used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,036
Jan 29, 2016 3:02:55 GMT
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Post by used2scrap on Sept 28, 2017 17:46:19 GMT
We are being trolled. No matter what side you fall on, I hope this concerns you! Russian trolls used social media to fuel NFL national anthem debate, Senator says www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/09/28/russian-trolls-used-social-media-to-fuel-nfl-national-anthem-debate-senator-says.htmlRussian internet trolls have been actively working to fuel the controversy over NFL players kneeling or sitting during the national anthem in a bid to stir up divisions in the United States, a Republican Senator said Wednesday. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said at a hearing with the heads of the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center that paid social media users, or “trolls,” were hashtagging “take a knee” and “boycott the NFL” to amplify the issue. "They were taking both sides of the argument this past weekend, and pushing them out from their troll farms as much as they could to try to just raise the noise level in America and to make a big issue seem like an even bigger issue," Lankford said. TRUMP: ANTHEM KNEELING HAS ‘AFRAID’ OWNERS CAUGHT BETWEEN PLAYERS, FANS Lankford’s account was the latest sign Russians have used social media to raise tensions in the U.S. Earlier this month, Facebook acknowledged hundreds of fake accounts, probably run from Russia, spent about $100,000 on ads aimed at stoking divisive issues such as gun control and race relations during the election. Christopher Wray, the director of the F.B.I., did not comment directly on Lankford’s claim but said the department was bolstering its efforts to follow Russian efforts to influence elections in the U.S. Lankford, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has access to intelligence that Russian troll farms used social media to create doubt and chaos in U.S. institutions and government, including during last year’s presidential election, his spokesperson said. Lankford’s office emphasized a tweet from “AntifaBoston” that used the hashtags TakeAKnee and NewNFL. The office said the account “has a large probability of being part of a Russian trolling effort,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. The account has since been suspended by Twitter, according to AJC. Clint Watts, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said he cannot confirm Russian trolls were a major force in the NFL national anthem protest debate, but he said he suspected Lankford is right. Watts, who helped create a website that tracks Russian propaganda on social media, said it would be consistent with other documented propaganda campaigns that originated in Russia, such as the use of Facebook to push messages for and against the Black Lives Matter movement. "The goal is heightened tensions," Watts said. "They'll use organic American content to amplify to American audiences. They would much rather use organic American content. It hits the audience better and it's cheaper and more effective." TRUMP TACKLES THE NFL AND NATIONAL ANTHEM: A TIMELINE President Trump inflamed the national anthem debate Friday during a rally in Alabama. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b----- off the field right now, out, he's fired. He's fired,'" Trump said. A number of NFL athletes, coaches and the commissioner, Roger Goodell, condemned the comments. More than 200 players on Sunday either sat or knelt during the national anthem. Watts said Trump is the perfect vehicle for “active measures” campaigns, a Soviet term for information warfare designed to destabilize democracies from the inside. "The Russians can just sit back and say: 'Amplify on both sides. Make people angry.' And it works, man, God, it works," Watts said. “The goal is to sow division in America." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,036
Jan 29, 2016 3:02:55 GMT
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Post by used2scrap on Sept 28, 2017 17:49:27 GMT
Sorry can someone mark this political please, I'm on my phone.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 21, 2024 13:29:00 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 17:57:55 GMT
I'm not sure if the need is there for Russian trolls any longer, Trump seems to have the divisive ethos well within his grasp as far as I can see. He needs no further help from anyone!
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Post by lucyg on Sept 28, 2017 18:06:45 GMT
Glad you posted this here. It's so worth reading for everyone.
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Deleted
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May 21, 2024 13:29:00 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 18:14:50 GMT
I'm not sure if the need is there for Russian trolls any longer, Trump seems to have the divisive ethos well within his grasp as far as I can see. He needs no further help from anyone! What the Russian trolls are doing is taking trump’s words and amplifying them. Edging people on. They do it because they know they can be somewhat successful.
