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I don't disagree with you in principle and I don't think it's at all clear that the Russian boogeyman had the significant influence on election results in the w

I don't disagree with you in principle and I don't think it's at all clear that the Russian boogeyman had the significant influence on election results in the west that many media outlets pretend, but at the same time the idea that a hypothetical "true" democracy should be able to take all misinformation campaigns thrown at it seems to be heavily idealistic. I don't think we really have any historical basis to make that claim since there was never such a tool for spreading global misinformation as the internet before. Maybe democracies won't be able to take it? Maybe they can, who knows. (I am somewhat optimistic though since the radical election results in the west can plausibly be explained even without foreign meddling.)

craftyguy 9y ago
Radical election results are not a recent problem suddenly brought about by the internet. Hitler didn't rely on foreign meddling on the internet to get elected. This is not a new problem, and we (the US) would be wise to look at historical breakdowns of the democratic process to understand how they happened and take active actions to prevent it from happening again. (I'm somewhat pessimistic that we won't, and it'll happen again. I just hope it's not within my lifetime)
TAForObvReasons 9y ago
The part that was wholly unexpected was that the leadership of a political party would embrace rather than reject illegal foreign intervention when they had the chance. And for those that think GOP leadership didn't know about it, there was leaked audio that certainly suggests Paul Ryan was aware: > “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia. > Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.” > Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house-majority-leader-to-colleagues-in-2016-i-think-putin-pays-trump/2017/05/17/515f6f8a-3aff-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house...

craftyguy 9y ago

Radical election results are not a recent problem suddenly brought about by the internet. Hitler didn't rely on foreign meddling on the internet to get elected. This is not a new problem, and we (the US) would be wise to look at historical breakdowns of the democratic process to understand how they happened and take active actions to prevent it from happening again. (I'm somewhat pessimistic that we won't, and it'll happen again. I just hope it's not within my lifetime)

TAForObvReasons 9y ago

The part that was wholly unexpected was that the leadership of a political party would embrace rather than reject illegal foreign intervention when they had the chance. And for those that think GOP leadership didn't know about it, there was leaked audio that certainly suggests Paul Ryan was aware: > “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia. > Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.” > Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house-majority-leader-to-colleagues-in-2016-i-think-putin-pays-trump/2017/05/17/515f6f8a-3aff-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house...