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And once you start picking apart any of those examples, you'll find out that random trolls may post some stupid and false stuff, but a coordinated disinformatio
by smsm42 3y ago
And once you start picking apart any of those examples, you'll find out that random trolls may post some stupid and false stuff, but a coordinated disinformation campaign usually has either governmental or quasi-governmental entity behind it. You don't like Russians? Take covid origins. We had a campaign of suppressing the idea that Wuhan virology labs had anything to do with it. Who did that? Random trolls? No, it was (part of) scientific establishment and governmental entities. Why did they do it? Because they had in their interests that that theory was not being explored, and they had the resources to suppress dissent. Fortunately, this time they (mostly) failed, but it is the same set of entities that demands control over the information now, and if that control is given to them, next time they decide to do the same, they will succeed.
The big problem is not that Russian propaganda exists. The problem is that hiding behind the need to "rescue" citizens from Russian propaganda, other governments want to institute an information control regime that is very similar to what Russia has. If that happens in Russia, I feel their pain, but fortunately in my country I can still speak freely. But if this goes away and I also don't have freedom of speech, then it's not Russia that is doing that to me, it's my own government. And that's what I should be afraid of - not that Russian propaganda will take my freedoms, but that my on government, hiding behind the fact that Russian propaganda exists, will take away my rights - "for my own good", of course.