Question: To what extent are disinformation agents active on ATS?

a reply to: Specimen

Thing is though, what would a disinfo agent really know about Alien activity or Ufo sighting compared to the disbelievers or believers?

Perhaps nothing at all, but that may not be the PURPOSE of the disinfo campaign.

Scenario: A TR3B or equivalent black project plane misfires on a test flight and needs to make a quick pit stop in an IOWA cornfield. An ATS regular see's a YouTube posting by some drive-by neophyte farmer that happens to grab a grainy video of the incident on his cheap cell phone. ATS discussion ensues. An XYZ agency monitoring the ATS site has alarms going off and switches on 'disinfo' mode, trotting out 'experts' and assorted sundry naysayers to blow holes through the story. Why? To buy time. To suggest it was actually in Indiana and not Iowa, so look there, everybody! To maybe even fan the "real" UFO flames so as to divert speculation that it may be "one of ours"...

Just saying - can it happen? Has it happened? What ELSE? Any OTHER scenarios you folks think would fit? (e.g. Area51-nah; DugwayNoWay, shootout at the Dulce corral, ISAAC droney-baloney, etc.)

originally posted by: Outrageo
Do you think they ever do anything more than just "take a peek' now and then? They don't post, i.e., 'disinform' -as a part of their job?

That wouldn't be the NSA's job. They're into SIGINT, crypto, and computer security.

You want UFO disinfo, that's a different department. Or a group of them, actually.

originally posted by: EA006

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
I think it was just recently stated by the site owner on another thread that there are more gov bot than actual members at ATS. Now imagine those he doesn't know about.

We are a think tank.
Have you noticed the amount of members missing? From the last two years'?

They're not missing. We've re-homed them in a wonderful new environment on the sea coast.

Love,
#6

Here's a member with 3letter agencies tracking his www. site. To think they aren't lurking and interacting here at ats seems very naive.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

Think about the amount of utter crap that is on this site,

Perhaps they, disonfo agents, post the utter crap to get people to believe it is all utter crap, diminishing the credibility of CT

originally posted by: Kandinsky
A certain, credible member made a series of popular posts and threads and did it all without leaving a trace. Maybe they were a 'paid disinfo agent' or an independent mischief-maker? We'll probably never know because they executed it all without so much as a fingerprint left behind.

That's all I can say about it.

I've run into people on ATS that I managed to identify IRL by their speech/posting habits, odd turns of phrase and the like. Some of THEM are actually pretty interesting. I would imagine a few of them could easily pull that off.

Software that looks really safe and to which one has the source code, sometimes isn't, anyway.

originally posted by: Outrageo

Other than the obvious conclusion of: they are here to lie to us, to discourage belief in aliens/UFOs, etc. – what else is there? If we agree that such disinformation agents exist and are active here (and, indeed, may be ubiquitous), who is paying them? WHY ARE THEY LYING TO US? What do they hope to gain by doing so? Is it fear of disclosure?

It's ironic that you've posted this statement underneath a picture of the "Mirage Men" book which is largely about allegations of secret government efforts to ENCOURAGE belief in aliens and UFOs.

originally posted by: Outrageo
And another thing: How is that so many disparate agencies, international governments, and private enterprises are able to pull this off in concert? There seems to be an amazing dichotomy here if we are to accept that all of these separate, contradicting units, that compete and bungle and conflict on every other global issue are somehow able to ‘keep it together’ when it comes to protecting this oh-so-important secret! What? We can pollute and destroy our planet, kill each other with abandon, ruin our economies, fight over and botch the most innocuous issue, fail and fiasco our way through every international dispute – but we (they) are somehow able to enforce and maintain a disinformation campaign and keep us in the dark over this Alien/UFO question indefinitely? Is that believable?

Well, an obvious possibility is that there really is no capital S "secret" about aliens and UFOs that needs to be enforced and maintained.

originally posted by: OtherSideOfTheCoin
The thing that always gets me about this idea of having "shills" working on ATS is this:

Why bother?

Think about the amount of utter crap that is on this site, just stuff that is quite obviously total bollocks, why would they need disinfo agents, what are they going to do, post yet more pictures of Martian rocks?

I am sure that there is someone sitting in a office at the NSA who every now and then might have a little peek at what is being said on ATS and other conspiracy sites but nothing more.

I would think that they are more interested in social media sites than conspiracy sites.

Why wouldn't you think that most of those "obvious total bollocks" are brought here from shills? You just described how ATS is full of utter crap. There is your disinformation for you. Bombard the site with BS conspiracies. Sounds like a great way to make sure all the rest are not taken seriously.

You know this.

I don't think there's anything interesting enough here to warrant the attention of alphabet soup agencies.

It's not a secure enough forum for much whistleblowing activity and it's certainly not high enough traffic. It's full of half baked conjecture to the point where disinformation sells itself here.

I'm sure the idea that there are agencies working to make sure this group doesn't expose some hidden truth is flattering to membership, it's just a bit egotistical to believe that the opinions and theories here are revolutionary enough to warrant action from TPTB.

I fully understand that the govt has recorded information about forum use, and it's likely that membership here sends up the occasional red flag in a database somewhere, but I highly doubt we'd rank any real concern.

Now, I've known honest to god military intelligence folks on assignment to cyber security, and they do look on social media... But he was just a sweet dude looking for terrorists post 9/11. He didn't have an ulterior motive or seem to carry any deep dark secrets. I grew up around high ranking military folks and very few of them seemed truly perturbed. I think folks forget sometimes that most government folks are just people trying to do their jobs and live out relatively mundane lives.

