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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

The BBC reports that a Russian former astroturfer has been awarded one rouble ($0.01) in damages [bbc.com] after she sued her ex-employer to expose it as a propaganda "factory". The BBC confuses "troll" with "astroturfer" but makes the point that she and hundreds of colleagues at Internet Research in St Petersburg were paid to flood websites with pro-Putin commentary. Astroturfers are nothing new, M$ has been using them for ages to push their agenda, and lately even governments are officially in on the action. The British example is the 77^th brigade [theguardian.com]. As to the Russian example, the former astroturfer is happy with the award even though it is small because it exposes the activity for what it is.

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