Fake news and its effect on the community

[SirRumpole]

The story about the fake news is a fake, and my original comment is also a fake...

 

[basilio]

So how many Alt right goats were created by the Kremlin to create a Trump Presidency.

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The right-wing’s favorite Internet personality was just outed as a Russian troll

Noor Al-Sibai
02 Nov 2017 at 21:32 ET

The photo used by Russian trolls that ran the "Jenna Abrams" account (left, via Medium) and Russian President Vladimir Putin riding a horse (right, via Creative Commons).
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Jenna Abrams’ tweets were beloved, at times, by both the alt-right and the celebrity blogosphere. Now, Congressional investigators have confirmed that her Twitter account was actually run out of St. Petersburg, Russia’s infamous troll farm.

According to The Daily Beast, the “Abrams” account that initially became famous after “fixing” a nude selfie posted by Kim Kardashian was run, along with thousands of others, by the Kremlin-funded Internet Research Agency. The account, which was supposed to be run by an American blogger, soon pivoted to right-wing rhetoric, including a professed belief in segregation.

Before she became a favorite among the reactionary right-wing set, however, “Abrams’ account built up an image of a straight-talking, no-nonsense, viral-tweet-writing young American woman.” After building a following with funny takes on pop culture and feminism, “she would push divisive views on immigration, segregation and Donald Trump” in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Abrams’ tweets were published everywhere from InfoWars to USA Today and Sputnik to The Washington Post, and high-profile users like Roseanne Barr, Michael McFaul and even, once, Starbucks’ corporate account responded to her on Twitter. Rather than just being a standalone Twitter account, Abrams also had a personal website, a Gmail account, a Medium account and a GoFundMe page.

It was on her Medium account last fall that the Internet Research Agency, masquerading as the millennial American blogger, published an editorial titled “Why do we need to get back to segregation.”


“Humanity has gone full circle,” the Abrams account wrote. “Never mind how many activists of any color died to get rid of segregation, and fought for inclusion, black people want it back. 100 percent free people made their choice, and their choice is segregation.”

Abrams was far from the first convincing Russian troll farm account. Last month, The Daily Beast also reported that one account, which posed as a black woman, was retweeted by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/th...ersonality-was-just-outed-as-a-russian-troll/

 

[basilio]

Twitter’s CEO shared tweets from ‘Russian troll farm’ account claiming to be a black woman: report

Noor Al-Sibai
20 Oct 2017 at 18:55 ET

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (image via Wikimedia Commons).
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is the latest victim of Russia’s propaganda “troll farms.”

According to The Daily Beast, Dorsey retweeted two post from by the account @Crystal1Johnson that claimed to be a black woman but has since been revealed an account made by the Russian Internet Research Agency with links to the Kremlin.

“Rihanna collects her Humanitarian of the Year award from Harvard. She kicked off #WomensHistoryMonth with a bang!” reads one of the tweets Dorsey shared from @Crystal1Johnson in March 2016.

The next week, he shared another that read “Nobody is born a racist. This picture is so sweet! Teach your children to judge others by the kind of person they are inside.”

The @Crystal1Johnson account was permanently barred from Twitter in August, and Dorsey has since deleted his RT’s. The Beast viewed them using the website Archive.is.


An “exhaustive” investigation by the Russian RBC news agency revealed the “Johnson” account was run out of the St. Petersburg “troll factory.”


Late last month, CNN revealed that the Internet Research Agency purchased Facebook ads aimed at people likely to sympathize with Black Lives Matter activists with a likely purpose of “[amplifying] political discord and fuel an atmosphere of incivility and chaos.” A later report published just a few days ago revealed that in a similar effort, likely Russian trolls masquerading as a group called “Black Fist” paid for self-defense classes for black activists after President Donald Trump’s inauguration this year.

The Beast has not speculated about the purpose of the @Crystal1Johnson account.


https://www.rawstory.com/2017/10/tw...-account-claiming-to-be-a-black-woman-report/

 

[basilio]

This story outlines how the thousands of fake Russian twitteraccounts maanged to create stories that were then copied and amplified in the mainstream press.

The Washington Post, Miami Herald, InfoWars and other U.S. sites spread Russian propaganda from Twitter

Tweets from 2,752 fake Twitter accounts created by Russian government trolls found their way into U.S. news stories.
by Tony Romm and Rani Molla Nov 3, 2017, 11:24am EDT

https://www.recode.net/2017/11/3/16...hy-miami-herald-ap-russian-propaganda-twitter

 

[SirRumpole]

I don't know why Hilary doesn't sue for defamation over the "child pr0n ring in a pizza parlour" claims.

They were grossly defamatory.

 

[basilio]

I don't know why Hilary doesn't sue for defamation over the "child pr0n ring in a pizza parlour" claims.

