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Why? Govs doing influence campaigns was admitted during the twitter files [1]. While it's the US-relationship, Twitter is a global company so they're going to

by lesuorac 11mo ago

Why? Govs doing influence campaigns was admitted during the twitter files [1]. While it's the US-relationship, Twitter is a global company so they're going to have other country relationships. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_Files#Nos._8%E2%80%939:_Relationship_with_the_U.S._government https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_Files#Nos._8%E2%80%939...

simonw 11mo ago
I doubt most of this is foreign government influence campaigns. I think it's more that Twitter will pay you to post clickbait, and if you are in Africa or many parts of Asia the amount you can earn is significant. There was some great reporting about Macedonian teenagers doing this kind of thing back in 2016 - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fake-news-how-partying-macedonian-teen-earns-thousands-publishing-lies-n692451 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fake-news-how-partying-ma... - it was actually the origin of the term "fake news" before Trump redefined it to mean any mainstream media coverage that he didn't like.
epistasis 11mo ago
First, the government wasn't doing influence campaigns, and the "Twitter Files" had all been reported before, it was just a PR campaign for Musk to try to lessen trust among the populace. Second, this is about foreign influence driving a lot of the self-destructive politics in the US. Right now the US is going through economic and political destruction a lot like Brexit, and it should be no surprise that it's being lead by those outside of the US who want to make the US weaker.
- lesuorac 11mo ago
  > First, the government wasn't doing influence campaigns, and the "Twitter Files" had all been reported before My guy, there's like 40 words between my post and the source try reading them. They were doing influence campaigns ... > [1] documents that showed the Twitter Site Integrity Team whitelisted accounts from United States Central Command (CENTCOM) used to run online influence campaigns in other countries
  - bigyabai 11mo ago
    How does that relate to covert influence networks targeting the US?
    - lesuorac 11mo ago
      How drunk on American exceptionalism are you that you can't think if the US does something then somebody else does too? Why would twitter need to whitelist US influence campaigns? Because they're banning foreign ones! Reading between the lines is going to be a very useful skill in your career; don't just take things at face value, exaime what the thing means for its surroundings.
      - bigyabai 11mo ago
        I'm asking you to prove what you're claiming. Your assertion has nothing to do with your evidence, so I want you to re-tread the Twitter Files and find the part that documents the American government operating domestic influence campaigns. The original comment is correct, and your diversions have done nothing to refute them. The Twitter Files was a failed PR campaign by Musk that tried to demonize Twitter and justify his leadership. Maybe Elon would have had better luck if he exposed this campaign you're describing, but he didn't. Gotta save something for the X Files, I guess.
        lesuorac 11mo ago
        > so I want you to re-tread the Twitter Files and find the part that documents the American government operating domestic influence campaigns. Why would I re-tread the twitter files when you won't even open the wikipedia link I initially posted that has the evidence you've spent two accounts and 3 posts asking for?
deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]
tstrimple 11mo ago
The Twitter Files has to be one of the most direct tells for idiocy that humans have invented. It's almost on the same level as the Mueller Report for right wing clowns with zero understanding of the world pointing to it as if it's some sort of proof. Meanwhile, anyone with any literacy can actually read the reports and find they state the opposite of what conservatives often claim. Unfortunately illiteracy rates are at incredible highs right now and it shows everywhere, including hackernews.
- ModernMech 11mo ago
  Trump: The Mueller report exonerates me. Mueller Report: “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
croon 11mo ago
I find it curious that the "Twitter Files" were never actually made available anywhere. Anyhow, I checked your link, and the source for your statement, is simply an article containing another statement, namely this: > “The same day CENTCOM sent the list, Twitter officials used a tool to grant a special “whitelist” tag that essentially provides verification status to the accounts w/o the blue check, meaning they are exempt from spam/abuse flags, more visible/likely to trend on hashtags,” Fang said. I'd be interested in reading the "Twitter Files" corroborating this. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I am definitely saying the files would be incredibly easy to defend were they simply released for public consumption and not slowly filtered out over time in short tweets by a few reporters selected by Elon Musk. Is this an unfair take?

