A Word About Trolls.....Keep Calling Them Out.

This text is doing the rounds at the moment. Apparently there are paid trolls out there used by corps and governments to steer information along certain lines. It is being distributed by an unknown source, so I'll quote.


***'Disinformation Tactics: The Methods Used To Keep You In The Dark'***

"Internet trolls, also known as “paid posters” or “paid bloggers,” are increasingly being employed by private corporations as well as by government. In fact, it is a rapidly growing industry.
www.alt-market.com...

Trolls use a wide variety of strategies, some of which are unique to the internet, here are just a few:

1) Make outrageous comments designed to distract or frustrate: An Alinsky tactic used to make people emotional, although less effective because of the impersonal nature of the web.

2) Pose as a supporter of the truth, then make comments that discredit the movement: We have seen this even on our own forums — trolls pose as supporters of the Liberty Movement, then post long, incoherent diatribes so as to appear either racist or insane. Here is a live example of this tactic in use on Yahoo! Answers.

The key to this tactic is to make references to common Liberty Movement arguments while at the same time babbling nonsense, so as to make those otherwise valid arguments seem ludicrous by association.

Starting a New Thread?...Look Here First

AboveTopSecret.com takes pride in making every post count.
Please do not create minimal posts to start your new thread.
If you feel inclined to make the board aware of news, current events,
or important information from other sites
please post one or two paragraphs,
a link to the entire story,
AND your opinion, twist or take on the news item,
as a means to inspire discussion or collaborative research on your subject.

reply to post by cyoshi
Damn right ^.^

I've been battling disinfo agents for years. All over teh interwebs. It's interesting analyzing which topics have more out of place negativity and ignorant comments than others. Then there's the more stealth thread hijacking lolz.

But darn right they exist. Scourge of the internet, I rate them worse than Spam! Intentionally suppressing information and truth from your own species

What scum....

Edit: I remember when I was younger raging at illogical comments posted on Digg.com on certain topics I was shocked by the lack of knowledge and was spurred into action! Keyboard Warrior Represent lol.

But in all honesty I feel defending specific topics and truths on the internet at this point in human history has a major effect on our social landscape. We cant just let paid disinfo agents spread propaganda. I don't like where that situation heads :/

Did I mention I view these people as utter scum ? not the troll but the paid shill variant of troll.

reply to post by cyoshi


Trolls like to cause a distraction and point the finger at others.

they do this by posting threads like this.

you have just made yourself current number 1 suspect on this site.

we will be watching.

reply to post by cyoshi


I think you are giving trolls far too much prestige by claiming they are paid disinfo agents, a few may be.

Most are cantankerous losers who get off on arguments and are angry individuals venting.
Some people just love arguing.

I note today I have read a post on here calling all British people slaves and from the land of the harpies, or something to that affect, whatever that means. They are just words designed to aggravate and get a reaction.

I personally have been called a moron and a liar on here by some pre teen juvenile.

You give them far too much credit claiming they are professionals - they are NOT.

Originally posted by cyoshi

Sometimes, these strategies are used by AVERAGE people with serious personality issues.

If you see someone using these tactics often, or using many of them at the same time, you may be dealing with a paid internet troll.

So let me get this straight, if you disagree with YOUR opinions then you are being paid to troll OR you have serious personality issues. Forget the fact that people with different experiences and educations may disagree based solely on the fact that you could possibly be wrong.. or are you never wrong and everyone is a troll?

Hmmm.....

reply to post by HelenConway

mmmm unfortunately some human beings are indeed emotional vampires and just love to put people down or spread ignorant sh*t just for fun. Many trolls will be attributed to this.

But for me personally it is unmistakable the mark of the paid disinfo agents on our internet. Think less specific people specific posts and think of topics. Then when viewing many forums and other corners of the internet + looking at mainstream media spin one can easily see a imbalance of opinion in very specific areas.

One area I noticed as did many others but is a very touch subject to bring up. (There was a thread detailing one of these people although unverified but his story seemed very genuine). And that topic was to do with Israel and the Zionist movement. I have nothing against the people of Israel be it Israelis or Palestinians. But I did notice a massive wave across all corners of the internet singing praise. a noticeable spike in the data stream if you will.

So paid shills trying to steer global awareness and opinion formation definitely exists. That's just my opinion of course

reply to post by vkey08

Actually think about what it must take to be a paid shill? If you were a rational intelligent human being wouldn't it eat at your soul? I suspect any agency that operates a paid shill opinion formation center would screen people and pick them based on there personality to reduce turnover and undesirable questions.

That just seems logical to me. And people with emotional and personal issues of various types would more adequately fit the bill.

reply to post by Mandrakerealmz


OK well lets agree that there are definitely - trolls who are just mega - - ssers ?
With a capital T
If there are paid disinfo agents they are going to target the political threads.

Ah yes, Trolls. Part of internet life.

This is where moderators can be very handy... They need to have the ability to detect the patterns of posters, and go from there. Only they would be able to do something about the problem.

I believe a very effective tactic that can be used to deal with trolls is to create a "two-tiered thread system", as described in this ATS thread here.

Originally posted by HelenConway
reply to post by Mandrakerealmz

 

OK well lets agree that there are definitely - trolls who are just mega - - ssers ?
With a capital T

If there are paid disinfo agents they are going to target the political threads.

Political definitely.

