Trolls and bots are flooding social media with disinformation encouraging states to end quarantine

Well, color me surprised!! I must've missed all those "reopen everything" troll threads on DL in the past couple of days.

Russians will never stop. Communists completely understand the Achilles' heel of Democracy:

Stupid people + Freedom = Chaos and discord

Who cares? The guy in the pic is HOT!

How dare the level-headed and sensible challenge our paranoid worldview. How DARE they!

Russians haven’t been “Communists” in 30 years, grampa.

Oh god, the "I'm mature and sane with a common sense worldview, and you're all paranoid hysterics" troll has arrived. Christ, he's a yawn in the shape of a human being.

No, they've been an authoritarian kleptocracy. However, Putin is well versed in the KGB methods.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise !

Will you bother to post on any other thread, R4? C'mon, even trolls should mix it up every once in a while.

Trolls and bots and lions and tigers and bears!

Oh please. OP even in PA week by week more of our Democratics in the House of Representatives are moving towards resisting Tom Wolf and voting on bills to open up the state

"Anyone who doesn't think exactly like I do is a TROLL!!

[quote] more of our Democratics

Никакой свеклы для тебя сегодня!!

I don't think any former or current "communist" countries were ever truly communist which doesn't work when you have a big government and small circle of extreme wealth. Most are or were authoritarian dictatorships no matter what they called themselves. We all know how "democratic" NK is.

This is how the media gaslight people. Their coverage is so one-sided, and they accuse anybody who presents the alternate side of being a troll. The media are the true trolls.

Sure, Jan.

R12 - well, you only post on COVID19 threads and only invariably to open things up and to ridicule others. That's some pretty singular focus.

And you know disinformation by bots on the social media is not a 'differing opinion'.

You're just an asocial conservative asshole.

He just repeats himself, R17. Says the same things over and over for weeks, at everyone who talks to him. Makes me think he might be AYB, when he went full Trumpster he started saying the same catchphrases over and over again, like he'd gotten stuck in a feedback loop. This guy acts similarly.

You're right R18.

R2 Russia hasn't been a communist country in 30 years. If anything it's more nakedly capitalist than the U.S.

R18 / R15 -- not all "alternative views" are created equal though. Some are blatant lies or misinformation. So, no, no one has to cater to ignorance.

I haven't seen that Pet Shop Boys Troll around in ages so I guess he got his/her stimulus check.

I wondered why there was a sudden surge of random threads - what were the trolls trying to bury? Then I found this thread. Here are a couple of key quotes from it:

[quote]Bouzy says the amount of inauthentic activity he’s seeing surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak “eclipses” anything he’s ever observed before.

[quote]“Inauthentic accounts are amplifying disinformation and inaccurate statistics and sharing false information as a reason to reopen the country,” Bouzy says. “Many of these accounts are also spreading bizarre conspiracy theories about Democrats using COVID-19 as a way to take away American freedoms and prevent Americans from voting.”

It's not all trolls. I've gotten messages from business people asking me to reach out to Gov. Gavin to get some things re-opened. And I know them personally.

Of course I will be accused of being a bot or russian but it's business people that are going under.

[quote]“Many of these accounts are also spreading bizarre conspiracy theories about Democrats using COVID-19 as a way to take away American freedoms and prevent Americans from voting.”

Yep, it's one thing to say, "I can't pay my mortgage, I can't feed my family, I can't access the unemployment web site, I need to get back to work," it's quite another to say, "Governor Whitmer wants to destroy free enterprise, make all of us dependent on the government, and establish a fascist dictatorship."

Variations of the latter are what the bulk of Michigan protestors were claiming yesterday.

[quote]Of course I will be accused of being a bot or russian but it's business people that are going under.

No, it's American corpses - and Democracy - that is "going under".

And, yes, you are a troll because you have deliberately not engaged with the topic (trolls attempting to foment dissent) and instead have repeated one of their talking points as a way to sidetrack THIS discussion of troll tactics.

r23, I wondered why there was a surge in all the Anderson Cooper kid threads but I didn't call them all bots.