simonw 11mo ago

I doubt most of this is foreign government influence campaigns. I think it's more that Twitter will pay you to post clickbait, and if you are in Africa or many parts of Asia the amount you can earn is significant. There was some great reporting about Macedonian teenagers doing this kind of thing back in 2016 - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fake-news-how-partying-macedonian-teen-earns-thousands-publishing-lies-n692451 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fake-news-how-partying-ma... - it was actually the origin of the term "fake news" before Trump redefined it to mean any mainstream media coverage that he didn't like.

epistasis 11mo ago

First, the government wasn't doing influence campaigns, and the "Twitter Files" had all been reported before, it was just a PR campaign for Musk to try to lessen trust among the populace. Second, this is about foreign influence driving a lot of the self-destructive politics in the US. Right now the US is going through economic and political destruction a lot like Brexit, and it should be no surprise that it's being lead by those outside of the US who want to make the US weaker.

lesuorac 11mo ago
> First, the government wasn't doing influence campaigns, and the "Twitter Files" had all been reported before My guy, there's like 40 words between my post and the source try reading them. They were doing influence campaigns ... > [1] documents that showed the Twitter Site Integrity Team whitelisted accounts from United States Central Command (CENTCOM) used to run online influence campaigns in other countries
- bigyabai 11mo ago
  How does that relate to covert influence networks targeting the US?
  - lesuorac 11mo ago
    How drunk on American exceptionalism are you that you can't think if the US does something then somebody else does too? Why would twitter need to whitelist US influence campaigns? Because they're banning foreign ones! Reading between the lines is going to be a very useful skill in your career; don't just take things at face value, exaime what the thing means for its surroundings.
    - bigyabai 11mo ago
      I'm asking you to prove what you're claiming. Your assertion has nothing to do with your evidence, so I want you to re-tread the Twitter Files and find the part that documents the American government operating domestic influence campaigns. The original comment is correct, and your diversions have done nothing to refute them. The Twitter Files was a failed PR campaign by Musk that tried to demonize Twitter and justify his leadership. Maybe Elon would have had better luck if he exposed this campaign you're describing, but he didn't. Gotta save something for the X Files, I guess.
      - lesuorac 11mo ago
        > so I want you to re-tread the Twitter Files and find the part that documents the American government operating domestic influence campaigns. Why would I re-tread the twitter files when you won't even open the wikipedia link I initially posted that has the evidence you've spent two accounts and 3 posts asking for?

deleted 11mo ago

[deleted]

tstrimple 11mo ago

The Twitter Files has to be one of the most direct tells for idiocy that humans have invented. It's almost on the same level as the Mueller Report for right wing clowns with zero understanding of the world pointing to it as if it's some sort of proof. Meanwhile, anyone with any literacy can actually read the reports and find they state the opposite of what conservatives often claim. Unfortunately illiteracy rates are at incredible highs right now and it shows everywhere, including hackernews.

ModernMech 11mo ago
Trump: The Mueller report exonerates me. Mueller Report: “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

croon 11mo ago

I find it curious that the "Twitter Files" were never actually made available anywhere. Anyhow, I checked your link, and the source for your statement, is simply an article containing another statement, namely this: > “The same day CENTCOM sent the list, Twitter officials used a tool to grant a special “whitelist” tag that essentially provides verification status to the accounts w/o the blue check, meaning they are exempt from spam/abuse flags, more visible/likely to trend on hashtags,” Fang said. I'd be interested in reading the "Twitter Files" corroborating this. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I am definitely saying the files would be incredibly easy to defend were they simply released for public consumption and not slowly filtered out over time in short tweets by a few reporters selected by Elon Musk. Is this an unfair take?