They were grossly defamatory.

And who would she sue ? Who was the perpetuator ? Who just repeated it ? Do they have 2 crackers to rub together ?

If anything the activityshould be a criminal action . But hey, where do you start and where do you stop.

 

[wayneL]

Woulda thunk it. Russians save America from Hillary and the toxic left.

True Comrades.

 

[basilio]

Woulda thunk it. Russians save America from Hillary and the toxic left.

True Comrades.

....and deliver it into the hands of the toxic right.

 

[SirRumpole]

And who would she sue ? Who was the perpetuator ? Who just repeated it ? Do they have 2 crackers to rub together ?

If anything the activityshould be a criminal action . But hey, where do you start and where do you stop.

If the allegations were made on Facebook they should be sued, it doesn't matter who the original author was it's up to the publishing agency to prevent it's service being wrongly used.

And yes I think they have two crackers to rub together.

 

[basilio]

If the allegations were made on Facebook they should be sued, it doesn't matter who the original author was it's up to the publishing agency to prevent it's service being wrongly used.

And yes I think they have two crackers to rub together.

I think you are pushing it Rumpy. Given the billions of posts on Facebook with many being malicious or wrong or slanderous... I have yet to see Facebook itself being sued.

Think about it. Such a situation would require Facebook to review every post for its accuracy and lack of actionable material. Can never happen.

I have heard of a person being sued becasue they made malicious staments on Facebook. That was a big deal. But not Facebook itself.

 

[SirRumpole]

I think you are pushing it Rumpy. Given the billions of posts on Facebook with many being malicious or wrong or slanderous... I have yet to see Facebook itself being sued.

Facebook is fundamentally no different to a tv station or newspaper, it's a publishing medium so it has to have some responsibility for what it allows its service to be used for. It should be able to remove posts when complaints are made about them, if it doesn't it should be liable.

Anyway, if the Facebook posts were re-transmitted on say Fox News, then Fox News should be liable too. Handing out some harsh punishments is the only way of stopping this sort of thing happening.

 

[bellenuit]

Facebook, like Twitter, is an unwitting conduit for much of the fake news. The ability to properly control what is posted is probably way beyond what is viable and will be construed as repression of free speech by those who are prone to believe such fake news (Left and Right)

However, do not forget who the real culprits are and the sources of much of what is thrown at Clinton. It was all started by Republican dirt throwers early on in the Clinton campaign and then “legitimised” by far right channels such as Fox News and Infowars. The reason why Clinton isn't in jail is because most of what it said about her is plainly untrue and would not stand up in court. This never occurs to the Right, who contribute her continued avoidance of prosecution to some great conspiracy.

This is a takedown of two of the currently promoted criminal acts of Clinton. The Right will again shout fake news because this particular piece is from CNN, but the facts are irrefutable and you will find similar refutations on many other "moderate" sites:

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/04/o...legations-eisen-wertheimer-opinion/index.html

 

[basilio]

Interesting story Bellenuit. Certainty went into the details "of two of the currently promoted criminal of Clinton". And it just demonstarted how dishonest the Liar in Chief is with his representations.

Completely bogus issues.

 

[basilio]

Facebook is fundamentally no different to a tv station or newspaper, it's a publishing medium so it has to have some responsibility for what it allows its service to be used for. It should be able to remove posts when complaints are made about them, if it doesn't it should be liable.

No Rumpole not accurate. A TV or newspaper makes a decision about what it publishes. Facebook however is used by millions of people to say what they want. Facebook management have no input into deciding what the public will publish.

There is a theoritical capacity to censor after the fact but this difficult to actually see happen.

 

[SirRumpole]

Facebook management have no input into deciding what the public will publish.

That's obviously how Facebook wants to run it's business and the current law lets them get away with it.

They are an agent for muck spreading and should have to take some responsibility, they are raking in billions so they can afford to do some due diligence whether before or after publication.

This "Fake News" thread is yours basilio, if you are so concerned about it then you should have some issues with the medium for its transmission.

 

[wayneL]

It should be pointed out that fake news is a tactic used by both sides, not just Trump as is implied by Komrade bas.

....and it has been with us, like, forever.

A bit of balance hete would be nice.

 

[basilio]

It should be pointed out that fake news is a tactic used by both sides, not just Trump as is implied by Komrade bas.

....and it has been with us, like, forever.

A bit of balance hete would be nice.

Actually that is like fake balance Wayne. Anyone with two operating neurons can remember the miles of lying stories constructed around President Obama and Hilary Clinton. One could start with the Birther BS that was woven and then promoted by the current Liar in Chief Donald Trump.

I would be interested to see what totally fake stories and what beaten up stories can be raised that were used against Republicians.