R24 Troll just means "someone I disagree with" now. The trolls are DL regulars mostly.

It's so depressing how these gun nuts and COVID truthers get wall-to-wall coverage for weeks and if people protest at Trump properties (as they do), it's ignored.

r25, for people who are under considerable distress, the distance between "my business is going under" to "Gov Whitmer wants to install a fascist dictatorship" is very short.

I agree they're "DL regulars", but they're trolls.

And once again, you are deflecting from the topic at hand, troll.

[quote]Oh please. OP even in PA week by week more of our Democratics in the House of Representatives are moving towards resisting Tom Wolf and voting on bills to open up the state

This is very true of Western PA.

Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) has fewer than 1500 cases and there is no reason why it can't start the reopening process.

R31 I'm a different person, but point noted.

More distraction from R32.

So, what do you think about the topic of THIS thread, R32? You know, about bots flooding the internet with talking points exactly like the one you just posted?

Russia's at it again

It's the reason why so many threads from years ago are being bumped up. I mean, 2015? C'mon............

[quote] Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) has fewer than 1500 cases and there is no reason why it can't start the reopening process.

Um, why do you think it only has 1500 cases? duh

[quote] but it's business people that are going under.

My heart is breaking for them over their lost profits and the inability to expose their employees to a potentially deadly virus. Is there a GoFundMe I can go to and donate?

[quote] Of course I will be accused of being a bot or russian but it's business people that are going under.

Yes, and it's these business people who are demanding their profits keeps rolling in while they pay their workers slave wages.

What do you think will happen to their businesses when everyone is dead?

How did I just know what trolldar-ing R32 would reveal? So predictable.

YOU"RE BORING US, TROLLS! MORE CREATIVITY, PLEASE!!

Even if businesses (stores, restaurant, etc) were open, woud you go?

[quote] It's not all trolls. I've gotten messages from business people asking me to reach out to Gov. Gavin to get some things re-opened. And I know them personally. Of course I will be accused of being a bot or russian but it's business people that are going under.

No one is arguing that it’s “all”, but you already know that.

"Even if businesses (stores, restaurant, etc) were open, would you go?:

R41 - FUCK NO! I can consume alcohol on my patio, order pizza for delivery and buy designer duds & replacement china online!

R34, I'm responding to a specific posted upthreard much like I'm specifically responding to you now. If you expect a thread to stay on topic then DL is not the place for you.

R37 because the virus hit western PA later than the east coast and we were able to lock down quicker. DUH.

[quote]How did I just know what trolldar-ing [R32] would reveal?

That I'm an enthusiastic Biden supporter.

If trump would have told them to stay in their dilapidated trailers, they would be cool with it... But since it's a democrat ordering the stay at home order.....

Let's all guess where those "business owners" will be should things reopen:

1. at the company, with their employees

2. self-isolating in their suburban McMansions with everything delivered in a contactless way.

[quote] Even if businesses (stores, restaurant, etc) were open, woud you go?

Yes. I fully acknowledge that when this first appeared, and we didn't know much about it, it was wise to shelter-in-place and distance ourselves from others. But as we have learned more about it, who it most negatively affects, and what living conditions and lifestyles are most at risk, those parts of the country that have been less impacted should begin opening up. I live in such a part of the country. It's insane that so many business are closed.

[quote] But as we have learned more about it, who it most negatively affects, and what living conditions and lifestyles are most at risk, those parts of the country that have been less impacted should begin opening up.

I'm glad you have more knowledge and information than leading medical scientists. Pray tell, where did you acquire it? "Right wing memes for you daily"?

r50: from reading and listening to those leading medical scientists, you dipshit.

