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More and more countries are mounting disinformation campaigns online
[...] That's a long way of saying that I forgive you if you'd like to skip today's news and instead just read nothing but explainers and Twitter threads about impeachment. It's kind of the biggest story in the world right now, and it will all play out in new and exciting and probably terrifying ways across all our big social platforms, and if you want to read some speculation on how I'd point you to this savvy Kevin Roose piece on the subject (further excerpted below).
But say you've finished your impeachment reading for the day and are eager to luxuriate in a good old-fashioned tale of platform-based information warfare. In that case may I please recommend a new report from researchers at Oxford University on the usage of disinformation campaigns by governments around the world. And usage is ... well, I bet you can guess!
Here's Davey Alba and Adam Satariano in the New York Times:
The researchers compiled information from news organizations, civil society groups and governments to create one of the most comprehensive inventories of disinformation practices by governments around the world. They found that the number of countries with political disinformation campaigns more than doubled to 70 in the last two years, with evidence of at least one political party or government entity in each of those countries engaging in social media manipulation.
In addition, Facebook remains the No. 1 social network for disinformation, the report said. Organized propaganda campaigns were found on the platform in 56 countries.
You can read the report yourself here. Personally I found it useful to just read a straightforward guide to the varieties of state-sponsored information attacks — most of which have long been in use, of course, by more garden-variety trolls.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 02 2019, @03:57PM (13 children)
Seriously...
Who else is fed up with the democrat disinformation campaign against Trump? They've wasted so much taxpayer money and time that could/should have been spent on more important issues. Nothing is getting done with all the bickering going on... It's like two 5 year olds fighting over a toy.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 02 2019, @04:13PM (7 children)
This whole impeachment thing is such a farce.
Why don't the Democrats put out positive proposals for how they will govern if they win the Presidential election and actually win it?
I suppose they know their chances are bad at winning it, thus all this extra-electoral "backdoor" shenanigans.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 02 2019, @04:31PM (6 children)
Oh.... so that's why before the impeachment news broke virtually all polling services except Rasmussen (including Fox) showed that if either Biden, Sanders, or Warren went up against trump the Democrats would win (Warren being questionable). And mostly they still show that. I see.
And you do realize that if Trump is bounced out now then it is Pence who becomes President, which would likely be a much harder fight for the Democrats to win, since Pence has a shot at courting independent voters where Trump's flame-outs have mostly turned off everyone but his base? They are actually making it harder on themselves to pursue impeachment, if they win it. (Which Feinstein certainly knows....)
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_biden-6247.html [realclearpolitics.com]
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_sanders-6250.html [realclearpolitics.com]
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_warren-6251.html [realclearpolitics.com]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 02 2019, @05:31PM (4 children)
Just to point something out. Trump doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. He says "Pence had conversations with Ukraine too!". So if Trump goes down, followed shortly by Pence going down, then Pelosi is president.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday October 02 2019, @07:56PM (2 children)
Pence might have had conversations of a very different nature with the Ukraine.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 03 2019, @01:34PM (1 child)
Ones where he doesn't release transcripts that show... pretty much exactly what the whistle-blower report states.
I've read it, and while it isn't a blatant, "investigate Biden or we will with-hold aid," it does come off as being similar to, "that is some nice foreign aid we are giving you, be a shame if something were to happen to it."
Basically, the president of Ukraine (I'll call him Pres Z), said that he really appreciates the aid the US is giving, and he's looking forward to the next installment so he can buy some missiles from us (Javelins in the transcript). Trump then IMMEADIATELY pivots to "I would like you to do a favor for us though..." and asks him to investigate Crowdstrike, Pres Z says, "I guarantee... that all investigations will be done openly and candidly." Then Trump asks him to look into the removal of the prosecutor at Biden's request. Biden's name is in the transcript at this point.
I should point out that at this time, US aid to Ukraine had been delayed. So things aren't explicitly laid out, but they are still pretty clearly hinted at.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 03 2019, @01:37PM
Forgot to link to the transcript:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-ukraine-call-transcript-read-the-document [foxnews.com]
The people at Fox point out that it doesn't explicitly say tit-for-tat, but they do have the unaltered transcript, so I figure I'll use their link so the Rs know it isn't 'fake news.'
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 02 2019, @08:44PM
then Pelosi is president.
Then we find out she did it to collect the insurance.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 03 2019, @01:15PM
Oh my short-memoried friend, all the news outlets were proclaiming last election that Hillary was going to win it.
Nobody thought Trump was going to win, but he did. And you think the polls this time around are going to be infallible?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 02 2019, @04:16PM (2 children)
Seriously...
Who else is fed up with the trump disinformation campaign against Democrats? They've wasted so much taxpayer money and time that could/should have been spent on more important issues. Nothing is getting done with all the bickering going on... It's like two 5 year olds fighting over a toy.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 02 2019, @05:28PM (1 child)
You should stop watching CNN
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 02 2019, @05:33PM
I stopped watching CNN in 2013 but would agree that Trump's disinformation campaign (or tweeter) is a waste of money.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by digitalaudiorock on Wednesday October 02 2019, @05:45PM (1 child)
Holy crap. Is that the same "disinformation campaign" that's apparently convinced only 4 in 10 [thehill.com] Republicans that Trump "probably" mentioned Biden in that phone call...despite the fact that it says so in the White house's own transcript?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 02 2019, @08:07PM
Holy crap. The Democrats should be fired from their jobs for wasting yet more time and resources at taxpayers expense. It's one thing after another with those fucking morons