To What Extent has PF been used as a Russian Propaganda Site

Given that we know Facebook has been selling space for Russian propaganda and their attempts to throw the election, and given that we have seen a good number of RW links here that came from Facebook, it begs the question: How much of that propaganda has been used here either intentionally or unintentionally. How many threads have been created due to Russian misinformation? It seems that eventually the full extent of Facebook's involvement with the Russians will be revealed - including specific stories posted by the Russians.

I would bet we have seen most of it here and used in defense or support of Trump. And I have seen plenty of stories from Russia Today and Sputnik News.

 

would you consider USA Today to be US propaganda or the BBC to be Brittish propaganda?

 

^ Thread win.

 

I could care less where the propaganda originates . I don't see native propaganda as any better or safer than Russian or Chinese or Ugandan propaganda. If we are smart enough to know what it is when we read it, it does not matter because we have been immunized regardless. .
If we aren't smart enough recognize when we are being manipulated by a propagandist, then our schools have failed us. I don't care if the source is the Democratic party, Donald Trump, The AFL-CIO, the Israeli lobby, Mothers against Drunk Drivers, The ABA, or the KKK.

. I know an emotional appeal from a reasoned one. I know when loaded terms are used or when classes of people are being marginalized or glorified and at who's expense. If you can't sense an agenda being pursued, or when your buttons are being pushed, then you should never have graduated from high school.

 

Wildly inappropriate OP title, btw.

 

The question isn't whether or not propaganda was spread, but to what effect. Propaganda, misinformation, and unproven conspiracies undoubtedly entered PF debates. The "pizzagate" theory, and theories on Seth Rich were debated. I mention those specifically, because those haven't been resolved to some posters satisfaction. HRC's email scandal, and primary rigging are factual. So the question becomes, how many swing state voters either voted Trump, or stayed home due to Seth Rich, or "pizzagate"... I'll go out on a limb and say zero HRC voters jumped ship, or stayed home because of either. If MSM had been reporting a dead heat in swing states, we may have seen a different outcome. MSM "landslide" ... "no path to victory" was the disinformation that hurt HRC. You could poll Dems on PF and see if anyone was influenced by propaganda, but "fake news" of landslides is your culprit.

 

Exactly this. Terribad websites from Macedonia and piss poor ads from the Russian facebook sites did not tip the election, or even alter it in anyway. This is the US Government trying to cover its own corruption, after FISA abuses have been revealed to the masses. Republicans and Democrats colluded to create a corrupt government that serves the interests of the oligarchy, at the expense of the average US Citizen.

 

Are..were.. Russians particularly better suited for destroying Hillary's bid for the White House than....well, Hillary herself?

 

As a former mod I cleared a number of members whose IP's traced back to Russia and the staff does block or otherwise root out problematic IP's. I was never able to determine if a Russian member was a government agent as my assigned vetting process did not go that deep nor do I think a Russian operative would make their ties to the Russian government easy to determine like logging in from a Russian government IP.

 

Yeah, allow me to clarify: Were there a few internet actors? That's clearly been demonstrated. Was this forum's integrity(or any online network's integrity) compromised by those actors? No. I didn't need 4chan to tell me Hillary isn't trustworthy, and neither is Trump. I don't rely on Sputnik or anything else to know that we're not being told the total truth by anyone.

What I consider to be lies, come from my own, personal judgment. Maybe I'm wrong and they're actually telling the truth. Nothing that a sorry and a little forgiveness won't fix. Besides, it's better if in fact our Intel services have not gone astray.

But I'm not going to blindly believe anybody. I'm sure as hell not going to blindly believe the people who have an agenda. The best part about this forum is that everyone's agendas are naked. Everyone know's whats up. It's all about what you accept or not.

 

This brings up the biggest reason that I am.not falling fully in line with the Russia hacked DNC network and proof was found. The Russians are simply too good at this to be leave tracks. Unless it's like a double blind where they let it get tracked back to Russia because we all know the Russians would never be tracked back to Russia.

 

FISA comes up for permanent re-authorization in Dec. Which amounts to nothing, as the NSA has created itself an end run, around collecting domestic communications. I started a thread, some time ago: "Age of no privacy" ... the NSA built "offshore" hubs where they collect domestic "meta-data" that has been re-routed, outside the US, for that sole purpose. Billion$ have been invested in the collection apparatus, and simply eliminating the Patriot Act isn't enough to end the abuse.

 

It is possible that the OP is as impressionable as Tom Tuttle.

 

The bad actors fronting Russia are known and easily contained.

I can think of two other very pro-Alt Right American message boards that let them run wild and punish any who other posters interfere with them.

 

The answer is simple: Deem NSA a foreign entity, declare war on it and get rid of the Hubs. Now, good luck on Congress actually writing that authorization, but that's how I see it at this point.

 

Let us test the last part I bolded. Tell me what you perceive my agenda to be? Perhaps you have seen me declare my agenda previously so you already know, but if not then I will be shocked if you actually guess my agenda correctly.

 

Well I've been completely upfront and honest hear that I am a Russian loyalist. I get propaganda fed to me from the Kremlin with the instructions on what to do with them and fulfill my duties. I get paid every month the amount is dependent on how active I am.

 

I agree. I also have a degree in Information Security Systems and can attest to just how difficult it can be to track a target let alone uncover their true identity. This does not mean that the hack did or did not happen, but if it did then it will likely be evidence like human intelligence or electronic eavesdropping that cracks the case as opposed to a technical trace of an IP.

 

Clearly you weren’t around during the height of the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s invasion. If you had been you wouldn’t need to ask this question.

 

I'm finished ... where the hell am I supposed to exchange these damn rubles?

 

We haven't had that many interactions. But I'll take a deductive guess. I wouldn't take you for someone whose Far-Left, but you're definitely not a dye-in-the-tool conservative either. Most probably a Moderate, maybe leaning a bit Left?

 

Yeah I remember when you were a mod. You guys did a pretty crappy job. Russian trolls pretty much controlled the Latest News section posting blatant troll threads and propaganda daily. But their threads were never deleted or moved to the appropriate sections. Their trolling was never punished. But you guys sure loved punishing anyone who tried to combat their trolling. Me. Ronstar. Above Alpha. The guy who’s name starts with a P that I can’t spell. Zoom. And many others. I’ve always wondered why the mods back then were so pro Russian trolls. Maybe you could finally answer?

 

We can be sure that plenty of disinfo has found its way here. Heck, it still is. I think the directed efforts of Russian trolls would have been on Facebook and Twitter, as we have heard and read of late, as they are extremely popular with so many people on them, and they allow for disinfo to be shared rapidly and easily. I suspect most if not all of that disinfo that made its way here came via those taken in by it, and not so much, if at all, by actual Russian trolls. A forum like this is relatively puny, and there are countless forums out there anyway. It would be a waste of time and effort for them to try and target forums, even this one, directly.

 

"Other?"

This place is pretty well balanced, though thoughtful liberals, moderates and true lefties are a bit outgunned here; 60/40 or 55/45.

 

Dude, don't you think you should take this up privately?

Jeez.