Army of Fake Social Media Friends to Promote Propaganda

reply to post by burntheships


Thread already started:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

This is real, and shouldn't surprise anyone. Marketers have been doing this on Twitter and Facebook, Myspace etc since day one.

In theory you wouldn't even need to have someone create unique software, I can send you several programs that do this.

I'm sure there's many other marketing exploits they use to dominate opinion. It wouldn't surprise me if they were abusing Digg, Delicious, Redi, Stumbleupon etc. Google Alerts to alert them to forum topic or blogs reporting on or discussing something of perceived importance. They'll especially be monitoring surveys and rigging results where they can.

Xrumer is a blackhat software that internet marketers use, I doubt government are using it, but they'll have something similar I'm sure.

The internet has traditionally been free, and the government are putting all their efforts into reeling in the power. Look at all the politician scum using the likes of Youtube to push their propoganda. They want internet to become controlled like the TV. Because without control they lose.

www.youtube.com...

Take that video for example. The most popular comments no longer have any thumbs up. Infact the rating system comments have been removed completely. Probably because the top rated under the video were anti-Cameron.

The dislikes for the video have also stagnated(I imagine in actual fact they've toyed with the count system), and the likes have gone up tenfold. The Like to Dislike ration was something about 1:100 yesterday. Now it's about 1:2

What's changed over night? Either Youtube are conspiring with the channel in question or government are using scripts to thumb down popular comments and repeatedly hit the 'like' button.

These things are observable. Infact if I have time I might collect some foolproof evidence and make a thread documenting the 'phenomena'

You know what? It occurs to me that this is a natural development of the Hollywood/Madison Avenue strategy of hiring a couple of dozen pretty young girls to scream, howl, and cry at the appearances of the "Justin Biber" du'jour.

They probably have all sorts of personalities 'placed' in social media... pro AND against whatever... some luring people into trouble, others pretending to go along so the target doesn't feel like they are alone in their cyber-adventure.....

With permission from a moderator, I will link to several software aimed at dominating social media through numbers.

So users can get a better idea and feel of these things and how they work. I have friends who use Twitter to push products. Thousands of accounts with thousands of followers on each. It's very real and extremely easy.

In fairness though I'm sure the government have better software than any available to purchase through the public domain.

Originally posted by Asktheanimals

Which stories get talked about, how they are spun and perceived public opinion will all be affected.
IMO they are amassing information that will be used to make people conform or expose themselves during some "crisis" of sorts, which will require everyone to sign on to some new electronic currency scheme or a public health crisis which requires everyone to be tested.

Funny, that you bring that up, as in this "covert document I just found, that is exactly what they have done!

The Powerpoint includes a slide describing the purpose of Themis’ pitch to H&W.

Purpose: Develop a corporate information reconnaissance service to aid legal investigations through the open source collection of information on target groups and individuals that appear organized to extort specific concessions through online slander campaigns.

emptywheel.firedoglake.com...

Originally posted by Expat888
A few clues to look for to spot fakes / multiples.
1. Gramaticle structure - no two people speak exactly the same.

...thats not true and the emphasis above is mine just for fun...

...my elder sister and i often sound identical, especially over the phone... we've confused everyone in our family numerous times, including spouses... mostly its not intentional but sometimes it is... when we were young, we used to imitate our mother perfectly and her dialect is a bit unique (think lily tomlin in the old telephone operator skits)... got us out of a lot of trouble, lol...

...grammaticle structure is simply not a good clue - too many variables...

...my sis and i write totally different than each other even though we were educated in the same schools (except for college)... her style does not change online - its very formal... i have a formal style too but thats reserved for professional dealings... if i used my formal style under another screamname, you wouldnt recognize that poster as wyn hawks...

...it wouldnt be hard for someone to mimick my informal online style, although they would have to be a damned good speller and not spell-check dependent cuz that doesnt work so good if you're barely literate to begin with...

Originally posted by Expat888
2. Parroting word for word or nearly the same as the "official" version.
3. Unable to give proper reply to specific questions - keeps giving the "official" answers.
4. Lacking emotion behind the text - even online to a degree peoples emotion will show..
These are just a few tip offs that spot.. Hope others may find them of use..

...some folks will parrot cuz thats all they know how to do... some will parrot cuz they totally agree with the os... it doesnt mean they're a fake, a multiple or a spy... lack of emotion or too much emotion in someone's post(s) doesnt prove anything either...

...its all relative to the perceiver... if you're looking for someone to label a disinfo agent, a spy or whatever - you'll find one but that doesnt mean your opinion of them is valid...

