General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAfter Florida School Shooting, Russian 'Bot' Army Pounced
After Florida School Shooting, Russian Bot Army PouncedBy SHEERA FRENKEL and DAISUKE WAKABAYASHIFEB. 19, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO One hour after news broke about the school shooting in Florida last week, Twitter accounts suspected of having links to Russia released hundreds of posts taking up the gun control debate.
The accounts addressed the news with the speed of a cable news network. Some adopted the hashtag #guncontrolnow. Others used #gunreformnow and #Parklandshooting. Earlier on Wednesday, before the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., many of those accounts had been focused on the investigation by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
This is pretty typical for them, to hop on breaking news like this, said Jonathon Morgan, chief executive of New Knowledge, a company that tracks online disinformation campaigns. The bots focus on anything that is divisive for Americans. Almost systematically.
One of the most divisive issues in the nation is how to handle guns, pitting Second Amendment advocates against proponents of gun control. And the messages from these automated accounts, or bots, were designed to widen the divide and make compromise even more difficult.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/technology/russian-bots-school-shooting.html
maxsolomon
(33,400 posts)Twitter needs to get its shit together.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)Russia is free to attack us at will.
sunonmars
(8,656 posts)workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)First time in American history that an agent of a foreign despot has his man installed in the White House.
Trump and Putin have exposed a possible fatal weakness in our democratic republic. I wonder if the country can endure 4 years of this shit?
There better be a HUGE and historic blue wave election in the fall or the USA is dead in the water IMO.
HipChick
(25,485 posts)Trump has made it clear there are no repercussions...
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)Putin is already running the show.
All they need to do is sow more divisions, racial hate, fascism, lies from Fox news, hate radio etc.
Keep us weak and divided while his employee Trump pulls America off the world stage behind his wall and we all slowly rot away.
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)Fuck FaceBook, fuck Twitter, I live a happy life without account on either of them. If I want to know what my friends and relatives are up to, I call them. That way I get a more honest view of their reality anyway.
These platforms are destroying our country. The social media companies don't give a damn about anything but the almighty dollar which makes them ripe for political abuse. Brainwashing is their business. Services designed to make you think you have to buy something are just as easily hijacked to make you believe something as well. They are rotting our society from the inside out.
My old fart rant for the day.
HipChick
(25,485 posts)you've already lost...
SWBTATTReg
(22,171 posts)just think of all the tens of thousands of us (or more) out there on these platforms too (to keep in contact w/ friends or family, etc.).
I would think it would take an awful lot to effectively stifle us (at least comparable numbers, as a minimum)?
Basically I'm saying the internet society is getting smarter in grasping what's true (most likely) and what's not (very unrealistic), or in short, take information from the internet w/ a grain of salt, and only trust it, should the site have an impeccable reputation.
Some of these websites though, need to be policed / managed more effectively, that is, the site resembles a 'Wild Wild West' mentality, and is out of control at times, but then you run into first amendment issues. Sites do have a right though, to manage their sites to protect their users. Perhaps they'll listen more by now.
Opps, don't belong to FB, Twitter, any of it. Had enough of computers after I retired.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)SWBTATTReg
(22,171 posts)Americans. Russian and other agents, and those who stand w/ them, doing the stifling.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)the GOP and t-rump cronies' entirely do not care for the surviving living, and damn the deceased.
DEPORABLES.
Initech
(100,104 posts)spanone
(135,882 posts)workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)spanone
(135,882 posts)AmandaRuth
(3,105 posts)it's happening right now, right in front of our eyes.......even if he or his lackies didn't collude (they did), he isn't doing anything, including sanctions, failing at the first job of prez...
plus he is a gross disgusting pig.