It was one thing when Twitter got Donald Trump elected. Twitter makes money every time people post a comment. Russian bots were great at mixing up the conversation, keeping real users engaged and arguing. In someways, it transformed the right wing and it also transformed the left through supporting Bernie. And now we have a pandemic and Americans can’t have a conversation amongst themselves without being corrupted by thousands of Russian trolls pumping out comments from millions of fake accounts. And all of those comments are engineered in order lockdown and create as much chaos in America as possible, including deaths.

R52 and what’s so frustrating is that people keep falling for it. Over and over again. Thread after thread, post after post. They keep engaging instead of blocking, they allow the conversation to be disrupted and redirected. They even unwittingly do the trolls’ jobs for them, as all those Biden-Reade threads do, even when the linked articles highlight that the accusations are bullshit. Instead of tuning out the noise, people keep amplifying it.

They tend to get very triggered when you call them out on their bullshit. Snowflakes.

[quote]It's not all trolls.

Nowhere, anywhere, has anyone written that it’s “all trolls.” It’s also real-life American fascists like the loons in Michigan, and the cohort of usual fucking idiots; aka anti-vaxxers, literal corporate shills, “pro-business” middle managers who make 110K a year but worship billionaires, and other deplorables of every make and model.

Yes, a lot of people in real life are just stupid or callous enough to think reopening now is a good idea. That still doesn’t contradict the information posted at the link: Russian trolls are again flooding social media with misinformation. As we can see from this thread, the exact same set of fucking morons is falling for it, again.

Same as it ever was: Trolls leading right-wing Americans to their own destruction.

Funny how they only find bots that disagree with their viewpoint.

for R5

This Russia bullshit will never go away will it?

Shocking!

I never said they were, R21, and I'm confused as to why you think you need to tell ME that we don't have to "cater to ignorance."

All I did was point out who I think is a long-time regular Datalounge troll. If it were up to me, the guy would be punched in real life and then deleted in real life, not just put on our ignore lists repeatedly. Why that makes you think I need to be told to not "cater to ignorance" is beyond me.

R51, leading medical scientists aren't saying that we should be opening "less impacted parts of the country" back up, and I don't know why you think they have. I mean, are you just lying?

[quote]This is how the media gaslight people. Their coverage is so one-sided, and they accuse anybody who presents the alternate side of being a troll. The media are the true trolls.

This guy is the bumper troll, by the way. He's bumped 2015 threads like "Our education system is broken in this country" and he posts anti-Democratic Party stuff all the time.

why would someone care if a 2015 thread is commented on? can't you just block the thread? or are you concerned that people are engaging in the thread instead of some other thread where you would prefer attention be diverted?

You can't block threads, shithead. Why do the trolls keep saying we can? It's been years since we've been able to.

Everything else about the 2015 bumper has been explained time and time again, stop trying to waste our time by acting like you don't understand.

r65, how fucking stupid are you? what worthless piece of shit cannot figure out how to block a thread on datalounge? maybe you are infected with the 'rona.

Bumping old threads isn't new. It's an old complaint and is more likely an op trying to keep old threads from being closed. There are many threads over the years about DL's 'mad bumper'.

Here's a complaint about the bumper from 2017.

Sorry, R67, but no.

Our thread bumper is also posting anti-Democrat, anti-Biden and anti-Pelosi spew on political threads. He has an agenda.

And the overheated defender of the thread-bumper is doing the same, but sometimes he will call someone a "Boris," sometimes he'll say there's no such thing as Russian trolls. After he freaked out on this thread, he started his own troll threads, one claiming that doctors always knew that CV19 patients would die if they were put on ventilators. Lo and behold, another troll with a history of pro-Trump comments showed up to agree with him when no one else would.

All three of these posters (who are probably one and the same) have repeatedly posted that the virus is a scam.

This is not just some random guy who doesn't want his beloved threads closed.

One weirdo here said he opens 1000s of tabs on threads and keeps them open for months or years until he responds. It doesn't seem possible but OCD types are infinitely resourceful.

It's not possible because there's no browser that could handle that, R70. If nothing else, PC or browser updates would cause a reset.

