Documents Show How Russia’s Troll Army Hit America

a reply to: Aazadan

Except that there is very rarely even a "top comment" that is relevant. Check out some Fox News comments some time. Feel those brain cells dying.

Nobody whose viewpoint matters even wastes time on them. They are one level up from YouTube comments in the primordial ooze of internet life.

Are you really suggesting anybody reads a comment on a Fox or HuffPo news story and ALTERS THEIR VIEWPOINT ACCORDINGLY?

That really is trolling!

I wonder; who is the biggest troll, the still missing MH370 proves a lot.

Russia is not the only country "trolling": www.whatdoesitmean.com...

At least Russia seems not to support muslim extremists...

originally posted by: ergaomnes
I wonder; who is the biggest troll, the still missing MH370 proves a lot.

Russia is not the only country "trolling": www.whatdoesitmean.com...

At least Russia seems not to support muslim extremists...

Actually chechens they have that are also muslim so they do support russian muslims who do their bidding. And they currently support some middle easter countries too. Now IF i was in syria.. id be careful of accepting US aid because they have a habit of after you are used up whacking you next.

Remember all the BRICs nations posts....

I'm glad those are gone.

Documents Show How Russia’s Troll Army Hit America - While US-Trolls hit the rest of the world...

Who wonders abou the russians, both sides fight with the same weapons

So you can get a job and get paid to be a troll now? I love this world!

You sure its not just common sense your seeing? Deep down we all know the Ukraine is to Russia as Canada is to the USA. You really think we would stand by as Canada fell to a few hundred with Molotov cocktails? On that note, a violent mob topples a democratically elected government and instantly recognized as legitimate. The same then starts to brutalize parts of the country etc..

It does not take a genius to see what's up here. This is all about the US's goal of becoming the world largest energy exporter by 2020. The Ukraine is just another oil/gas conflict. The result of all of this will not be more jobs or some BS but the total raping of our gas and oil reserves!

I noticed it all over the net, and there were several artificial planted dialogues in here(ATS) as well. If you are a Russian speaker, it is relatively easy to learn to speak English with some aplomb. But it is another thing to write English well. Certain cadence errors come out, or improper spellings are present that show they are a non-native. They had narrow talking points to build on, but certain call words were always present: "Neo-Nazis", "Kiev Junta", "Facists", that gave them away. They must have had a name generator or master list of names picked out, as they tried to present an air of "Main Street". It was obvious they were trying to look like Westerners or Americans who were actively or passively supporting their Putinist view, in some sort of attempt at "Internet Psy-Ops for Dummies" (on any/every web-page mentioning the the topic). Their comments were so "Out-of-Phase" they sounded like "Boris and Natasha plotting to get Moose and Squirel". Be alert, they are still here. I rue the day when these guys discover telemarketing boiler rooms; It would get old fast hearing some guy named Vadim trying to sell me car insurance "with many jumbo savings" on the phone, 19 times a day.

originally posted by: Mon1k3r
So you can get a job and get paid to be a troll now? I love this world!

yep..... for a while now
some countries and business dont even attempt to hide what theyre doing
for example israel has an open policy of paying students to post online propaganda
(a cursory search shows a plethora of companies that will help manage your online reputation for a fee)

a reply to: BobM88

It's called "anal cork tactics". USA is not ready for the truth. Same with HP rounds and SMGs the US department of Agriculture is hoarding.
Most men don't know history. It's cold war all over again.
BTW, there is a guy, a nuclear submarine captain, who got the Hero of USSR medal(most important medal of all). You know what he got it for? He was at sea and hor several hours he lost radio feed from Moscow. In those days, the cold war was at it's max. He held on to the last. He didn't want to turn 1\10 of america into ashes. He didn't want to kill. He'd rather die, but not make the move to kill millions.
And now you'r talking about internet trolls? What, US Iron curtain failing? Psaki says bull#? Big news! Lol. I have to go and check this.
People are dying in Ukraine. Government killing it's own people, using tanks and planes. And there is no coverage of the events. It's the Balkans all over again with cassette bombings and mortaring the # out of cities. Where are the reporters? Oh yeah, one got killed not long ago. An Italian. Killed by Ukranian mortar. But who gives a *uck. Iron curtain is good for you. Aldous, you magnificent bastard.
Did you forget about the HP rounds already? Oh, the're just to protect you. Drones used in the US are there to protect you too. Funny thing, drone attacks kill more civilians than villians. But who cares. The congress knows what's best for you.
Freedom is something any regime wants to take from you. But that goes for any country, including the US.
A free country is a strong country. And freedom is not choosing a green I-Phone. People blaming Russia for the lack of "freedom". Lol. # YOU PUTIN. What? Black helicopters are coming? Damn, got to run. Lol. Idiots.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
You know it could just be me, but I believe if you go back and look at especially the WW3 forum, during the start of things going on in the Ukraine, you'll find a LOT of new members (and I mean people registering right at that time), that suddenly were flooding the threads with posts, and then new threads.

