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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.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Tuesday April 26 2016, @05:49AM
That is why I always post under a real name,
Um, I don't think that "jmorris" is a real name. Could you provide a meatspace address at which we might direct cruise missles? Or perhaps a land-line telephone number, which would serve the same purpose. Perhaps you would care to share your social security number or national identity number with your fellow Soylentils, perhaps your bank acct # and PIN? No? Ha!! Jmorris, you are not real! You cannot be real! You are a parody of your own positions, an impossibility that if it did exist would naturally choose to end its own life immediately. Thank goodness I got here before Azuma, she is gonna tear you a new one, but since you don't exist, you will probably enjoy it.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Tuesday April 26 2016, @05:57AM
I'll leave doxxing me as an exercise for the student. I'll just say that if you really can't manage it you truly suck at the Internet and probably shouldn't be here.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Tuesday April 26 2016, @07:00AM
Unless, as many here, we are afraid of what we might actually find if we set our minds to doxx you. Brain in a vat at NRA headquarters? Possible. AI developed by the Cato Institute: very likely. Kock Bros. sockpuppet? I am not one to cast aspersions on anyone, but who are you really, jmorris? Some of us (not me!) want to know what makes you tick, and what allows you to sleep at night.
Do you have a "safeword"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 27 2016, @06:06AM
We'll find that he's a southerner who abuses his position as a network admin by using company hardware as his personal email server, or at least is pretending to do so by taking up a common URL that one could mistake for his religion oriented employer. For some reason CueCat may have had a significant effect on his life. He employs deceptive practices by displaying his email as one address but having the mailto address link to a more sketchy looking address.
One of his personal websites was easy to find, or at least a website pretending to be from him.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday April 26 2016, @02:42PM
LOL, son, I'm mcgrew. That's the internet spelling of McGrew. My real name. My first email address was mcgrew@famvid.com, my first web space was famvid.com/mcgrew (they offered hosting with web access), I was mcgrew at slashdot, at kuro5hin before it turned to crap, here, my personal web site is mcgrew.info (my picture's currently there), and mcgrew is the name printed on the books I write. [mcgrewbooks.com]
I have no doubt that J is Mr. (or Ms) Morris' real first initial. I have no idea why you don't. I know from your S/N user name you like astronomy and are likely educated.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 1) by fritsd on Tuesday April 26 2016, @04:27PM
Um, I don't think that "aristarchus" is a real name, either. Didn't the real Αρίσταρχος ο Σάμιος [wikipedia.org] die some 2200 years ago?
I think your argument just cratered [wikipedia.org].
(That's the world upside-down: I found myself agreeing with "jmorris" and disagreeing with "aristarchus" :-) )
"fritsd"