I think all on this thread that think re-opening the country and that all who want limited re-opening but at least some are trolls are people that are above middle class that can work from home and have had no income interruption or trouble paying bills.

Well fuck you all. Small businesses are going under and that hurts a lot of people. If you are a vulnerable person you do not come out, if you aren't and return to the world you keep your social distance. Let's start opening shit back up. Starting with beaches and parks. Then limited access to some non-essential businesses.

[quote] why would someone care if a 2015 thread is commented on?

The Brock shills get upset if their "Trump raped a 13 year old" threads are ignored.

[quote] Let's start opening shit back up. Starting with beaches and parks. Then limited access to some non-essential businesses.

Yes let’s open all the places where large crowds can gather and spread the virus.

The Medical experts don’t know enough about this virus to guide a safe reopening. They know it’s very contagious and that distancing reduces incidences. They suspect cures and vaccines are possible, but don’t know how long they’ll take.

They know the elderly generally are much more at risk. But they also know that middle-aged, “prime earning years,”people are dying in large numbers.

They know that children seem to get a milder version. But they suspect that they give the virus to their older brothers, sisters, parents and others.

They know that young adults are developing really serious blood clots and strokes, but they don’t know which young adults are most susceptible.

The USA will completely tank if we don't go back to work and consuming. Sorry to say but Europe will go back to work and shopping and do a better job of protecting at risk people. Other rich countries somewhere between the shitty job USA will do, along with banana republics, and the great job Asian countries can do (because they force people and the culture accepts that).

3 months and Trump & Co have put NOTHING in place. USA is fucked either way. Lockdown - collapse. Go back - lots of death.

You should take the Republican Congress out behind the Capitol building and execute them. They didn't control their pig leader.

[quote] Other rich countries somewhere between the shitty job USA will do, along with banana republics, and the great job Asian countries can do (because they force people and the culture accepts that).

Yes, we should be more like them, even though we can't even trust the numbers they are putting out.

[quote]Yes let’s open all the places where large crowds can gather and spread the virus.

Even NYC isn't closing parks. Just enforce social distancing instead of allowing the beaches to become packed. Just back from a walk in the park here in Western PA.

Yeah, I don't see the beaches being that different from the parks and people have been comfortable going to parks for a long time now. It's pretty easy to keep your distance. Lots of wide open space.

[quote] Yeah, I don't see the beaches being that different from the parks and people have been comfortable going to parks for a long time now. It's pretty easy to keep your distance. Lots of wide open space.

That depends on the size of the park and the number of people who show up. Thankfully many people aren’t taking the risk.

That's where enforcement comes in, r80. In upstate NY they only allow a certain number of cars in the parking lot and then the park is closed. In Western PA they have the parks department walking around. Other places are using drones. Locking people in their homes is helping.

Not sure that's a shill R73, I think it's one of our excitable regulars. But their presence doesn't mean there aren't also rightwing nutjobs trying to cause a ruckus on this site.

[quote]The USA will completely tank if we don't go back to work and consuming. Sorry to say but Europe will go back to work and shopping and do a better job of protecting at risk people.

I don't think there's a real clear correlation between spending and protecting at-risk people from the virus, not sure why you think there is.

Our economy is based far too heavily on consuming things we don't need, and I don't know that we should be putting people's lives at risk just to encourage useless spending again. Real changes need to happen to fix the economy, not just the whole "go back to spending, wage slaves" orders we've been given for decades now. Hell, even after 9/11 we were told to go shopping, that'll win the war against terror. Ridiculous.

This is a false. American peoples wants Liberty this day. I have 31 years and I have seen it go downwards doggy. We fight for freedoms. Trump is god. We must follow leader.

Miss me?

I went to bot sentinel. It's fascinating. You can type in suss Twitter handles and it calculates if they are bots. It also lists the top bots and tweet shares . Top being qanon and wigga11gigga however you say it . Trump, Biden etc. You can also click on suspended accounts and see their posts it's eye opening. I checked each month and it was fascinating to see which bots were more prevalent and when.