Potentially even topics about aliens and ufos to keep it being discredited and not taken seriously (although its hard to tell if that's necessary anymore because of great success with previous disinformation campaigns. Now it just draws nutjobs in and is very self discrediting unfortunately...)

Free Energy technology is a MAJOR TARGET for disinfo agents. I defend this one to the core! somewhat to defend Nikola Teslas legacy and somewhat to get us off big oil.

New developments in Medical science is also heavily targeted. and Big pharma and the dodgy practices they get up to are defended by disinfo agents.

I think Monsanto have there very own private disinfo corporation lol damn......

Etc many more.

reply to post by cyoshi


I have no doubt there are paid disinformation agents. The cabal/illuminati/whatever are in damage control and will utilise whatever strategy it takes to maintain control. They are not completely in control anymore - now that thousands upon thousands of people are awake and aware. Could even be reaching the millions mark and that is going to make them very uncomfortable.

The cabal/illuminati/whatever will try to maintain control until they are no longer able to control the masses. It is very close and getting closer everyday. Paid disinformation agents have to pay bills and sell out because they want to survive - I can understand that but it does not mean the disinformation agents are getting paid for a job well done - they are merely getting paid for obeying instructions.

Much Peace...to all the awakened and those who are rousing and the rest who will follow...

i see alot of these paid trolls in chemtrail discussions all the time.

if the pay was right, i would do it...just kidding, id never support that type of movement to hide,debunk the truth through false claims and str8 up lies. its gross, but we must just make our info that much stronger so that they cannot discredit it and try to make a mockery of the truth. molon labe

trolls must be ignored, it's the only way to defeat them

paid trolls don't exist imho

reply to post by cyoshi

6) False Moderation: Pretending to be the “voice of reason” in an argument with obvious and defined sides in an attempt to move people away from what is clearly true into a “grey area” where the truth becomes “relative.”

Because reality is only black and white. There is only Good and Evil. Since your opinions are clearly the Truth and stand on the side of Good, anyone who comes across as being the least bit reasonable, or who points out subtleties and shades of grey, can can only be an evil, paid disinformation agent, shill or troll.

Couldn't agree more OP!

1) Make outrageous comments designed to distract or frustrate: I especially hate it when people say that the government is killing civillians. Or that 9/11 wasn't and inside job! Or that the media is trying to turn everyone homosexual. Or the ones that say alien life couldn't exist. Then there is people saying that feminists aren't all crazy.
2) Pose as a supporter of the truth: Yes, I really hate it when people say they are telling the truth when clearly they're not. The moon landing is obviously fake.
3) Dominate Discussions: Yes, with their really long posts that just take ages to respond to and take attention to my well written research about the moon.
4) Prewritten Responses: Yes, I'm very careful with this. I always make sure that even if I'm saying something I've said before that I carefully craft it anew so people know I'm human.
5) False Association: Yes, I like to associate the bay of pigs with things orrrrrr the occupy movement with things, but I never do it falsely.
6) False Moderation: Yes! People come in and try to be liked and non-confrontational in the middle of my arguement with someone ... and they sound all mature but I'm just flipping tables. Trolls.
7) Straw Man Arguments: I never make any of these and that is important. Trolls use these techniques, so all trolls are easy to identify!

Wait ... a minute ...



WE'RE ALL TROLLS!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ....

Bogus list is bogus. That is all.

reply to post by vkey08

So let me get this straight, if you disagree with YOUR opinions then you are being paid to troll OR you have serious personality issues. Forget the fact that people with different experiences and educations may disagree based solely on the fact that you could possibly be wrong.. or are you never wrong and everyone is a troll?

Hmmm.....

Exactly the point I was going to make. Thank you.

reply to post by DJW001


Trolls do not do that though do they - they are rude, they are ignorant they name call .. they are just basically sad people who are extremely disrespectful and not nice people, I doubt they even have any friends.

First, I'd want to note that the incidence of REAL paid trolls or internet users here by direction and not choice is rare outside of particular periods where it matters such as elections or a MAJOR bill they want public opinion lined up 100% for, IMO.

Having said that...finding trolls who are here for an Agenda isn't hard. Calling them out is a T&C violation, by the way, so reporting them is better. (I KNOW some mods personally hate trolls as much as any of us do....it won't be ignored, in my experience, if legitimate)


My English instructor said it best though and he was talking about students knowing the material vs. just being familiar with it for an Essay. It fits here too because users who care and know the material because of it will stand out from trolls who simply become familiar with material as a job.

Push a suspected troll... Demand sourcing and support..then their OWN words in their OWN reasoning for why such a thing does or doesn't make sense. Why it should or shouldn't be. A legitimate member will probably come back 2 fold stronger with all you asked and more. A troll isn't going to have the depth of knowledge OR passion to care enough. They won't have near that same depth of knowledge or ability to handle a subject .....and it shows.

Originally posted by HelenConway
reply to post by DJW001

 

Trolls do not do that though do they - they are rude, they are ignorant they name call .. they are just basically sad people who are extremely disrespectful and not nice people, I doubt they even have any friends.

Just a quick note on this. Trolls that are here for their personal gratification by pissing off everyone else and generally making their day by ruining others will name call and be obnoxious little brats.

PAID Trolls WILL NOT be that way. Never. Just the opposite..although I've seen a couple here carrying a wicked hard edge to everything they've said. Consider the fact paid trolls are PAID to be a member....which means, STAYING a member matters. T&C bans are probably a dandy way to become a formerly employed troll and lose that paycheck they're getting to blather on. Just my thoughts.