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> Volodin installed in his office a custom-designed computer terminal loaded with a system called Prism, which monitored public sentiment online using 60 millio

> Volodin installed in his office a custom-designed computer terminal loaded with a system called Prism, which monitored public sentiment online using 60 million sources Oh look, they've got prism too! > According to the website of its manufacturer, Prism “actively tracks the social media activities that result in increased social tension, disorderly conduct, protest sentiments and extremism.” Well that's comforting. This is obviously still in it's infancy, but they're only going to get better at this. Obvious leads and dead giveaways will be replaced with more subtly and variance, and detecting whats bullshit and whats real will become even more difficult, if not impossible. This is russia's answer to people rioting over corruption in the government. Not transparency, not change; social manipulation of information and spreading lies. And they aren't the only ones doing this. They're just the only ones we know about. No doubt other countries, companies and criminal organizations are operating similar tactics already. Certainly puts a new spin on the term "don't talk to strangers"

scarmig 11y ago
I'm not sure if you'd agree with it or not, but I'd want to emphasize something: this behavior is not limited to foreign governments that have antithetical interests to the USA. Even publicly, the CIA recognizes that it has teams of employees working on social media to push people (particularly in the Middle East) to support positions more consistent with American interests. And it'd surely be pretty damn profitable in the USA domestically to offer a service where a bunch of trolls would push your product, service, or candidate on the Internet. (This comment may or may not be brought to you by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.)
- criley2 11y ago
  Israel commands a small army of these as well, it's almost comical to see them appearing in social media and comment sections, but I have no doubt they're effective. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/14/israel-students-social-media/2651715/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/14/israel-s...
  - nostrebored 11y ago
    I do think it's strange that when Israel promotes nationalism in it's clearly more controversial status -- being defamed by all of its neighbors and a large segment of the western left and right -- suddenly this is a bad thing. If we had (serious) pressure to dissolve the U.S., I think we would see a backlash of equal or greater measure. Your use of language here also clearly shows your position: 'army' is a very harsh word to use for some students posting on social media.
    - crpatino 11y ago
      ...said the israeli agent.
      - scarmig 11y ago
        Not sure if this is joking or not, but the fact that I can't tell is itself indicative. This is an example of just how toxic state- and corporate-sponsored trolling is to communities. Any given position will promote winners and losers, and any position anyone takes could, in theory, be the result of dishonest, arational, apersonal influencers who lack the desire or drive for a rational civil society. And I think it's even fair to discount all potentially corrupted opinions because of that risk--but the end result is having to give up on the Internet as a forum for discourse, which pretty much kills off its liberatory potential. We need to find a way around this ASAP, before it gets worse. And it will most certainly get worse. (This message has been bought and paid for by... well, who knows?)
        nostrebored 11y ago
        Every opinion is potentially corrupted, especially when propaganda exists. The result isn't giving up on the Internet as a forum for discourse, it's giving up on discourse.
        scarmig 11y ago
        I like the results of having a civil society with rational discourse. Not simply that it's the result of the inalienable rights of thought and speech, but because society as a whole has massively benefited from it. The marketplace of ideas bubbles to the top the "best" ideas, but it is almost a requirement that its constituent agents at least recognize the value of reason, even if they themselves are flawed and biased implementations of reason. It may be the case that it's impossible to save discourse, and the future is a world where brute force, power, and hierarchy drive which ideas dominate society. We'd be lesser for it, though, and I don't think we've explored many ideas for preventing that end result.

scarmig 11y ago

I'm not sure if you'd agree with it or not, but I'd want to emphasize something: this behavior is not limited to foreign governments that have antithetical interests to the USA. Even publicly, the CIA recognizes that it has teams of employees working on social media to push people (particularly in the Middle East) to support positions more consistent with American interests. And it'd surely be pretty damn profitable in the USA domestically to offer a service where a bunch of trolls would push your product, service, or candidate on the Internet. (This comment may or may not be brought to you by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.)

criley2 11y ago
Israel commands a small army of these as well, it's almost comical to see them appearing in social media and comment sections, but I have no doubt they're effective. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/14/israel-students-social-media/2651715/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/14/israel-s...
- nostrebored 11y ago
  I do think it's strange that when Israel promotes nationalism in it's clearly more controversial status -- being defamed by all of its neighbors and a large segment of the western left and right -- suddenly this is a bad thing. If we had (serious) pressure to dissolve the U.S., I think we would see a backlash of equal or greater measure. Your use of language here also clearly shows your position: 'army' is a very harsh word to use for some students posting on social media.
  - crpatino 11y ago
    ...said the israeli agent.
    - scarmig 11y ago
      Not sure if this is joking or not, but the fact that I can't tell is itself indicative. This is an example of just how toxic state- and corporate-sponsored trolling is to communities. Any given position will promote winners and losers, and any position anyone takes could, in theory, be the result of dishonest, arational, apersonal influencers who lack the desire or drive for a rational civil society. And I think it's even fair to discount all potentially corrupted opinions because of that risk--but the end result is having to give up on the Internet as a forum for discourse, which pretty much kills off its liberatory potential. We need to find a way around this ASAP, before it gets worse. And it will most certainly get worse. (This message has been bought and paid for by... well, who knows?)
      - nostrebored 11y ago
        Every opinion is potentially corrupted, especially when propaganda exists. The result isn't giving up on the Internet as a forum for discourse, it's giving up on discourse.
        scarmig 11y ago
        I like the results of having a civil society with rational discourse. Not simply that it's the result of the inalienable rights of thought and speech, but because society as a whole has massively benefited from it. The marketplace of ideas bubbles to the top the "best" ideas, but it is almost a requirement that its constituent agents at least recognize the value of reason, even if they themselves are flawed and biased implementations of reason. It may be the case that it's impossible to save discourse, and the future is a world where brute force, power, and hierarchy drive which ideas dominate society. We'd be lesser for it, though, and I don't think we've explored many ideas for preventing that end result.