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I don't think it's just government, but also likely industries as well. I've seen what could only be trolling for support of nuclear power and the medical indus
by RobertRoberts 7y ago
I don't think it's just government, but also likely industries as well. I've seen what could only be trolling for support of nuclear power and the medical industry.
- Shivetya 7y agoanyone with a vested interest on any side of an argument is a candidate for these types of services. we can all go pick the groups we don't like, paint with that broad brush, but in the end we need to realize that all sides do this and we need to be aware. with the internet comes a lot of freedom and this is part of the price of having it because you can bet there is a politician waiting in the wings who will ask you to let them muzzle someone to protect you all the while another politician may be selling your right to speak.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoI disagree that all sides do this. Some sides simply have no money or resources to hire professional trolls. For example home owners that do not want a nuclear reactor in their backyard are not likely candidates for troll farms, but huge energy companies (or whomever) are.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoBased on my personal experience, being one of the few pro-nuclear voices in the ostensibly anti-nuclear social media [filter bubble], I'm half-inclined to accuse you of being an anti-nuclear shill. But I think you're not, we just live in different filter bubbles. As for nuclear NIMBYs, sure, individually they don't have the money (I'm a nuclear YIMBY, and I don't have it either). But there's plenty of organizations with money and influence, campaigning against nuclear - e.g. fossil fuel industry, Greenpeace. So I'm going to back the GP - everyone does that.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoThat's a fair assessment, it's hard to really tell anyone's true motivations. But that is why it's so hard to tell who is a paid shill and who is genuinely invested in their beliefs/position. It's the vastness of comments that I find as evidence of something wrong, not specific posts.
- gdy 7y agoThere is vastness of comments about climate change and the need to do something about it. They all must be written by trolls.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoDoesn't it seem reasonable to believe that some are from trolls?
- gdy 7y ago'Some' is a vague word.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoI meant "some comments".
- gdy 7y agoI meant, how many is 'some'?
- rexpop 7y ago> Some sides simply have no money or resources to hire professional trolls. This is crucial. I think it makes sense to recognize how, since the invention of speech, there have been those who accrue power by hiring professional trolls.
- plughs 7y agoThough one thing we learned from the last election is that troll farms can push extreme views on both sides of an issue just to encourage division. If you believe all pro-nuclear-energy people are extremist environmental nuts, or all anti-nuclear-energy are anti-science luddites, then you've got a lot of people who are going to be easy to manipulate, since they won't ever entertain any argument from the other side.
- kortilla 7y agoThat’s hopelessly naive, there are significantly powerful organizations representing NIMBY movements. [1] 1. https://www.sierraclub.org/nuclear-free https://www.sierraclub.org/nuclear-free
- RobertRoberts 7y agoSure, but this is also an industry, they are a "belief" industry, but it's not poor people, and it's not individuals. It's either really rich people or some kind of corporate body. (or governments obviously) Am I missing a group?
- Twixes 7y agoWhat do nuclear power trolls look like? I support nuclear power (instead of fossil fuels and in addition to renewables) and, sadly, I haven't got a cent from the nuclear industry yet.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoYou will see "we need nuclear power because it's the greenest/most renewable/etc... energy" type posts dispersed all through social media almost anywhere there's a discussion about climate change, renewable energy, etc... Even if the original topic was only tangentially related it will get changed. A post with puppy photos can turn into a climate change discussion because "nuclear power is so green". It's so common now that it's uncanny.
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoIt's also possible that the self selected bunch of people who discuss energy on HN happen to like nuclear more than the general public. It doesn't have to be trolls.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoI don't tend to find comments on HN the same as other social media because discussion is often brought up because of comments. Drive-by comment bombing doesn't work here the same as other places.
- philwelch 7y agoI could characterize this entire argument of yours as "drive-by comment bombing", thus backing my (facetious, rhetorical) claim that you are a shill for the photovoltaic industry.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoDo you believe only government pays trolls to comment online? And no industry does this?
- lawn 7y agoThe cryptocurrency space is overrun by trolls on social media as well. Some even target HN, although it's far from how bad it is on Reddit or Twitter.
- irascible 7y agoThere is a very straightforward argument that nuclear energy is literally the ONLY thing that will save us from global environmental catastrophe. There is also a straightforward argument to be made that while the medical industry isn't perfect.. antidepressants save lives. So if those were some of your primary troll-beefs.. take it from this white male tech male worker in his mid 40s.. I'm not getting paid for those opinions.
- ivanhoe 7y agoIt's possible that there're trolling attempts too, but there's a lot of real (and smart) people who're truly passionate about nuclear power as the best option - to the point that it looks like trolling. Solar vs nuclear is kinda new tabs vs spaces type of thing, very high emotional stakes on the both sides.
- antisemiotic 7y agoGood old "anyone ineptly arguing against my core beliefs must be a paid troll": https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Shill_gambit https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Shill_gambit