For example would one consider the complete fabrications/ stories of the 15 separate women who said Donald Trump assaulted them ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations
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I agree there has been fake news in the past.. I know one of the turning points in my acceptance of the general veracity of news stories in the media was an expose in the 80's by 4 Corners on the way the CIA and other US intelligence groups had agents acting a journalists who then constructed totally fictious stories for publication in te world press to discredit regimes/organisations on their black list. I can also imagine Russia/Soviet Union undertaking similar activities.

 

[wayneL]

So the left doesn't use fake news, Komrade Bas?

 

[basilio]

That's obviously how Facebook wants to run it's business and the current law lets them get away with it.

They are an agent for muck spreading and should have to take some responsibility, they are raking in billions so they can afford to do some due diligence whether before or after publication.

This "Fake News" thread is yours basilio, if you are so concerned about it then you should have some issues with the medium for its transmission.

I started the thread for discussion - I don't "own" it.

Creating deliberatly fake information/news to discredit people or organisations is as old as Methelusah. The dangerous part in the 21st Century IMO is
1) The internet and associated social media networks make spreading such stories far easier. I find it astonishing and terrifying to delve into areas of the net and see what lies and insanities are created, nurtered and spread.

2) Our political system has become so dishonest that even when stories are proven to be lies some political entities, particularly the Republican party, just keep on repeating the lies. In theory political integrity should result in retractions and apologies. No way of course.

3) Even when lies are investigated and proven to false via Snopes or other fact checking websites people and organisations are brazen enough/self interested enough to ignore the information and continue repeating the lie. In fact it becomes even more interesting when the "fact checkers" are admonished as just another arm of the liberal elite and therefore not to be believed.

4) IMO there has been a dangerous breakdown in the general populations interest in factual accounts of events or even physical realities. IMV it seems that with so many confident but wrong headed pundits around many people have decided that it's more important to be certain than accurate.

5) Finally there seems to be few consequences for the delibrate creation and spreading of falsehoods. I can remembers seeing a couple of court cases about people slandering others on Facebook and facing criminal charges. But the insessant creation and spreading of political lies about the Clintons ?(for example) The incessant anti Muslim email chains ? The urban myth stories that never happened and are just passsed on to reinforce particular stereotypes ? How many times did Noco try to pass on stories of this ilk ?

There is currently a Senate hearing in the US into the role of social media in spreading Fake news. How far is it getting ? Good question..

Facebook is not listening to the fake news furore
John Naughton
Mark Zuckerberg’s absence from Capitol Hill to face questioning about the firm’s role in the spread of bogus election ads spoke volumes about his priorities



Patrick Leahy speaking during the Senate judiciary subcommittee on ‘Extremist Content and Russian Disinformation Online’. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Sunday 5 November 2017 07.00 GMT

One of the most instructive sights of the week was that of representatives of Twitter, Google and Facebook getting a grilling from a US Senate judiciary subcommittee on Capitol Hill. The topic at hand? “Extremist content and Russian disinformation online”, which, translated, reads: how did Russian use of social media affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election? The committee chairman, Senator Lindsey Graham, set it up nicely in his opening statement by quoting what Trump had said on Fox News on 20 October: “I doubt I’d be here if it weren’t for social media, to be honest with you.”

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...news-furore-us-senate-hearing-mark-zuckerberg

 

[basilio]

The Flat Earth Society - dumbing the world one post at a time.

A good article on this topic.
How the "flat earth" conspiracy gained momentum in a post-truth world


Phil Barker Nov 6 2017

Truth is often the first casualty in war. Photo: Supplied

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"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence." The late, great, author, columnist, intellectual, critic and scourge of fools and sloppy thinkers everywhere, Christopher Hitchens, coined this delicious idea, with an evil gleaming sharp edge, known as Hitchens's Razor.

Add to this Carl Sagan's neat "An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof," and you've got simple concepts that can be used like a laser to slice down loony belief and bull**** wherever they may lurk.

What evidence?
Let's try an extraordinary claim. The sun is 149.6 million kilometres from Earth. Extraordinary proof? Tens of thousands of years of careful scientific thought and test, documented, reviewed and refined until every element of the equation to find the distance, from the equipment, to the mathematics, and a million quantifiable variables, has stood up to the scrutiny of our finest minds. Every step in determining that number exists in the public domain and has withstood any and every legitimate intellectual challenge and so is accepted as a proven fact by the world's scientific community. That's pretty good proof.

Let's try another extraordinary claim. The Earth is flat.

Extraordinary proof? Um, a rapper called B.o.B. And because the Earth looks flat something something human eye.

This is a claim that can – should – be dismissed without evidence. That's it. (But we know it isn't don't we ?. )

http://www.executivestyle.com.au/ho...y-gained-momentum-in-a-posttruth-world-gzf0ao