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Post by #notLauren on Sept 28, 2017 18:23:16 GMT
The truly sad part is that this country is so divided and so intolerant of the "other side" that it doesn't take much to fuel the division or to hype it up.
Major we, as a country, should focus on our own issues and divisions rather than looking to divert the focus by blaming the Russians.
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Post by mellyw on Sept 28, 2017 19:25:15 GMT
JFC, I feel like standing in the street with a primal scream, wondering what the fuck is wrong with some peoples thinking in this country.
Black man kneels in silent protest at an NFL game, gets called disgusting, unpatriotic, basically get your ass back to the back of the bus.
Russia, you know, that country who would like nothing more than to see the end of our country, continues to foment real fake news, and I see posted, look at our own issues, instead of blaming the Russians.
Hell fucking no, I will blame the Russians. The are infiltrating our country, make no mistake. Instead of little green men, it's convincing fellow Americans that brown people are going to take over for whites. It's insidious, and it's working.
Who cares if Russia helped Trump? I got my Supreme Court pick in. Who cares if Russia continues to troll on social media? I don't want Black Lives to Matter, for my beloved Confederate Statues to come down, to,think of Muslims as anything but terrorists.
Pull your head out of your ass, and know most of us can try to help with the ongoing issues in this country, and de-cry the fact that Putin is fucking with every western country he can. And I'll state again, it's working, because so many only care that it helped "their" side.
I'd say I can't wait for it to flip, and hear the conservative pearl clutching. But I'm a fucking American first, Democrat second, and I don't want Russia playing in my house.
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Post by pb on Sept 28, 2017 19:35:27 GMT
Rachel Maddow had a piece on this last night and it was downright scary.
Another point she mentioned was the Russian silencing of Ukrainian voices on Facebook reporting activist accounts until they were shut down for 30 days.
This is currently happening in America with POC on Facebook. Their posts are being reported and their accounts suspended.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 28, 2017 19:49:55 GMT
No matter what side you fall on, I hope this concerns you! ...apparently not so much...
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 28, 2017 19:51:14 GMT
The truly sad part is that this country is so divided and so intolerant of the "other side" that it doesn't take much to fuel the division or to hype it up. Major we, as a country, should focus on our own issues and divisions rather than looking to divert the focus by blaming the Russians. Why can't we do both? I don't understand the love for Russia that republicans seem to have these days. It baffles my mind.
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Post by femalebusiness on Sept 28, 2017 19:54:45 GMT
The Russians stir shit just like our own shit stirrers that post on this board. The problem is that, just like on this board, people don't have the ability to see it for what it is and ignore. Nor do they think for themselves and do a little outside reading instead of getting all of their brainwashing from Facebook, social media and memes. We have lost the ability to smell hype and a con and it will be our undoing.
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Post by #notLauren on Sept 28, 2017 20:00:21 GMT
The truly sad part is that this country is so divided and so intolerant of the "other side" that it doesn't take much to fuel the division or to hype it up. Major we, as a country, should focus on our own issues and divisions rather than looking to divert the focus by blaming the Russians. Why can't we do both? I don't understand the love for Russia that republicans seem to have these days. It baffles my mind. Of course we can do both. The problem is we don't. Democrats want to focus on Russia rather than the real divide in this country. It's easier to blame an outsider than to really look at ourselves and to try to find middle ground.
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Post by annaintx on Sept 28, 2017 20:21:10 GMT
You know what's fascinating is that the article has NO COMMENTS on the fox news site. None.
And the Russians ARE to blame for making this a bigger issue than it would have been otherwise.
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Post by megop on Sept 28, 2017 20:23:25 GMT
Wonder if they will fly over and drop propaganda flyers around at some point. Sigh. Ya know what they say about cyclical history. Scary for sure.
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Deleted
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May 21, 2024 13:29:00 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 22:07:38 GMT
I'm not sure if the need is there for Russian trolls any longer, Trump seems to have the divisive ethos well within his grasp as far as I can see. He needs no further help from anyone! What the Russian trolls are doing is taking trump’s words and amplifying them. Edging people on. They do it because they know they can be somewhat successful. Oh I know @fred it was my lame attempt at being sarcastic Makes me wonder if one or two of them are registered on here reading some of the post on some threads!