...on topic - i agree with whoever said this multiple generator software thang is really nothing new... its just a modern version of the sos... one of its intents, imo, is to produce paranoia and thats certainly evident in all the threads about this topic...

reply to post by NadaCambia


I would be interested in some of the names of these software programs if for nothing more
than research/reference sake. You would not have to post links to the actual software...

I dont mind it you do, when you have Mod permission...

reply to post by burntheships

The two are very close these days, and maybe even sharing socks.

And morning coffee, dinner and the monetary equivalent of STD's.

Originally posted by NadaCambia
With permission from a moderator, I will link to several software aimed at dominating social media through numbers.

So users can get a better idea and feel of these things and how they work. I have friends who use Twitter to push products. Thousands of accounts with thousands of followers on each. It's very real and extremely easy.

In fairness though I'm sure the government have better software than any available to purchase through the public domain.

I think it would be fine if you have examples for us to review..... I'll go out on a limb and encourage you to do so..... although you really don't need "permission" if as you say, it's in furtherance of the discussion....

reply to post by Maxmars


Maxmars,

Heh, I think your right. Normally I never look into this type of stuff,
however since you brought it up, you sparked my interest.

Lookie what I found....you might be intrested.
borneocolours.com...

reply to post by hadriana

There's so much WEIRD stuff going on with social media, and with really popular sites like this one.

I have a friend that runs software like Maltego to track users on the little boards and connect them to usernames on the bigger sites and FB and the like.

It's enough to make me paranoid.

I have always been paranoid. I NEVER use my real name on the net.

It is useful to google your name or "pen name" and see what comes up

Today, I had the pleasure of a visit from a new ATS member...

O P Blinker

Which led me to take a look at the recent finds concerning the Army of Fake Media Members...

According to the Guardian, United States Central Command (Centcom), which is responsible for military actions in the Middle East and central Asia, has awarded a $2.76m contract to Ntrepid, a Los Angeles-based company, to develop an "online persona management service".

The technology will allow one US operator to control 10 fake user accounts at the same time.

The contract is thought to be the latest extension of Operation Earnest Voice, a psychological warfare strategy that was conceived as a response to online al-Qaeda supporters.
www.thefirstpost.co.uk...

I am so glad that OpBlinker made the visit to ATS.

We are worthy!

reply to post by burntheships


Thank you so much for that information - and for bringing this thread back up.

reply to post by burntheships


Intersting that Ntrepid seems to be a privately held company with virtually no internet footprint.

I would love to learn more about this company and it's place in the business community.

a reply to: burntheships

Great old thread BTS !

Enjoyed reading all 4 pages, as you and many members brought great info along.

Was continuously wondering, while reading, where we are at now ?

Some of the suspicious accounts here, are rather well disguised, it seems not always that easy for me to spot.

originally posted by: burntheships

Can you spot a propaganda piece in the media?

When the topic is politics, easily. So easily, that it's not even interesting to spot it anymore. More challenging (and therefore a bit more interesting to do) is spotting the more subtle propaganda that involves the unverified philosophies and proven myths marketed under the marketingbanner "Science", such as the promotion of evolutionary philosophies and philosophical naturalism. Or other religious or religiously motivated propaganda. Propaganda involving scientism (a religion in itself) is also harder to spot. Relativism is also promoted a lot (the idea that truth is relative, as in the expression 'everybody makes their own truth'), or the notion that truth can never be known with 100% certainty (see for example South Park's Agnostic Code).

“What Is Truth?”

...

An Assault on Truth

Pontius Pilate was hardly the first person to question the idea of absolute truth. Some ancient Greek philosophers made the teaching of such doubts virtually their life’s work! Five centuries before Pilate, Parmenides (who has been considered the father of European metaphysics) held that real knowledge was unattainable. Democritus, hailed as “the greatest of ancient philosophers,” asserted: “Truth is buried deep. . . . We know nothing for certain.” Perhaps the most revered of them all, Socrates, said that all that he really knew was that he knew nothing.

This assault on the idea that truth can be known has continued down to our day. Some philosophers, for instance, say that since knowledge reaches us through our senses, which can be deceived, no knowledge is verifiably true. French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes decided to examine all the things he thought he knew for certain. He discarded all but one truth that he deemed incontrovertible: “Cogito ergo sum,” or, “I think, therefore I am.”

A Culture of Relativism

Relativism is not limited to philosophers. It is taught by religious leaders, indoctrinated in schools, and spread by the media. Episcopal bishop John S. Spong said a few years ago: “We must . . . move from thinking we have the truth and others must come to our point of view to the realization that ultimate truth is beyond the grasp of all of us.” Spong’s relativism, like that of so many clergymen today, is quick to drop the Bible’s moral teachings in favor of a philosophy of “to each his own.” For example, in an effort to make homosexuals feel more “comfortable” in the Episcopal Church, Spong wrote a book claiming that the apostle Paul was a homosexual!