I work in computer lab. I help America keep Democratic way. Information is put on the internets. I feel happy help Americans people feel freedom.

Those Russians really helped Tulsis campaign. She kept polling .2 percent higher than normal.

On the site we see a lot of posts like (often unhinged, with capital letters, etc):

[quote] I'm a HEALTHCARE worker! How dare you go to the beach or go outside in the sunshine? How can you be so SELFISH and CRUEL to me and my fellow workers? F&F you.

"Healthcare worker" my ass. You're a political troll, sis.

....................

Russians want us dead and they want our economy overvtoo. Russia and Putin hates us.

Quarantine them.

[quote] It's not all trolls. I've gotten messages from business people asking me to reach out to Gov. Gavin to get some things re-opened. And I know them personally.

I’d unfriend them & block their email. Listen to epidemiologists, not celebrities or business owners. It’s your life that’s at stake, not your opinion.

[quote] Russia and Putin hate us

The more others take notice that "voices of freedom" (Assange, Greenwald, The Intercept, GOP, Conservative Party of Canada) did not criticize Putin or Trump, and block those RU mouthpieces, the better social media will be, and the healthier the collective mindspace will be.

you can not enjoy your freedom while you're hooked up on a ventilator in an induced coma.

I don't understand the process by which "continue lockdown" became a "Left" position and "reopen" became a "Right" position. We are in uncharted territory and subject to an overload of conflicting data and opinions on a daily basis. And the media sensationalizes everything to get clicks - they're not a public service. Now is no time to solidify positions - we're still relatively early in a learning curve. But, that said, to the extent that it's now clearly apparent that Covid-19 isn't the Bubonic Plague or the Spanish Flu and that mostly older people and sick people are at risk, it's not unreasonable to consider reopening the economy where it makes sense. While my partner and I are able to work at home and have actually saved money during all of this, other people are facing a much dire situation. If there's a way to quarantine the vulnerable and allow the healthy to get on with their lives I don't see what the problem is.

And as for the hysteria regarding the reopening of beaches, doesn't the research say that sunlight and heat kills the virus? If this is true than the beach would seem to be among the safest public spaces to enter.

If nothing else this experience lends itself to reflection and to allow the same old Right/Left arguments to overshadow that is a pity.

R96 = intellectually dIshonest troll

Matt Taibbi, Glen Greenwald, and increasingly Bill Maher are becoming the voices of reason on the left. The so called "moderates" are the ones being controlled by the elite and pushing these Russian conspiracy theories in a desperate bid to maintain power in the age of the internet.

[R97] Weirdo. Are you so malleable and suggestible that you're afraid that Russian propaganda has the ability to control your little brain? Do you believe all of the claims of advertisers? If you watch a cigarette commercial from the 1950's do you believe that smoking is healthy and relaxing?

Grow up and don't be such a dope.

Ironic that no one is as concerned by the power and influence people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have in totally controlling the narrative, including their normalization of China.

[R97] And if you insist on being a partisan jerk and think that the Democrats can somehow work Covid-19 to their advantage, just consider how well that continuing to force a lockdown will play with working people in November. This isn't about Democrats and Republicans or Russian trolls.

What does Tulsi say about this?

[quote] [[R97]] And if you insist on being a partisan jerk and think that the Democrats can somehow work Covid-19 to their advantage, just consider how well that continuing to force a lockdown will play with working people in November. This isn't about Democrats and Republicans or Russian trolls.

"Partisan"

You are implying that Democrats want to somehow prolong the crisis in order to win the election. Meanwhile we have no vaccine and no widespread testing. Infections and the death toll continue to rise. Experts warn that social distancing needs to continue. And Republicans are paying fools to riot in the streets. Your argument is definitely very non "partisan."

I've gotten messages from business people asking me to reach out to Gov. Gavin to get some things re-opened. And I know them personally.

[quote] I've gotten messages from business people asking me to reach out to Gov. Gavin to get some things re-opened. And I know them personally.