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Post by cade387 on Sept 28, 2017 22:13:39 GMT
Why can't we do both? I don't understand the love for Russia that republicans seem to have these days. It baffles my mind. Of course we can do both. The problem is we don't. Democrats want to focus on Russia rather than the real divide in this country. It's easier to blame an outsider than to really look at ourselves and to try to find middle ground. The democrats are highlighting Russia AS a bi-partisan issue stating that we should all band together to protect America. The republicans are just trying to pretend it didn't happen and that it still isn't happening. It did and it is and will continue because they don't want it to stop. When it starts harming Republicans I'm sure then they will wake up and notice our democracy has been irreparably damaged
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Post by megop on Sept 29, 2017 0:09:04 GMT
Seriously? To me, let's look even deeper than Russia or Trump or let's be honest, whose campaign really redefined the use of social media within politics. Yes, that was Obama's first campaign.
To me, the issue is much deeper regarding the use of social media platforms, what they know about us individually (and trust me, it is HUGE) privacy and security.
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pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,817
Jun 27, 2014 23:12:07 GMT
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Post by pyccku on Sept 29, 2017 1:51:56 GMT
The use of social media isn't going away. Obama didn't 'redefine' it - it hadn't yet been defined. This is the first time it was weaponized, and it won't be the last. So long as a decent sized chunk of Americans aren't even willing to entertain the idea that an outside influence pushed certain narratives during the election - at that some Americans fell for it - we won't be able to fight against it.
In an NPR episode about Putin a few months back, the hosts discussed the role of the media in the Russian political system. The media absolutely shapes the views people have of Putin. All of the shirtless photos, the videos of him doing judo, hockey and other manly exploits - this is no accident. The guy they talked about (Putin's media guy) called it 'managed democracy' - you steer people to think and act in a certain way, and they have no idea that they've been corralled into that belief or action, they think they came up with it themselves. It's scary to ponder - the people are happy because they believe that they are the ones who chose the candidate or action, while the reality is completely different. What a great way to grab power without ever being challenged.
We have that here - the people who say 'I was going to vote for him anyway, Russia didn't sway me one bit!' What happens if the reasons they chose to vote for Trump were based on news and information that wasn't real, but instead managed democracy?
It's not that hard to manipulate people into doing something they wouldn't necessarily have done without a little encouragement. Women have been doing it for centuries - just manipulate the husband into believing it was his idea all along, and he'll go along with whatever it is you wanted him to do.
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Post by megop on Sept 29, 2017 1:56:57 GMT
The use of social media isn't going away. Obama didn't 'redefine' it - it hadn't yet been defined. This is the first time it was weaponized, and it won't be the last. So long as a decent sized chunk of Americans aren't even willing to entertain the idea that an outside influence pushed certain narratives during the election - at that some Americans fell for it - we won't be able to fight against it. In an NPR episode about Putin a few months back, the hosts discussed the role of the media in the Russian political system. The media absolutely shapes the views people have of Putin. All of the shirtless photos, the videos of him doing judo, hockey and other manly exploits - this is no accident. The guy they talked about (Putin's media guy) called it 'managed democracy' - you steer people to think and act in a certain way, and they have no idea that they've been corralled into that belief or action, they think they came up with it themselves. It's scary to ponder - the people are happy because they believe that they are the ones who chose the candidate or action, while the reality is completely different. What a great way to grab power without ever being challenged. We have that here - the people who say 'I was going to vote for him anyway, Russia didn't sway me one bit!' What happens if the reasons they chose to vote for Trump were based on news and information that wasn't real, but instead managed democracy? It's not that hard to manipulate people into doing something they wouldn't necessarily have done without a little encouragement. Women have been doing it for centuries - just manipulate the husband into believing it was his idea all along, and he'll go along with whatever it is you wanted him to do. Weaponized given. I still stand by my statement that Obama's campaign social media use in 2008 was groundbreaking and redefining within campaign political science.
