How many Sock Puppets and Dis-information Agents are there on ATS?

I believe, that more often than not, those suspected of sock-puppetry or disinformation just have a different opinion. Humans are often irrational and emotional. We pick those information which fits into our worldview and discard conflicting information.

Then are some individuals, who are manipulative and use dirty tricks to disrupt a discussion. They attack those with other opinions on an emotional level and lead them away from the topic of interest. Their most common techniques are the use of ridicule and the posting of things unrelated to the discussed topic.

These manipulators may just be bored, passionate trolls, lawyers or PR-people in training or someone with a personal grudge. If they come in pairs, they might be sock-puppets - but I believe that at least some of them are agents trying to suppress certain information.

The 9/11 discussions are especially hostile. Instead of arousing interest and a desire to learn, the hard tone chases one away from the topic.

Governments all over the world have used their power to prevent certain information from reaching their citizens. Books have been censored, propaganda has been spread and those critical of the regime have been ridiculed or declared as unpatriotic and dangerous. In the Soviet Union dissidents often landed in mental asylums, criticism of the government became a sign of insanity.
en.wikipedia.org...

You don't have to go to as far back as to the time of McCarthyism, to see, that similar tactics have been used in the US.

The FBI surveilled, infiltrated, discredited and disrupted domestic political organizations which fought for social change. Agents targeted individuals like Martin Luther King with smear campaigns and tried to undermine their credibility.

Most conspiracy theorists may not be active working for social change, but the information they gather and spread is often subversive. Naturally the state tries to prevent subversive “truths” from spreading. Declassified government documents and scientific papers show, that CTs are in fact a target of state-sponsored propaganda efforts. Nowadays propaganda efforts target more and more the web, as the web is replacing the traditional MSM as primary source of information.

After the JFK-assassination, the CIA instructed their media assets not to initiate any discussion of the assassination question, where it is not already taking place. It also provided its assets with talking points how they should write book reviews and articles against those sceptical of the official JFK-assassination story.
mtracy9.tripod.com...

Cass Sunstein, the current head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has written a paper in which he encourages the government to secretly infiltrate chat-rooms, forums and real groups to disseminate “coutnermisinformation” and disrupt these groups. His focus are “conspriacy theorists” especially those interested in 9/11
www.salon.com...

The DoD is also interested in manipulating opinions and a secret directive named “Information Operations Roadmap” from 2003 calls for the ability to rapidly disseminate persuasive US-government-friendly information to diverse audiences in order to directly influence them. This directive is not meant for the American public, but since web is reaches worldwide, it is clear, that disseminated disinformation abroad will find back its way to the US.
news.bbc.co.uk...
www.gwu.edu...

To facilitate the dissemination of government propaganda, the US military is developing software, that will allow it to secretly manipulate social media sites by using sock-puppets. So it is not unlikely, that at least some agents already use sock-puppets without the use of a specialized software.

A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.

www.guardian.co.uk...

reply to post by MajorKarma


Well I'm no believer in the 911 fairly tale. but I do have to say something:

But again I will ask, come on, surely there is one of you Government Sock Puppets willing to admit your presence and why not go on to tell us what you are really up to.

These rants are a dime a dozen now. Sure, there are probably 3 people here that, in some loose form, are working for "them". But people seem to equate having an opinion that doesn't match yours as disinfo.

Why are the same people posting the same stuff in all these threads? Because each and every 911 thread is the same, no new information is brought to light, no information is presented in a manner to actually convince the unsure. All this 911 truth back slapping has turned into a close community of believers reiterating the same information we had 10 years ago. Over and over and over.

Again, I'm fairly confident thermite or thermate or a military grade of that material, was used, as it was found in various independently tested samples. I do believe Mossad had a lot to gain from this, and I also remember the Israeli spy ring busted right around 911 with possible ties to the event.

But that doesn't give me free run to call everyone who doesn't see it my way a disinfo sock puppet.

Let me hip you to something you don't want to know, and the site owners will probably censor.

Nothing here at ATS is that important or ground breaking to actually concern them enough to spend a dime "infiltrating" the site.

there's nothing to infiltrate, it's an open forum and anyone can register.

