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Unless you are an American aggressor who can manipulate social media to weaken your enemy from within.

koonsolo 1y ago
This became very clear to me after the pandemic, visiting Slovakia. Before the pandemic, I heard some weird things from older Slovaks, such as EU has decided that kids must name their parents "parent1" and "parent2", and if they don't they will take your kids away. Absolutely bonkers. Then during the pandemic, all the typical anti-vax rhetoric really took hold there, like crazy. Then after the pandemic, all those anti-vaxers all of a sudden got pro-Russia. Which makes no sense when you think about that, because both have nothing to do with each other. At that point, I realised Russia was doing their campaigns way before covid already, but it got an extra boost thanks to it. And now Slovaks elected prime minister Fico attended the Russian military parade. The ironic part is that these anti-vaxers like to call the rest of us "sheep", but in the end they are the sheep that are lead straight to the slaughter house.
- ActorNightly 1y ago
  I firmly believe now that if someone has the privilege of feeling so strongly about something that has no real or observable effect on them, but they still chose to act according to that feeling, its because their life is so good that they don't actually have anything real to worry about, and instead, they must create fictional problems in their head to make it seem like they are doing something good.
- npteljes 1y ago
  Same here in Hungary. EU will also make us eat bugs instead of meat (which we already do with E120....) and they are making the people gay somehow as well. Absolute nonsense, and reeks of foreign interference.
MathMonkeyMan 1y ago
I've read comments like this on hacker news more and more recently. What narrative is behind it, and what is the evidence for this narrative? Is it "Enemies of the USA are deploying social media based psyops that destabilize the country by astroturfing propaganda?" That's an interesting idea, probably true, but also sounds like a conspiracy theory. Even if it is true, how would we know to what extent it affects public opinion? Or maybe you're referring to something else.
- woleium 1y ago
  Russia has systematically used social media to spread propaganda and disinformation within the United States, targeting the general public and specific groups to influence political attitudes, exacerbate divisions, and interfere in electoral processes. These efforts have been well-documented by academic research, U.S. intelligence assessments, and criminal indictments. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35576-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35576-9 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-us-election-interference-websites-influencers-1.7313197 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-us-election-interferenc... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_20...

This became very clear to me after the pandemic, visiting Slovakia. Before the pandemic, I heard some weird things from older Slovaks, such as EU has decided that kids must name their parents "parent1" and "parent2", and if they don't they will take your kids away. Absolutely bonkers. Then during the pandemic, all the typical anti-vax rhetoric really took hold there, like crazy. Then after the pandemic, all those anti-vaxers all of a sudden got pro-Russia. Which makes no sense when you think about that, because both have nothing to do with each other. At that point, I realised Russia was doing their campaigns way before covid already, but it got an extra boost thanks to it. And now Slovaks elected prime minister Fico attended the Russian military parade. The ironic part is that these anti-vaxers like to call the rest of us "sheep", but in the end they are the sheep that are lead straight to the slaughter house.

ActorNightly 1y ago
I firmly believe now that if someone has the privilege of feeling so strongly about something that has no real or observable effect on them, but they still chose to act according to that feeling, its because their life is so good that they don't actually have anything real to worry about, and instead, they must create fictional problems in their head to make it seem like they are doing something good.
npteljes 1y ago
Same here in Hungary. EU will also make us eat bugs instead of meat (which we already do with E120....) and they are making the people gay somehow as well. Absolute nonsense, and reeks of foreign interference.

MathMonkeyMan 1y ago

I've read comments like this on hacker news more and more recently. What narrative is behind it, and what is the evidence for this narrative? Is it "Enemies of the USA are deploying social media based psyops that destabilize the country by astroturfing propaganda?" That's an interesting idea, probably true, but also sounds like a conspiracy theory. Even if it is true, how would we know to what extent it affects public opinion? Or maybe you're referring to something else.

woleium 1y ago
Russia has systematically used social media to spread propaganda and disinformation within the United States, targeting the general public and specific groups to influence political attitudes, exacerbate divisions, and interfere in electoral processes. These efforts have been well-documented by academic research, U.S. intelligence assessments, and criminal indictments. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35576-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35576-9 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-us-election-interference-websites-influencers-1.7313197 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-us-election-interferenc... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_20...