4 ms·

All the “reopen $statename” websites were registered on the same day

107 points by enraged_camel 7y ago

enraged_camel 7y ago
The whole comment thread is fascinating, and perhaps the best evidence that this entire movement was astroturfed. I thought it was interesting the ease at which this could be detected.
- SturgeonsLaw 7y ago
  Well, copying and pasting descriptions across Facebook pages, registering all the domains at the same time with the same provider and same naming scheme, and missing WHOIS privacy are all OPSEC fails. It wouldn't have taken much effort to cover their tracks a little better. On a similar note, there is an effort underway to identify a large cluster of fake news websites set up in the same cookie-cutter manner: https://www.reddit.com/r/MassMove/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MassMove/ https://github.com/MassMove/AttackVectors https://github.com/MassMove/AttackVectors
  - wmeredith 7y ago
    OPSEC needs are minimal with the people they’re targeting.
- anthony_doan 7y ago
  It's scary to me that our country is being manipulated. Covid19 does not need to be politicalize. We're in troubled times I don't believe we need people going against experts (science/doctors/etc...).
  - heyitsguay 7y ago
    It doesn't need to be, but if you have your own interests in mind (economic, anti-US, others?), then why not? Since the rise of mass social media we've learned it's pretty easy to mindfuck a bunch of rubes, and if you get caught, the rubes will double down because nobody's ego will ever take the hit of realizing they're the rube.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Gibbon1 7y ago
    > It's scary to me that our country is being manipulated. That's because the political system is very dysfunctional and national political leaders are no longer used to coherent action.
- jgalt212 7y ago
  true, but there is the possibility of making the correct decision for the wrong reason.
Scoundreller 7y ago
For those of you that prefer the “old” reddit interface: https://old.reddit.com/r/maryland/comments/g3niq3/comment/fnstpyl https://old.reddit.com/r/maryland/comments/g3niq3/comment/fn...
- RandomBacon 7y ago
  Firefox add-on to always automatically redirect to old.reddit (also works on Firefox for Android) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/old-reddit-redirect/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/old-reddit-re...
homieg33 7y ago
What exactly is the definition of astroturfed? If it implies spending lots of money then is there evidence of that here? A few Facebook groups (free) and a few hundred dollars in domain registrations and hosting. Are these protesters being bused to rallies? What would a true grassroots movement look like these days?
- coolgeek 7y ago
  First off, grassroots vs astroturf describes a spectrum, rather than a binary or dichotomy. Astroturf implies control and/or financing by an organization. That organization might pay participants (Brooks Brothers Riot) or pay for advertising to generate support from those who would otherwise be apathetic. It is said that the Tea Party started out as grassroots, but was coopted and turned into an astroturf operation. OTOH, Occupy Wall Street rejected any kind of centralization and can thus be described as almost purely grassroots. Astroturfers often have additional, hidden goals that may be misaligned with those of the supporters that they have attracted.
- jml7c5 7y ago
  "Astroturf" means "appears grassroots, but isn't". It only implies deception. The amount of money spent or the scale of the operation is not that relevant.

107 points by enraged_camel 7y ago

The whole comment thread is fascinating, and perhaps the best evidence that this entire movement was astroturfed. I thought it was interesting the ease at which this could be detected.

SturgeonsLaw 7y ago
Well, copying and pasting descriptions across Facebook pages, registering all the domains at the same time with the same provider and same naming scheme, and missing WHOIS privacy are all OPSEC fails. It wouldn't have taken much effort to cover their tracks a little better. On a similar note, there is an effort underway to identify a large cluster of fake news websites set up in the same cookie-cutter manner: https://www.reddit.com/r/MassMove/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MassMove/ https://github.com/MassMove/AttackVectors https://github.com/MassMove/AttackVectors
- wmeredith 7y ago
  OPSEC needs are minimal with the people they’re targeting.
anthony_doan 7y ago
It's scary to me that our country is being manipulated. Covid19 does not need to be politicalize. We're in troubled times I don't believe we need people going against experts (science/doctors/etc...).
- heyitsguay 7y ago
  It doesn't need to be, but if you have your own interests in mind (economic, anti-US, others?), then why not? Since the rise of mass social media we've learned it's pretty easy to mindfuck a bunch of rubes, and if you get caught, the rubes will double down because nobody's ego will ever take the hit of realizing they're the rube.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Gibbon1 7y ago
  > It's scary to me that our country is being manipulated. That's because the political system is very dysfunctional and national political leaders are no longer used to coherent action.
jgalt212 7y ago
true, but there is the possibility of making the correct decision for the wrong reason.

Scoundreller 7y ago

For those of you that prefer the “old” reddit interface: https://old.reddit.com/r/maryland/comments/g3niq3/comment/fnstpyl https://old.reddit.com/r/maryland/comments/g3niq3/comment/fn...

RandomBacon 7y ago
Firefox add-on to always automatically redirect to old.reddit (also works on Firefox for Android) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/old-reddit-redirect/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/old-reddit-re...

homieg33 7y ago

What exactly is the definition of astroturfed? If it implies spending lots of money then is there evidence of that here? A few Facebook groups (free) and a few hundred dollars in domain registrations and hosting. Are these protesters being bused to rallies? What would a true grassroots movement look like these days?

coolgeek 7y ago
First off, grassroots vs astroturf describes a spectrum, rather than a binary or dichotomy. Astroturf implies control and/or financing by an organization. That organization might pay participants (Brooks Brothers Riot) or pay for advertising to generate support from those who would otherwise be apathetic. It is said that the Tea Party started out as grassroots, but was coopted and turned into an astroturf operation. OTOH, Occupy Wall Street rejected any kind of centralization and can thus be described as almost purely grassroots. Astroturfers often have additional, hidden goals that may be misaligned with those of the supporters that they have attracted.
jml7c5 7y ago
"Astroturf" means "appears grassroots, but isn't". It only implies deception. The amount of money spent or the scale of the operation is not that relevant.