The disinfo agents aren't the ones disagreeing with you about 911. They are the ones inciting hatred and violence, usually against a race (arab, racial jew) or other groups (mexicans, gays). The disinfo agents aren't the ones here posting random dribble, they are the ones writing the blog articles people here are sourcing.

Maybe i'm wrong. What conspiracies has ATS uncovered and proven? what stories has ATS broke? Sure, ATS was the go to site for information about the Japan disaster, no ones questioning that. But what here at ATS is that close to "them"? nothing. I haven't seen anything to warrant more than passing attention.

the people inciting violent actions against the government are the disinfo agents.

it's 2011. No new information about 911 has come out in years. You aren't going to convince people at this point, and reitterating the same old information that didn't convince them before, is the definition of insanity.

911 truth used to be about the truth. Now it's a club for teen "activists" to have drum circles and chant slogans, desperately wishing they were their hippy parents actually protesting and making a change.

what has 911 truth done lately? Of value? nothing. Oh, they sure love getting up in peoples faces with their cell phone cameras "putting them on the spot" but other than that, it's the same group of people, telling the same information, over and over. It's a close circuit.

sorry but disinfo agents are probably lurking sites that have more public opinion and actually matter. this is just a conspiracy website, which in its own right reeks of dis information.

Theories and Hypothesis are meant to be challenged...It's only through the challenging that they can be proved to stand up, or not. Maybe the governments don't actually know what they are doing at all, and are just looking for ideas that may stand up.
Personal attacks should never be allowed, but I suppose that an individual that is desperate enough wouldn't be above bribery...and as for the 'troll' can you blame them for a bit of extra cash?

Why involve the planes if it was really taken down with explosives? It just doesn't make any sense (not to mention, a LOT more to go wrong).

If 911 was perpetrated by the government, it STILL would have been easy to dismiss as terrorism if it were bombs...so why add the added complication of planes?

Isn't it just as easy to believe that the "multiple explosions" people heard was really the building coming apart? It is to me.

The big problem I have with the govt is behind it theory is simply motive. The Patriot Act? It would have been just as easy to stage a terror attack that didn't incapacitate the airline industry or help the economy take a nosedive. What govt WANTS to screw their economy???

There are still unanswered questions to be sure, especially as to what we knew, when we knew it. My guess is that as always, intelligence is much easier to process AFTER the fact...then you can see where the pieces fit. So, we were able to deduce who did it relatively quickly...but of course, due to how much we're in bed with Saudi royals and families, we had to get them out of dodge before the storm came.

reply to post by Gazrok

Originally posted by Gazrok

If 911 was perpetrated by the government, it STILL would have been easy to dismiss as terrorism if it were bombs...so why add the added complication of planes?

Well there is the sheer shock value of it, never underestimate the power of that.

Plus, there is the effect it had on the airlines, both in the stock market and in a more obvious way, i.e - massive increase in airport security, body scanners etc...

Originally posted by megabogie
I think some ATS'ers want a disinfo agent lurking around...makes them feel their ideas are so important that the government has to keep an eye on them.

This is exactly the case! Pathological Narcissism! I often muse that these are the people that never had friends at school! The types that no one really paid attention to...

IRM

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep

To the contrary, while there are those who can claim ignorance and others simply "wanna believe"m there are many "HERE" who spin and spin and seek to discredit undeniable facts. There is no point in giving examples because the examples are many every day. I could easily chalk it all up to there being a lot of truly stupid people on ATS, as there are but those I am speaking of are noticeably articulate.

I will add that I rarely make comments where I don't have hard first hand knowledge. I know for example that we have ETs on our planet because I have had a face to face encounter which subsequently, says that those who refute that there are, are either just ignorant or liars. My now dead brother was a fireman on 9-11 and both of us have/had military experience with explosives and Clyde (my brother) said to me many times, their were many explosions and they were high grade explosions, not boilers or transformers blowing up. The list is long and I of course did not really expect any disinformation agents to speak up but it is funny, the Bunny is on my list but he is probably just a pissant contrarion.

The very best guides were from about 3-4 years ago and put the cointelpro guide to shame.

The top guide outlined 12 common tactics. It got put away pretty quick because it talked about moderator infiltration and told how to determine which mods were dirty.