Exactly. There’s a disinformation campaign to try to convince people that it’s not grassroots.

[quote] I don't understand the process by which "continue lockdown" became a "Left" position and "reopen" became a "Right" position.

Because Trump said reopen. If he had said keep close, the positions would be the opposite.

Germany educates how you can protect yourself when you are out and about. There are enough trusted and official media sources that control the flow of information and German citizens, for the most part, know that cooperation is required to create some level of normalcy. Russia's misinformation is not legitimized by any trusted German official source.

In the US the coronavirus crisis is framed as a political issue. "Owning the Libs". Refusing to cooperate. Refusing to do your part to prevent the spreading of the virus, because Trump / GOP / FOX News say so. This creates a fertile ground for Russia's misinformation attack. Trump uses his position of power to legitimize misinformation. Going back to Germany, Mrs. Merkel does not legitimize Russia's misinformation. And that is the big difference between countries like Germany and the US.

Germany educates how you can protect yourself when you are out and about. There are enough trusted and official media sources that control the flow of information and German citizens, for the most part, know that cooperation is required to create some level of normalcy. Russia's misinformation is not legitimized by any trusted German official source.

In the US the coronavirus crisis is framed as a political issue. "Owning the Libs". Refusing to cooperate. Refusing to do your part to prevent the spreading of the virus, because Trump / GOP / FOX News say so. This creates a fertile ground for Russia's misinformation attack. Trump uses his position of power to legitimize misinformation. Going back to Germany, Mrs. Merkel does not legitimize Russia's misinformation. And that is the big difference between countries like Germany and the US.

R106 So true. Trump's got middle-aged liberals trained like Pavlov's dogs and they're totally oblivious to it, especially people in media. They just don't learn or change their reactions. It's been years people.

"There’s a disinformation campaign to try to convince people that it’s not grassroots."

[quote] Russia's misinformation is not legitimized by any trusted German official source.

What Russian misinformation has been legitimized by the mainstream press? Are they behind the lockdown protests? No. Those are real people. Keep trying though.

@StopTheMadnessOfMiserableOP's

It's amazing how quickly liberals adopted the conservative playbook. Conservatives used 9/11 to question our patriotism if we were against the war in Iraq, used religion to question our values. Now that the power has shifted to the tech sector, and now it's liberals who are doing the same and even accused those who disagree as being spies or trolls. It's disappointing as I always thought liberals were better than that. What they are are completely lacking in self awareness.

I don't like fascist lowlifes, like Trump and Greenwald...I actually know a fascist when I see one.

[quote] What is driving this shocking trend of stagnant wages and widening income disparity in Silicon Valley? Brenner says a confluence of factors, including the “winner take all” dynamics of the information economy, which creates huge tech companies and doesn’t leave room for many others, and the outsourcing of more job roles.

[quote] Only wages at the very highest levels increased, after adjusting for inflation, over the last 20 years. Between 1997 and 2017, hourly wages for the top 10 percent increased by 0.7 percent. The most significant decline was for those at the middle income level. Those in the 50th percentile have seen wages decline by 14.2 percent over the same 20-year period, while those in the 60th percentile have seen a 13.2 percent decline.

[quote] For example, Facebook disclosed that its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, made $1 in salary last year but received other compensation totaling $8.85 million — for personal security at his residences, personal travel, as well as personal use of a private plane. That makes Facebook’s CEO-to-median-employee-pay a ratio of 37 to 1. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, had a total compensation of $1.68 million for a ratio of 59 to 1 in 2017.

[quote] Economists are paying close attention to deepening wage inequality in the heart of America’s innovation hub that may indicate what lies ahead for the job market.

This is why we have Trump.

R112 got a W&W.

We're all fucked.

r106 What you deal with is called projection. Read about it!

For anyone who is not R106 the most irritating thing about Republicans/conservatives is that they spend a LOT of time talking about how Democrats think and whenever they do it it's inevitably bullshit because it's really a version of how they think or a strawman argument.