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posted by takyon on Tuesday April 26 2016, @01:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-my-hundred-million-cents dept.

Current Affairs published an in-depth editorial on recent revelations about a $1 million astroturfng campaign by Correct the Record:

Astroturfing makes me angry. It should make you angry. It should make you fucking well see red. It's marketing evolved into something incredibly scary, sophisticated, and evil. It's essentially thought warfare, or psychological warfare, which takes away much of what was supposed to make the internet a new and beautiful frontier of communication. Worse yet, if you actually identify and approach these operatives, they'll gaslight you and deny that they are such an operative. These are people who are paid to psychologically abuse you. Do you get this? It's an ugly and evil thing, and not only does it take away our ability to take information and fact at face value, but it takes away our ability to take opinions, feelings, and personal stances at face value as sincere and legitimate.

takyon: For some additional context, "Hillary-supporting super PAC invests $1 million to hit back at online Clinton critics":

Correct the Record, a super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton's bid to become US president, has promised to invest more than $1 million to respond to users criticizing its candidate on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and other social media services. The super PAC says its new "Barrier Breakers digital task force" will to respond "quickly and forcefully to negative attacks and false narratives found online," in addition to thanking major supporters and "committed superdelegates" directly.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 26 2016, @03:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 26 2016, @03:55AM (#337291)

    You just told us how you've been fleeced.
    And yet you think you are better than the sheep.

    Yes, because you see... his position is that the only purpose in life is to be fleeced.
    That doesn't exclude entities that can be fleeced but also have other purposes in life; e.g. to be milked; or... I don't know... egged?

  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 26 2016, @05:42AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 26 2016, @05:42AM (#337326)

    You just told us how you've been fleeced.
            And yet you think you are better than the sheep.

    Yes, because you see... his position is that the only purpose in life is to be fleeced.
    That doesn't exclude entities that can be fleeced but also have other purposes in life; e.g. to be milked; or... I don't know... egged?

    I personally gyped Runaway out of fifty bucks. Obviously, I cannot reveal my name or the incident, which would amount to the same thing. But just let me say, the man is a mark, a sucker, a con man's dream! When I offered him twice his investment in return, he did not even pause to think I might be lying. Easy money! Yes, I am the man that sold a Chelsea Manning suit to Runaway1956. May he wear it with pride.