They must be lost in the ATS archive vaults now.....

Just because someone doesn't agree with your world view does not mean they are your enemy, that they are evil or that they are paid government agents...

Take some time off ats, everything is not a conspiracy against you.

I believe the best disinfo agents are the ones who don't know they're agents at all.
Just like the best sock puppet doesn't know there's a hand up his a$$.

Here's a better question:
"How many Truthers have ever had their opinion swayed by so-called Sock Puppets?"

The answer, zero.
So why would the government waste time trying to change the minds of those who already have made up their minds?

(I'm not implying that only Truthers are set in their opinions. I understand that people who don't believe the government was involved aren't likely to change their minds either.)

Also, it's a bit childish to call anyone who doesn't agree with your opinion an imbecile. After all, it's a conspiracy THEORY.

I think for some people, they have not gone as far down the rabbit hole as others have and they MAY be getting a bad rap or called a puppet.

Myself as a prime example on 9/11.

I dont think it was a controlled demo, because there are too many experts on both sides of the fence saying the exact opposite thing. Those that believe one side, try to refute the other sides points...IT WILL NVER GO AWAY!

I do think the FED absolutely knew it was coming and did nothing to prevent it. That is where I stand and their are some facts that seems to back that up.

Does that make me a sock puppet, because I dont believe what some one else believes is an imperical fact?

I dont think it does. All it means to me is that we have various levels of understanding or maybe, I dont put as much stock into 9/11 conspiracy as I do the survival page. One just means more to me in my life at this point than the other does.

reply to post by masqua


Am I understanding you correctly? The disinformation people are possibly the ones that will respond on a topic and break the ATS rules of conduct etc. and then the thread is closed...that is their strategy?

Originally posted by amaster
I believe the best disinfo agents are the ones who don't know they're agents at all.
Just like the best sock puppet doesn't know there's a hand up his a$$.

edit on 6/21/2011 by amaster because: (no reason given)

Well done.

That is the kind of reasoning that makes you smile. Cause deep down everyone knows its true.

Originally posted by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep
reply to post by NightGypsy

 

The fact is, anyone that does not agree with someone else's theory or belief, or information, automatically gets called a disinfo agent.

***snip***

I disagree with you my good person - even without being a disonfo agent.

Disinfo agent is when you don't buy into the strange theories and start questioning the presented "facts".

If you disagree with the persons who disagree with the strange theories you are not a disinfo agent but a truth seeker.

I admit it.
I am a disinfo agent.

I get paid by the Israelis and NSA to counter certain facts presented on ATS. I cannot disclose which of my posts are disinfo, but can tell you only this:
My disinfo is hidden between my posts with "proper facts" that refutes silly notions on ATS.

Though I cannot disclose my contatcs I CAN disclose the prise I am paid.
The NSA and the Israelis have been working together against normal people for many years and the reason I joined was because I was promised a dead certain place in Paradise. Only the Israelis can give that promise as they are closest to God.

reply to post by HolgerTheDane


So, you're being paid with air then? Hey, that's what I'm making!

Is being "paid" a requirement before you can be a member of the disinfo/sockpuppet/falseflagger/et al group that exists here? You will have to define "paid".

Money? Goods? Good will? Maybe some sort of future compensation (like special consideration being given to you or your family in terms of the priority given to your survival/happiness/existence at some time when it will be needed and invaluable?)

"Pay" is tough to define - I suppose some may be actual agents of government orgs or other formal entities and be paid directly. Others may be trying to damage the credibility of others in the ways you suggest just as patriots (at least in their own minds) or religious fanatics, or to do the "right thing", so their compensation is not in physical form.

A few are doing these things because they have become convinced that thier future depends on cooperating with entities that have requested that they do these things now.

This is just my two cents, but it comes from my own experience here and in other fields of mass media communication.

For the ones who thinks Ats arent infiltrate by disinfo agent you are probly like most of them ,you probly only write posts, you dont read them.

Anyway, google ATS co intel pro.
You'll end up with tons of non ats threads arguing about ATS being a disinfo site.
Now, i know its mainly because the edit incident that got reported to the FBI but its shocking to realised, that in real life, normal people thinks this site is for cuckoos.