Russian election interference

[rogruth]

IMHO I will receive more honest answers here that I would if I asked this question on a different forum.
I don't think I have seen any straight answer that is not clouded by partisanship or dislike of certain individuals.

Just how did or was the supposed Russian "interference" in the past presidential election actually affect it?

[webenda]

Just how did or was the supposed Russian "interference" in the past presidential election actually affect it?

Is it worth our time to listen to politicians trying to influence public opinion?

Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opin ... thers.html

[Rufus T. Firefly]

IMHO I will receive more honest answers here that I would if I asked this question on a different forum.

Are you sure of that?

I don't think I have seen any straight answer that is not clouded by partisanship or dislike of certain individuals.

That's the normal level of existence now - you have to sift through to find a real answer.

[rogruth]

IMHO I will receive more honest answers here that I would if I asked this question on a different forum.

Are you sure of that?

No.

I don't think I have seen any straight answer that is not clouded by partisanship or dislike of certain individuals.

That's the normal level of existence now - you have to sift through to find a real answer.

I don't think I have seen anything on what the Russians did to influence the election.

[HONDO74]

I don't think I have seen anything on what the Russians did to influence the election.

If you are not on social media you would never see any of it. Only the fools that use social media and believe the fake info might be affected and then they put out their own fake info.

Key takeaways from new reports on Russian disinformation
https://news.yahoo.com/key-takeaways-re ... 34524.html

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Only the fools that use social media and believe the fake info might be affected and then they put out their own fake info.

Given that all news networks now seem to want to use social media as their source material, you need to include all of the news networks in that assessment of foolishness and the fools that believe what is put before them. For sheeple it's far easier to believe in what tugs at your emotions as opposed to pausing to actually think (at all in many cases) about whether it's real or not. Sadly, we have a huge herd of sheeple in the US. Sadly, our own political machines also are a source of fake info that is used to direct the herd.

[chuck]

They didn't just post crap in the US elections. They have been meddling in almost any country they can get away with. They've been using social media to send out disinformation "seeds". They have targeted audiences that a) they know will buy into the sh*t they are peddling and b) know these people will repost the material to their like minded "friends". How do the Russian's know these things? They have purchased some of the data from the very social media sites they use to disseminate their crap and they have used data mining tools to develop sophisticated profiles of individuals that they basically know will pass the material along, aka people with "followers".

The purchasing (or stealing) of "targeting" lists is using the tools built into social media sites which is how they (social media) "make" money. Facebook and Instagram use targeted adds and they sell advertising space to the highest bidder. I don't care which websites you visit, the information is logged and then used to direct "adds" at you. The Russians are more concerned with muddying the waters in the places they consider adversaries than they are interested in a particular agenda. If what they do sows discontent and fosters dissension they will push that along to keep their adversaries from realizing who the real enemy is. They've diddled in Britain, France, Germany, Turkey, probably Greece and who know where else. This is much cheaper than traditional armed conflict and much harder to detect. Most of the disinformation spread is handled by their "assets" who are completely unaware of their part in this. The costs are insanely low compared to traditional armed conflict/weapons systems procurement.

As to people waking up to this, I think of the scene from Casablanca:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME

[HONDO74]

They didn't just post crap in the US elections. They have been meddling in almost any country they can get away with.

And we have been doing the same thing to the Russians for years. What do you people think the NSA does with all the hacking tools and malicious software they have created. We do it to other governments also.

Anyone remember what happened when Angela Merkel found out that Obama and the NSA was listening in of her phone conversations.

[rogruth]

I understand the above.
I do NOT understand what the Russian did.

[webenda]

As to people waking up to this, I think of the scene from Casablanca:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME

Nice analogy Chuck. Casablanca means "White House" and Strasser's announcement that he was shocked to discover gambling in the club was a lie (he knew all along, he was a regular in the gambling den) used to close the club in an attempt to get what he really wanted. Russia and the United States have been pulling the same sort of tricks on each other for a long time.

[chuck]

And we have been doing the same thing to the Russians for years.

What "social media" have we been using in Russia for "years"?

What do you people think the NSA does with all the hacking tools and malicious software they have created. We do it to other governments also.

Cyber warfare with direct or near direct attacks has been around since there were computers. This about using media tools to get people in their own countries to act as agents of a foreign power by promulgating propaganda on a massive scale. This wasn't even possible until high speed internet and cheap computers/phones/tablets became available. Prior to that access to the nascent internet required relatively expensive equipment and a moderate level of expertise. Chromebooks go for less than $200.

Anyone remember what happened when Angela Merkel found out that Obama and the NSA was listening in of her phone conversations.

Anyone remember how she found out? Snowden and "WikiLeaks".

Funny how most of the stuff from WikiLeaks is about Western government or corporate "bad" behavior and very little about Russia/China/North Korea? Must just be a coincidence.

[HONDO74]

And we have been doing the same thing to the Russians for years.

What "social media" have we been using in Russia for "years"?

I didn't say social media. My point was we have been interesting in other countries for years.

We will even take out a dictator if we don't like them.

And nobody interferes in our elections more than our own media. They call it freedom of speech.

[rex desilets]

<snip>

Funny how most of the stuff from WikiLeaks is about Western government or corporate "bad" behavior and very little about Russia/China/North Korea? Must just be a coincidence.

Naw.
Easier access, less dire consequences for getting caught (no bullet behind the ear, no polonium poisoning, etc.).

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Funny how most of the stuff from WikiLeaks is about Western government or corporate "bad" behavior and very little about Russia/China/North Korea? Must just be a coincidence.

There are no coincidences.

[HONDO74]

Funny how most of the stuff from WikiLeaks is about Western government or corporate "bad" behavior and very little about Russia/China/North Korea? Must just be a coincidence.

There are no coincidences.

How long do you think that that Julian Assange of Wikileaks would survive if some traitor from Russia/China/North Korea gave him some info to leak. Those countries will exterminate you and the traitors.

Not like this country where a Chelsea Manning leaked classified information to WikiLeaks. Gets convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses. sentenced to serve a 35-year sentence at the maximum-security U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. Had that sentence commuted to seven years. Earns a living through speaking engagements and ran for political office for the senate, finished second among eight Democrats seeking their party's U.S. Senate nomination in Maryland's primary election.

Muslim countries exterminate those they consider traitors also. journalist Jamal Khashoggi found that out.