Not saying they were Russian Trolls, or trolls at all......but it was something that made me raise my eye brow like Mr. Spock.

Most of those new members were "Pro-Russian" or "Anti-Western" if I remember correctly.

But as the weeks have gone on....many of them have simply stopped posting.

Could just be me though.

And it was around that time when ATS introduced a new message board view that was practically unusable on mobile devices, unless you were signed into an account.

Hence why I made an account. After reading through the same forums as I used to as a guest, and seeing all the crap that was being posted, it wasn't entirely a difficult choice to start posting myself.

originally posted by: EHowardHuntClub
I noticed it all over the net, and there were several artificial planted dialogues in here(ATS) as well. If you are a Russian speaker, it is relatively easy to learn to speak English with some aplomb. But it is another thing to write English well. Certain cadence errors come out, or improper spellings are present that show they are a non-native. They had narrow talking points to build on, but certain call words were always present: "Neo-Nazis", "Kiev Junta", "Facists", that gave them away. They must have had a name generator or master list of names picked out, as they tried to present an air of "Main Street". It was obvious they were trying to look like Westerners or Americans who were actively or passively supporting their Putinist view, in some sort of attempt at "Internet Psy-Ops for Dummies" (on any/every web-page mentioning the the topic). Their comments were so "Out-of-Phase" they sounded like "Boris and Natasha plotting to get Moose and Squirel". Be alert, they are still here. I rue the day when these guys discover telemarketing boiler rooms; It would get old fast hearing some guy named Vadim trying to sell me car insurance "with many jumbo savings" on the phone, 19 times a day.

Or maybe you're totally paranoid.

I use those words to describe the situation because they are accurate, and I was using them before them even became popular in the rebel media.

Yet here I am, pureblood Canadian in British Columbia.

Better put on your McCarthy hats because those Ruskies could be anyone anywhere these days. Maybe they're even you but you won't know it until an angry mob singles you out based on a whim.

Truth is if there actually were disinfo agents on ATS, you guys should appreciate that somebody out there cares enough about the discussions here. Just like somebody else said, this place is full of bottom feeders and trolls. In your entire time here have you ever seen any member change their views based on the opinions of another member? Of course not, so why waste the resources.

a reply to: BobM88

I would like to say to all of you who doubted this..........HA.....HA......HA. I told ya so. They are easy to spot just like during the health care debate here in the US.



If you are still on the fence about this just watch how often these posters visit ATS after this is finished.

originally posted by: Vovin
this place is full of bottom feeders and trolls.

If your fellow ATS members are supposedly all so bad ... then why are you here? People with different points of view from you are not 'bottom feeders and trolls'. They are just people with different points of view. This isn't an echo chamber.


TO THE OP .... Governments have their internet shills out but they are few and far between and usually very easy to spot. We had a few from China a while back. And at least two from Iran. Always spouting the official government propaganda line and then they couldn't (or wouldn't) read opposing posts. A few times it was like their governments had accounts here and the person posting would change every few weeks. Like it was a practice account or something. Easy to spot different personalities changing in the account every few months or so ...

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: Vovin
this place is full of bottom feeders and trolls.

If your fellow ATS members are supposedly all so bad ... then why are you here?

Welcome to the Internet?

As for why am I here: I already posted that. I had to make an account to view these forums after the terrible upgrade. Otherwise I have been reading stuff posted on ATS for years out of curiosity. Plus I like reading some of the more far out posts, like in the cryptozoology forum, or reading armchair analyses on aircraft (like by that Zaphod guy).

Is that enough of an explanation for you? It is possible for a member to have more interests here than just posting political opinions. If you notice my trends in the political discussions I follow geopolitical discussions because my field is geopolitics. I don't care about threads concerning American politics (which there are many / just for example) because I'm not American and the topics really don't concern me, but geopolitics does because it concerns global interactions.

People with different points of view from you are not 'bottom feeders and trolls'. They are just people with different points of view. This isn't an echo chamber.

And yet every time I see you post, you are usually trolling me, for my point of view.