And aliens? Aliens I'm sure would have the technology to avoid our perception if they wanted to, indefinitely. I highly doubt first contact would be through an internet forum, or that empirical evidence would ever surface here first.

a reply to: Outrageo

The point is there is really nothing you can do if I am one, I could simply just agree with you or go the other direction and you would not know either way! It is a moot point. Just exactly what do you hope to accomplish by calling on all Dis-Info agents to congregate to your OP? How could you prove or disprove the existence of such agents? Of course if we did exist you may want to unplug your computer and cover your web cam, put on some tinfoil and lock the doors because the MIB will be there shortly to erase all your memories.

Oh and you may need this for protection!

originally posted by: olaru12
Here's a member with 3letter agencies tracking his www. site. To think they aren't lurking and interacting here at ats seems very naive.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Those are just bots, and if you think they aren't "tracking" (as you put it) damn near every website, you'd be sorely mistaken.

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
a reply to: OtherSideOfTheCoin

Think about the amount of utter crap that is on this site,

Perhaps they, disonfo agents, post the utter crap to get people to believe it is all utter crap, diminishing the credibility of CT

If i were to believe that all of the people who at one point or another have posted a thread that turns out to be total nonsense were disinfo agents then I would have to believe that every person on this site was a disinfo agent (myself included)

the people who dream up conspiracies are doing enough themselves to discredit them with out the hand of any government agency.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
The job of the agents is to catch the drive by people, to stop them listening to the birds in the cage.

That and what I like to call sheep calmers. Some people just want re-comfort and will agree to the first skeptic poster that says that all is ok and it isn't possible, isn't a conspiracy, that you would need to be a loony to agree to it thus killing interesting conversations.

There are many things that I mostly disbelieve, yet I don't mind debating and extrapolating on those subjects.

Since the internet itself was created as a tool of propaganda, the answer should be patently obvious.

They're here, there, and everywhere. It's all about conning, trolling, and ultimately - controlling.

originally posted by: htapath
Since the internet itself was created as a tool of propaganda...

Uh, yeah....Except it wasn't.....The internet (actually ARPANET) was created as a means of ensuring that a network could continue to function, even if individual nodes were lost.

Before ARPANET (the precursor to the internet), computer networks operated and communicated through one central hub. After the Russians launched Sputnik, the U.S. was concerned that a Russian attack (ie. nukes) could take out such hubs, thus rendering their entire networks useless. ARPANET was the solution to that.

So no, the internet was in no way, shape, or form created "as a tool of propaganda". Don't believe everything you read, particularly when it comes from conspiracy websites, and try doing some actual research yourself now and then; You just might learn something.

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance

originally posted by: htapath
Since the internet itself was created as a tool of propaganda...

Uh, yeah....Except it wasn't.....The internet (actually ARPANET) was created as a means of ensuring that a network could continue to function, even if individual nodes were lost.

Before ARPANET (the precursor to the internet), computer networks operated and communicated through one central hub. After the Russians launched Sputnik, the U.S. was concerned that a Russian attack (ie. nukes) could take out such hubs, thus rendering their entire networks useless. ARPANET was the solution to that.

So no, the internet was in no way, shape, or form created "as a tool of propaganda". Don't believe everything you read, particularly when it comes from conspiracy websites, and try doing some actual research yourself now and then; You just might learn something.

Oh please. This isn't my first rodeo, and we already have enough clowns in the show.



The shills were at their battle stations way back in 1992, and our engagements have been many.

Plot twist:

Maybe the internet is alive, and half the "people" I think I'm talking to aren't even real. Maybe the internet itself is the ultimate disinfo agent!

originally posted by: Outrageo

originally posted by: draknoir2
a reply to: Outrageo

This place is brimming with them.

Yes, granted, agreed, thank you. BUT WHO are they? And WHY? What is the motive? WHY lie to us?

The implication you preferred to miss was that the disinfo agents here are the believers, not the skeptics.

Therefore the motive is to get us to believe that the government is hiding every little piece of reality from us and we are nothing but spoon-fed larvae hanging somewhere in bags.

This motive can be attributed to a great many things. Perhaps one of them is that such agents feel that they themselves are entirely inconsequential and therefore everybody else must by necessity be equally inconsequential.

Harte

When governments don't care about inflation and are willing to print unlimited amounts of money, there is no reason not to pay some chump a year's salary to spend all day on the internet, propagating whatever version of reality most benefits said government. There are many countries with the means and motive to do so.

It's not even a matter of speculation though. The US and UK have admitted to such activity. Credible articles have been posted here on ATS about Germany, Israel, China, and Russia paying online operatives as well. A recent story about Russian state internet trolls included descriptions of sweat-shop style buildings full of people paid to sit shoulder to shoulder and type out comments exactly as ordered.

It's not a matter of how many people read ATS. This site is one of thousands if not milllions of forums, comment sections, and blogs a government 'shill' might use to manipulate the global populace.

The only way to counter it is to think for yourself. Vet sources yourself.
No wait that's not CT enough. I meant the only answer is to trust no one.

originally posted by: htapath

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance

originally posted by: htapath
Since the internet itself was created as a tool of propaganda...

Uh, yeah....Except it wasn't.....The internet (actually ARPANET) was created as a means of ensuring that a network could continue to function, even if individual nodes were lost.

Before ARPANET (the precursor to the internet), computer networks operated and communicated through one central hub. After the Russians launched Sputnik, the U.S. was concerned that a Russian attack (ie. nukes) could take out such hubs, thus rendering their entire networks useless. ARPANET was the solution to that.

So no, the internet was in no way, shape, or form created "as a tool of propaganda". Don't believe everything you read, particularly when it comes from conspiracy websites, and try doing some actual research yourself now and then; You just might learn something.

The shills were at their battle stations way back in 1992, and our engagements have been many.

They were a little late to the game, then, as the modern internet emerged very early in the 1980s, and commercial ISPs have been around since 1987 or so...