Troll networks manipulated gun conversation after Florida shooting, expert says

Before I start off, this is not another Russia boogeyman thread.

That being said, if the Russians find it viable and worth while to stir up unrest in the states.... It is a problem. I don't think Russia is the problem here, I really think the problem is we're susceptible to such tactics.

Immediately after the mass shooting at a Florida high school last week, hundreds of Twitter accounts turned their focus "almost on a dime" to amplify the events of the tragedy, Jonathan Morgan told CNBC on Tuesday.

According to The New York Times, those Twitter accounts are suspected of having links to Russia. Before the shooting that left 17 dead, many of those accounts had been focused on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the paper reported.

I think the following is the most important take away, as any time the Russians have tried to do anything, they play both sides.

"It's hard to say exactly who's behind all of the content that we see but what we can say is that there [are] multiple networks of accounts, they're manipulating the conversation and they are playing both sides," he told "Closing Bell."

CNBC

Let's focus on this and not get into a gun debate, plenty of threads to do that right now.

And we don't even have to focus on Russia, as I'm sure they're not the only player in this tactic.

How did we go from a strong unwavering country open to all kinds of ideas become so fickle? How is it we got so "strong" in our own ideologies that we dismiss the opinions of others as if they were some how toxic?

Either way I think it had put us in a vulnerable situation. Going forward arguments and conversations will be loaded with fallacies because of the looming troll argument or "it was all rigged".

Tough times lay ahead.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Creating division from within against you enemies. It's a tactic used by all nations thru history. We do it to other nations, it's only logical that they will do the same to us.

According to the New York Times...

everything can be linked to Russia.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

The federal government COULD harden its citizens against propaganda. But they dont.

Because they repealed smith mundt with the sole purpose of running propaganda on us.

I cant tale this topic seriously because of that.

originally posted by: intrptr

According to the New York Times...

everything can be linked to Russia.

While I see your point, hence this isn't a Russia boogeyman thread disclaimer....

To think they wouldn't respond after the detrimental sanctions because of Crimea or their belief we destabilized Ukraine is underestimating them.

I don't necessarily consider them a threat more than I consider our crumbling society one.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I couldn't agree more. I doubt the government wants a presidential election turnout to much higher than 50%.

Out of the 50%, I wondee how many get all information from mainstream media. I wonder how many even try and read the same article from different view points.

Troll networks!

Which ones?

They supposedly track bots back to their source completely ignorings that anonymous ip, and spoofing exists.

Cyber false flags.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if the usual suspects have a bunch of kids on some basement paying them to do it.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Twitter accounts

In other news: not one of my better friends uses Twatter. This social media bubble is being blown up into epic proportions. And someone paid an idiot for a study that presented us with the conclusion, our opinions would be rather easy to sway with some trolling.
PR Agency Comedy Gold, folks. And the good thing would be, that you don't have to pay journalists in order to research ...err... real stories. Copapaste some dpa sh!t or whatnot and let the intern do the "legwork".

It's not the case, that we're driven from one topic to another (in no time) due to the media reports and a very short attention span, eh? Trolling isn't a problem when it's done to stress a point, not to derail the debate and attack the people involved. I wanna read one MSM piece that refers to such nuances at last, but sadly this isn't that one.

One could say they're trolling us with trolling in order to boost their own legitimacy. The politicians, bureaucats, media, spindocs, every more shady troll profits from new inventions to "save us" from meddling with our opinions.

Troll times lay ahead.

a reply to: neo96

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if the usual suspects have a bunch of kids on some basement paying them to do it.

I wouldn't be surprised at all. Like I said in the OP, I think that there are probably more than one parties. Hell, the NSA is massive and they've lied about their functions on more than one occasion, whos to say it's not them or the CIA to fuel fear.

That being said, Russia isn't a country that just takes blows without giving them. But I don't think they're necessarily a problem.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

But I don't think they're necessarily a problem.

They are no more of a problem than they've been since the end of world war 2.

The bigger problem is a political party so delusional thinking they are the only people that should be running this country.

Hence the manufactured boogieman, and new one, bots.

Sorry to see that people are too intimidated on this site to use the word "Russians" anymore, because it's been made such a mockery here.

It is the freaking Russians.

They have propagated so much of our fighting with each other. Even the whole "bend the knee" football thing, fighting between parties, races, guns, you name it. Anything they can do to cause conflict and unrest. And your president is allowing it, and loving it.

But mention it here, and you are laughed at, mocked, and generally scoffed. Or "well, we do it to them, so it's okay".

