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from the say-it-often-enough-and-people-will-tend-to-believe-you dept.
I used natural language processing techniques to analyze net neutrality comments submitted to the FCC from April-October 2017, and the results were disturbing.
NY Attorney General Schneiderman estimated that hundreds of thousands of Americans' identities were stolen and used in spam campaigns that support repealing net neutrality. My research found at least 1.3 million fake pro-repeal comments, with suspicions about many more. In fact, the sum of fake pro-repeal comments in the proceeding may number in the millions. In this post, I will point out one particularly egregious spambot submission, make the case that there are likely many more pro-repeal spambots yet to be confirmed, and estimate the public position on net neutrality in the "organic" public submissions.
The author's key findings:
- One pro-repeal spam campaign used mail-merge to disguise 1.3 million comments as unique grassroots submissions.
- There were likely multiple other campaigns aimed at injecting what may total several million pro-repeal comments into the system.
- It's highly likely that more than 99% of the truly unique comments³ were in favor of keeping net neutrality.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:37AM (10 children)
You agreed with Hillary on every position she held then? Voting for a politician always means you're going to get fucked. You just get to pick which available way you'd prefer.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:41AM (3 children)
No, because there are degrees of being fucked.
You chose the most extreme version of being fucked.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:55AM (2 children)
No, that's what I usually do. Vote for the absolute worst candidate to bring about revolution quicker. This time I was hoping to throw some third-party chaos into the mix next election cycle. Didn't pan out but I don't bemoan my choice and I'd make the same one again.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @03:06AM (1 child)
I disagree with Buzzard on this matter (less of the thing which caused the problem GOOD), but it's still funny/sad to see all the crabs in the pot clamping furiously at CraBuzzard to make sure he stays firmly within the confines of the pot.
There are no winners. Buzzard sees this. Why can't the rest of you? I think Buzzard's approach (what little I know of) is weaksauce, but then I can't expect EVERYone to decide to pare down all their title-able property and give the IRS the middle finger. You people think you're better than Buzzard? Step up and prove it! Stop voluntarily fueling the Beast!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday December 03 2017, @03:14AM
I do not have crabs, thank you very much. I shave regularly.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday December 03 2017, @06:03PM (5 children)
Your glib response isn't actually relevant. There is a significant difference.
Reducing regulations was a central part of Trump's campaign. It's also a central part of Libertarian philosophy. I am sure that Hillary would have done things that I don't agree with, just as Obama did, but I supported their central campaign promises.
You voted for someone who made reducing regulations central to their campaign; repealing net neutrality is part of that. It's didn't come from left field: Pai has been opposing net neutrality for years.
So, do you support reducing regulations? Or merely support repealing the regulations that you don't benefit from?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday December 03 2017, @08:34PM (4 children)
A) You apparently didn't look further down and read why I vote the way I do.
B) You're trying to trip me up with a logical fallacy that lame? Even had I voted for Johnson because I thought he was "THE BEST CANDIDATE EVAR!!!1!1", I'd think anyone who believed him right in every instance was an absolute idiot. We disagree on many things. Trump and I disagree on a whole lot more. Hillary? She'd make the world a better place by taking up bullfighting as a retirement hobby, which is why I would have voted for her if I hadn't decided to go for a different flavor of chaos this time around.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday December 03 2017, @09:58PM (3 children)
Whatever your attempts at deflection, voters like you are the reason we are losing net neutrality.
Just because you have a ridiculous reason for the way you vote doesn't remove responsibility for the results of your vote.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday December 04 2017, @02:00AM (2 children)
Of course not. Like everyone else though, I prioritize. Net Neutrality was only one issue among many. That's what you don't seem to understand.
Even if I voted on the issues rather than strategically, there was no acceptable candidate who so much as paid lip service to Net Neutrality. There was Cheeto Jesus, Cruella Deville, and Stoner Boy. Were I voting on the issues, I still would have voted Stoner Boy. Hell, I would have voted Cheeto Jesus before I sold out every other principle I believe in for the sake of Net Neutrality.
Now here's the thing that's really not sinking in: It doesn't matter who I voted for. I'm an American. They're my legitimate government. I have not just a right but an absolute obligation to call bullshit on anything I disagree with. Especially if I voted for the current batch of pricks in office.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Monday December 04 2017, @02:37AM (1 child)
And it's my right to call you a hypocrite for complaining about the people you voted for implementing one of their main campaign promises.
That's what you seek to obfuscate, if not outright deny: it wasn't a matter of picking a candidate who came with a little shit on the side: this was a central campaign promise. All your bullshit excuses can't change the fact that you are now getting exactly what you voted for.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday December 04 2017, @11:08AM
Central campaign promise? Are you shitting me? I make my living on the Internet and it wasn't a central issue to me. How fucked up is your head that Net Neutrality was more important than all the real world issues?
As for calling me a hypocrite, well if your priority is flinging your own shit shit like a monkey rather than understanding why people do the things they do, go right ahead. Mind you, that attitude is a large part of why Cheeto Jesus is in office today but you keep right on flinging, little trooper.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.