posted by
martyb
on Wednesday November 15 2017, @06:53AM
from the following-in-leader's-footsteps dept.
from the following-in-leader's-footsteps dept.
Elections in 18 separate nations were influenced by online disinformation campaigns last year, suggests research.
Independent watchdog Freedom House looked at how online discourse was influenced by governments, bots and paid opinion formers.
In total, 30 governments were actively engaged in using social media to stifle dissent, said the report.
Educating users to spot fake news and making tech firms police their networks could combat the manipulation, it said.
Hacking must explain why voters are going off-script.
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Votes in 18 Nations 'Hacked' in Last Year
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(Score: 5, Interesting) by c0lo on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:01AM (7 children)
Neither hacking nor govt propaganda would work with a population able to detect the stench of bullshit.
Requires only a modicum of critical thinking and the habit to apply it in most of the cases (self-prejudices included and quite important).
A pity there's nobody to sell critical thinking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:12AM (3 children)
The mainstream media will sell you that, they'll gladly tell you how educated you are as a bonus, but of course, there are no warranties if the received product does not work as advertized.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:19AM (2 children)
Mmm... I see... to recognize a good BS detector, one needs to have a BS detector.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:24PM (1 child)
Most people do have a BS detector. The problem is that their calibration is likely off, because the noise floor has been so high recently.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 16 2017, @08:21AM
Also the detector works 100% on the premise that their shit don't stink.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:20AM (1 child)
Let's cut budgets on education... we need to wage wars in far away lands to protect our oil.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:30AM
No longer. The target of our needs changed nowadays. Let me see if you got the memo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @08:47PM
We're desensitized, not incapable. When you sleep in a barn, you find it hard to smell bullshit.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:04AM (9 children)
If elections can be hacked, why continue to have unsecured ways of power transition?
Monarchism is superior, in fact, make it female lineage only, at least, it's clear who the mother is :)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:20AM (2 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:28AM (1 child)
Superior in a humorous way. Let me quote the relevant text for you:
You get it now? Or should I whoosh you?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 15 2017, @03:09PM
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:26AM (4 children)
Heh, yeah, riiighto! Currently moderated "Insightful", instead of the (suggested) "Funny".
To the moderator: if the power transition is unsecure today, the answer is not "Let's secure the power transition" but "Let drop the power transition" - You know it makes sense. I'm S... [wikipedia.org] (just in case you need it, here you have it: </sarcasm>).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday November 15 2017, @09:20AM (3 children)
I will tell you the secret weapon: Niggers. that is all I will tell you.
Oh, and also just who that secret weapon is. [youtube.com]
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @09:43AM (1 child)
If they ain't Dick Niggers, I'm not interested.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday November 15 2017, @10:10AM
You see, Mr. Ed is a Dick Nigger. Mr. Ed was an allegory for the Black Heroin addict who was subject to the pen of the White man and with an addiction to the finest apples and molasses, yet had issues of wondering about his true Black heritage. For example, that episode where he wondered if he was part donkey. [youtube.com] So he tried to wander among the donkeys but was rejected for being White.
Mr. Ed was an allegory for not only an alpha Black man but a hipster (and other beta male archetypes) way back in 1961 and in that episode in 1965. Only, unlike modern beta males such as his master Wilbur, Mr. Ed had a deep voice and a huge cock.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday November 16 2017, @01:16AM
Fuck yeah!
Mr Ed!
And Ma & Pa Kettle!
Old TV rules!
Grew up on Land of the Giants: Great show!!!!(until you download it and watch it....yikes!)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday November 15 2017, @05:00PM
Very sad what happened in Zimbabwe last night. My thoughts and prayers are with @CDEMUGABE [twitter.com], Mrs. Mugabe and their loved ones. We are with you!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @08:42AM
Just check CNN and BBC! Fair and Balanced!