There are members here who have made absurd and arrogant arguments just for the sake of derailing threads because they don't agree with my opinion.

TO THE OP .... Governments have their internet shills out but they are few and far between and usually very easy to spot. We had a few from China a while back. And at least two from Iran. Always spouting the official government propaganda line and then they couldn't (or wouldn't) read opposing posts. A few times it was like their governments had accounts here and the person posting would change every few weeks. Like it was a practice account or something. Easy to spot different personalities changing in the account every few months or so ...

And as somebody who is not American, I've clearly seen a few American shills who tow the government / media line without any recourse. The quality of the shills is debatable, but definitely posting arguemental techniques and certain questionable facts as if from a script.

originally posted by: Vovin
every time I see you post, you are usually trolling me, for my point of view.

Again .. people having an opposing position aren't 'trolling'. They are simply having an opposing position. Learn the difference and stop throwing the 'troll' word around when it doesn't belong.

There are members here who have made absurd and arrogant arguments just for the sake of derailing threads because they don't agree with my opinion.

Considering the extreme inappropriate off topic comments you've made and the snide remarks I've seen you post ... it's hysterical that you think others who simply disagree with you are 'absurd and arrogant'.

Learn what an internet troll is ....
Internet Troll Definition

In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, either accidentally or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response ...

Learn what an internet paid shill is ....
Internet Shill Definition

A shill, also called a plant or a stooge, is a person who publicly helps a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with the person or organization.

"Shill" typically refers to someone who purposely gives onlookers the impression that they are an enthusiastic independent customer of a seller (or marketer of ideas) for whom they are secretly working. The person or group who hires the shill is using crowd psychology to encourage other onlookers or audience members to purchase the goods or services (or accept the ideas being marketed). Shills are often employed by professional marketing campaigns. "Plant" and "stooge" more commonly refer to any person who is secretly in league with another person or organization while pretending to be neutral or actually a part of the organization he is planted in, such as a magician's audience, a political party, or an intelligence organization (see double agent)

See that? Simply having a different opinion, and entering into a conversation on a discussion board with that opinion, doesn't make someone a 'troll' or a 'shill'.

An example of a troll .... a poster on an ATS discussion thread about water rights in the middle east gets upset because people disagree with him and suddenly he talks about female body parts and sand instead of the topic of water in the Middle East.

An example of a person with a different opinion ... a poster on ATS disagreeing with another and posting facts that show why the opposing view of the original poster could be wrong.

An example of a shill ... the Russians paying people to sit on their computers and start spewing out official government propaganda on discussion sites. And that is what the OP of this thread is really talking about ... Paid shills ... not trolls. There is a difference.

Seems some folks here don't understand the difference between ... simple disagreement on a subject; trolling; paid shills. Read and learn.

I agree with other posts that talk about comment sections on popular websites like Yahoo screening out comments they don't like and enhancing their personal agendas. I used to comment on Yahoo articles anumber of years back and if I disagreed with the perspective of the article they would remove my comments, that was the very reason that I was a lurker at this website for three years before I signed up as a member , it took me some time to learn that this website accepts all intelligent discussion, then I became a member

originally posted by: JJRichey
Wait, I can get paid to troll? Where do I sign up??!

Info about a job offer to become a Putin paid troll was there:
www.sptimes.ru...

But I don't think that Russian salaries would be tempting for an American.

a reply to: FlyersFan

What's even more hilarious is that you're blaming me for terms I apparently don't understand, when I'm the one who has been accused of being a "Russian disinformation agent" simply because I have a dissenting opinion and because I created my account right when Ukraine picked up.

I could run around and accuse all the whack job jingoist American types of being shills too, but I think they actually believe in it. And that's why I don't seriously accuse members of being shills- that and I have no evidence to back it up.

But thanks for your definitions, your five minutes of Wikipedia research really impresses me. I had thought that after 15 years of hanging around Internet message boards that I knew what trolls and shills were from personal experience, but you proved me wrong.

originally posted by: Vovin
a reply to: FlyersFan

What's even more hilarious is that you're blaming me for terms I apparently don't understand, when I'm the one who has been accused of being a "Russian disinformation agent" simply because I have a dissenting opinion and because I created my account right when Ukraine picked up.

And you only write about Ukraine.

Not too many coincidences?

I could run around and accuse all the whack job jingoist American types of being shills too, but I think they actually believe in it. And that's why I don't seriously accuse members of being shills- that and I have no evidence to back it up.

Yes, indeed you can. But presumably your superiors would treat that as ineffective?