In many lands the school systems seem to engender a similar type of thinking. Allan Bloom wrote in his book The Closing of the American Mind: “There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.” Bloom found that if he challenged his students’ conviction on this matter, they would react with astonishment, “as though he were calling into question 2 + 2 = 4.”

The same thinking is promoted in countless other ways. For instance, TV and newspaper reporters often seem more interested in entertaining their viewers than in getting at the truth of a story. Some news programs have even doctored or faked film footage in order to make it appear more dramatic. And in entertainment a stronger attack is mounted on truth. The values and moral truths that our parents and grandparents lived by are widely viewed as obsolete and are often held up to outright ridicule.

Of course, some might argue that much of this relativism represents open-mindedness and therefore has a positive impact on human society. Does it really, though? And what about its impact on you? Do you believe that truth is relative or nonexistent? If so, searching for it may strike you as a waste of time. Such an outlook will affect your future.

Next page: Why Search for Truth?

Could you recognize a fake media friend?

Can you discern a "software" persona here on ATS?

Kinda hard, cause propaganda chatbots and human victims of propaganda are 'programmed' with the same way of talking and arguing, the same ideas/philosophies and way of reasoning to support those. Also, many of the tricks used by propagandists are programmed into chatbots and copied by victims of propaganda cause they have been conditioned by them (such as appeals to pride and reverse appeals to pride creating an intellectual superiority complex in the victim, in essence 'programming' a type of arrogance and haughtiness in them that functions as a mental wall against considering any opposing viewpoints, argument or way of reasoning, in any kind of serious manner; instead, usually trying to read some pre-programmed straw man version into it for easier dismissal, that again is usually designed to make the opposing view or argument look stupid, making it both part of and an effect of a reverse appeal to pride that plays on people's fear of seeming stupid, when someone after reading the straw man into it, responds to the straw man instead of what was really said or argued*).

I'm betting there are plenty of QAnon bots around though to keep the political propaganda content flowing on ATS.

*: more details about the technique of playing on the emotions like that (in this case pride and fear) can be found in this article (which precedes the page linked in my signature):

The Manipulation of Information (Awake!—2000)

The reverse appeal to pride is mentioned at the end of the section called "Playing on the Emotions". But on the next page there's a bit more about it:

... They sift the facts, exploiting the useful ones and concealing the others. They also distort and twist facts, specializing in lies and half-truths. Your emotions, not your logical thinking abilities, are their target.

The propagandist makes sure that his message appears to be the right and moral one and that it gives you a sense of importance and belonging if you follow it. You are one of the smart ones, you are not alone, you are comfortable and secure—so they say.

...

The idea is, if you're on their side, then you are one of the smart ones, and 'science' and reasonability is on your side so to speak, whereas if you don't accept what they're selling (whether it's a philosophy/idea/view, or an ideology, or a religion, or something like philosophical naturalism, relativism, agnosticism, atheism, deism, etc.), then you're one of the stupid ones, or the brainwashed gullible ones. Other concepts such as "the tyranny of authority" also come into play to reinforce this view of the situation. Which I've spoken about in this comment concerning the topic of evolutionary philosophies. Cause it's a bit too much to get into here.

a reply to: burntheships

we can already see the process in place for collapse.

the issue with Western elites/academics is they think in blobs..take the lgbtq etc it merges a whole heap of groups into one, just like the idea of Bame merges everyone not white into a single group, as though they all think/act the same.. it highlights the lack of depth Western elites have in their world view, thinking and in their programming.

the term cis highlights how trapped they are in this deeply binary thinking of splitting the world this way, they think they can manipulate the blobs they create but forget that populism is constantly evolving too, this is not one sided.

as the expression goes the establishment is only able to fight the last war which is what they are doing as we enter the calm eye of the storm..

Perhaps this brings on a whole new meaning to "fake friends"

a reply to: burntheships

Fast forward to today and we are seeing this technology be put to use. See on twitter, all the blue heart 💙 accounts. They all post the same garbage pro-corruption propaganda. The Ukraine doge trolls. There is also much less obvious ones. You would just assume they're real people, but they aren't. They keep recycling what the govt wants people to hear.

a reply to: burntheships

The AI still can't pass the Turing test, you can pick them up a mile off, as soon as they are sprung it must flashback at HQ and then another one comes. They are trying to dominate and screw with the threads, half the time they are going at each other. At some stage one has to ask if the internet has come to this is it worth it?