Gotta combat all those liberal bias so they fit the news :)
(Score: 4, Interesting) by FatPhil on Wednesday November 15 2017, @10:09AM (2 children)
Farage and Boris are both English, are they not? Both influenced the voting public with their downright lies? Every single camera-facing person on Faux News likewise (and their scriptwriters, of course).
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by BK on Wednesday November 15 2017, @02:29PM (1 child)
Ditto CNN.
Ditto NBC.
Ditto BBC.
Ditto MSNBC.
Ditto... pretty much all of them 'news' folks.
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday November 15 2017, @05:38PM
Hostile foreign intelligence agencies are waging misinformation campaigns against American citizens? What about that one time CNN got a story wrong?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by srobert on Wednesday November 15 2017, @03:37PM (5 children)
Someone hacked the DNC's servers. They want us to believe it was the Russians. Maybe so. But when they did so, they didn't spread misinformation. What they did was so much more insidious. They told the truth about the party and about Hillary Clinton.
Was it misinformation that the DNC was cheating on Hillary's behalf? Was it fake news that Hillary told Goldman-Sachs, "I have a public and a private opinion about stuff like this" after they paid her hundreds of thousands for a speech? Was it fake news that Donna Brazile was leaking questions to Hillary before a debate?
Didn't affect my vote because they weren't telling me anything I didn't know. They were corrupt. That's not fake news. It's a fact and if the Russians have to tell us that, then I'd thank them, because the view from the inside of a fish bowl is murky at best.
(Score: 2) by srobert on Wednesday November 15 2017, @03:42PM
Correction
"They
wereare corrupt."(Score: 3, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:04PM (2 children)
They hacked Trump's servers, too. [cnbc.com]
Yet they only released dirt on Clinton.
Lying by omission is misinformation.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @08:54PM
Maybe Trump doesn't have incriminating emails because he will tell you straight up what a piece of shit he is? It doesn't take a hack to find dirt on twitterman.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 18 2017, @08:28PM
"There was no evidence the hackers ultimately broke into server computers at the Trump Organization or other Trump interests," says that article.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 16 2017, @07:02PM
But the Russians committed illegal acts of journalism. While CNN, Foxnews et all were just doing legal propaganda.
Plus it is illegal in the USA for a foreign national to spend money to try to influence the elections.
That said the USA has been doing similar to other countries: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-secretly-backed-syrian-opposition-groups-cables-released-by-wikileaks-show/2011/04/14/AF1p9hwD_story.html [washingtonpost.com]
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-syria-wikileaks/u-s-secretly-backed-syrian-opposition-report-idUSTRE73H0E720110418 [reuters.com]
Including stuff like regime change.
Well perhaps the USA should be regime changed too.
1) Corrupt leader who doesn't have the support of the majority? check
2) Evil government? check
3) Has oil? check
;)
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @03:56PM (1 child)
Spreading propaganda and misinfo is not 'hacking'.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday November 15 2017, @05:34PM
Spreading propaganda and misinfo is not 'hacking'.
Correct, they're trying to muddy the waters.
Hacking the servers of our political parties and hacking the servers of the election commissions is hacking.
(Score: 0, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:53PM (1 child)
And how be is this worse than big media spreading lies and misinformation? I still remember the run-up to the 2nd Iraq War.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:06PM
And how be is this worse than big media spreading lies and misinformation? I still remember the run-up to the 2nd Iraq War.
They were factually reporting the statements made by the administration. It's the administration that was spreading the lies and propaganda.
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday November 15 2017, @06:14PM
It looks like so called mainstream got themselves into catch 22 situation. They were feeding so much bullshit to the population for so long, the said population lost all the defenses and now only lazy can't feed anything to "the People" at will. Tough spot indeed.
I am surprised there are still no offerings of "election toolkits" similar to say site penetration ones.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Entropy on Wednesday November 15 2017, @08:07PM
Considering the news is all lies, I'm sure 100% of the votes were hacked. The media has 0 integrity these days, which is a pretty sad state of affairs.