our democracy!
- FilterSweep 9y ago
  > Might RT simply have the goal of getting a foothold in American news reporting by serving an underserved market? What, exactly is the underserved market here? Who exactly are they serving with propaganda?
  - grandalf 9y ago
    > propaganda What is the propaganda you are referring to? You seem to assume all of RT's content is propaganda but can't name or link to any stories that qualify. Lol.
- leggomylibro 9y ago
  Sure, and so was Al Jazeera, but you still have to recognize that they are literally mouthpieces for the nations of Russia and Qatar, respectively. It's like Voice of America. They can break real stories of corruption and dysfunction, but I'd like to see them investigated and picked up by a more impartial source before I'm going to give them much headroom. Which is another reason why local journalism is so important and criminalizing/demonizing it for being unflattering is so heinous.

FilterSweep 9y ago

> They spent ~ $250k in total which is pretty small compared to total ad budget of a number of PACs. One could argue their reach is more efficient than pulling out a million dollar 30 second ad aired to less people. Also consider the millions in marketing materials that RT don't need.