It's all such utter BS. You've got Democrats supporting the FBI, and Republicans supporting Russians. I think the Russians will keep it up until they've got us in a near civil war. We might be in one already.

it's utter madness. the country has lost it's way. Taken a wrong turn into a true Idiocracy, and are not seeing clearly enough to find our way back.

Good luck with it all.

a reply to: angeldoll

So what?

The US meddled in the last Ukrainian election,Israeli elections, and every other foreign election for the last 60 years.

Pretty effing hard to cry foul.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I don't necessarily consider them a threat more than I consider our crumbling society one.

Very well said. And as societies go, this one is crumbling FAST. Whether the spread of fake news caused this or is simply accelerates the crumbling, I don't know, but part of the pheomenon is the rapid decline in trust, respect for critical key institutions of Democracy.

a reply to: TonyS

I don't know, but part of the pheomenon is the rapid decline in trust, respect for critical key institutions of Democracy.

Exactly. People are acting like this country isn't a collective of all our ideas. People think we can only have one or another. Often times it's the perspective of the other side that will help perfect an idea.... We're forgetting that.

My position on this has been the same from the beginning.

None of it would matter. The troll networks, the Russians, fake news, echo chambers, propaganda, brainwashing. None of it would matter. Not even that guy Smith Mundt going missing. If we were not so susceptible to it in the first place.

Maybe that should be looked into first. Just a thought. Not a command. Just a thought. Again not a command. Just a thought.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Exactly. People are acting like this country isn't a collective of all our ideas. People think we can only have one or another. Often times it's the perspective of the other side that will help perfect an idea.... We're forgetting that.

Interesting perspective. "A collective of all our ideas"; that's from back in the day when Congress operated on the basis of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" and people from both sides of the aisle would hammer out compromises. It was a "patronage" system; Texas would get a power plant, Wisconsin would get a bridge, or whatever.

Read some weeks back that that system all came to an end some time in the 1990's when people elected to Congress were of the mindset that anything/everything Congress and government did was bad and that the only solution was to obstruct everything all the time, and except for brief periods when one party controlled both houses, that's pretty much how things have worked in Congress, i.e., nothing gets done.

Now enter the the era of Identity politics and that has all but ended genuine "ideological" debate and by that I mean, "my plan is better than your plan because of X, Y, & Z" which led to debate on the merits of competing ideas about how to get things done, how to improve things, etc. Now there's no debate, just DEMANDS for more of this or that for this group or that group based on race, gender, etc.

So now we have whole groups of people who simply refuse to accept the results of the last presidential election and guess what? After the next presidential election, assuming there's a change, or when there is a change and a Democrat is elected, whole groups of other people will cry foul and refuse to accept the results of that election.

And all this against the backdrop of Sanctuary Cities and States that refuse to enforce Federal Laws and Legalized Marijuana jurisdictions that are flaunting Federal Drug Laws.

Going forward..............I seriously doubt the center will hold and we're already seeing the cracks; people are abandoning the NFL, the US Winter Olympics team is a disaster and ratings are in the toilet. Where does this go next?
It wouldn't surprise me that the next development will be violence at polling places during a future election.

In short..................this is a MESS!

a reply to: TonyS

We still operate on a patronage system globally. For instance, Canada gets to mine potash. No one else enters into the market, for the most part, because that is Canada's gig.

Chinas had rare earth minerals pretty much locked up.

Part of it is trade agreements. Part of it is that its just not worth mining potash when the canadians can manipulate the market. But the end result is still patronage.

originally posted by: neo96
a reply to: angeldoll

So what?

The US meddled in the last Ukrainian election,Israeli elections, and every other foreign election for the last 60 years.

Pretty effing hard to cry foul.

People toss that around on these boards. I see it every day.
What is your source for that? I'd like to see some documentation.

Is it another lie? Another 'fact' Russia wants us to believe? Or is it real? How can you, Neo, know this? Show me the proof.

And why are you defending them? Why such submission to their interference? You stand with them against our democracy?

Although I'm certain Russia uses propaganda to stir things up and divide the US, and I'm certain they would love for our citizens to lose all gun rights, which would make us an easier target, I don't think that most of the trolling is them.

My theory - the Correct the Record mechanism put into place for Hillary's campaign never stopped. Now they were just fed a new mission.

So 10 years ago Twitter barely even existed and today our country can't have an opinion with out first looking one on Twitter?

Sorry I don't buy it. I don't even know anyone who uses Twitter as a matter of fact. This leads me to believe that we are blowing this whole Twitter bot thing out of proportion. Don't get me wrong, from what I understand Twitter is full if Bots, Russian and otherwise .... I'm just saying it doesn't matter and we are wasting to much ennergy thinking it does.