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Post by txdancermom on Sept 29, 2017 2:28:53 GMT
From the story I heard today on NPR it appears that the Russian strategy now is to create divisivness within the American public, such that it creates a lot of turmoil on our own soil, and that will distract the American public from what might be happening elsewhere in the world, and they can advance the Russian agenda in other parts of the world.
imho, their plan may be working - as a nation, we spent the weekend and the better part of this week arguing over whether it is acceptable or not to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem. And the russians were retweeting the hashtags associated with that - further inflaming those on one side or the other.
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Deleted
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May 21, 2024 13:29:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 4:28:02 GMT
I'm not sure if the need is there for Russian trolls any longer, Trump seems to have the divisive ethos well within his grasp as far as I can see. He needs no further help from anyone! I think Trump has to troll and be as disgusting a president as we have ever had. His boss/blackmailer, Putin, demands it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 21, 2024 13:29:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 5:05:03 GMT
Fake black activist accounts linked to Russian government "The Blacktivist accounts provide further evidence that Russian-linked social media accounts saw racial tensions as something to be exploited in order to achieve the broader Russian goal of dividing Americans and creating chaos in U.S. politics during a campaign in which race repeatedly became an issue. " money.cnn.com/2017/09/28/media/blacktivist-russia-facebook-twitter/index.html
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pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,817
Jun 27, 2014 23:12:07 GMT
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Post by pyccku on Sept 29, 2017 12:20:01 GMT
The Foundations of Geopolitics spelled it out pretty clearly:
The book emphasizes that Russia must spread Anti-Americanism everywhere: "the main 'scapegoat' will be precisely the U.S." (What better way to do that than to help elect a president who will blunder his way through everything, tearing up treaties and alliances and making it clear that the US is not to be trusted - while looking for new wars and new enemies based on stupid tweets?)
In the United States:
Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."
We still have so many who simply don't care/don't understand that this is a new tactic in an old war, and they think that closing their eyes and singing LALALALALA anytimes someone brings it up will make it go away.
I don't blame Obama for using social media as a tool. It's a new thing and it was just a matter of time before it was used. If he hadn't, the next candidate would have - just like the invention of the printing press, radio, phone and TV all changed the way things were done. There's a HUGE difference between using it to get out your message to the public vs. spreading fake/divisive messages to specifically targeted individuals in specific areas of the country. The fake thing is a big deal - fake things need to be off social media altogether. Targeted individuals in specific areas - that I'm actually fine with, because it's how effective advertising works. But allowing foreign governments to do operate a campaign that does so? Why on earth would that be OK? It assumes that the foreign government will have our best interests in mind. I would always assume that a foreign government is looking out for the interests of its own people in democracies, and in shady countries I would assume that it is looking out for the interests of its rulers/oligarchs.
If you still think that Putin wants to 'help' the US by choosing a president that will be a good leader for us, it makes me think that you'd probably be the type to get in a pedovan because you truly believe the guy when he says he just wants your help finding the owner of a lost puppy.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 29, 2017 12:35:57 GMT
Why can't we do both? I don't understand the love for Russia that republicans seem to have these days. It baffles my mind. Of course we can do both. The problem is we don't. Democrats want to focus on Russia rather than the real divide in this country. It's easier to blame an outsider than to really look at ourselves and to try to find middle ground. This would be funny if the consequences weren't so serious. Russian interference is not a partisan issues. I understand that Trump's ego won't allow him to address this as a legitimate issue, and that what he and Fox News say, must be truth in the mind of many republicans. But at some point republicans are going to have to get their heads out of the sand and decide that country comes before Party and that this is bigger than Trump. It is real, not some made up diversion that Democrats are using to avoid real issues. This IS a real issue.
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pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,817
Jun 27, 2014 23:12:07 GMT
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Post by pyccku on Sept 29, 2017 13:08:37 GMT
Of course we can do both. The problem is we don't. Democrats want to focus on Russia rather than the real divide in this country. It's easier to blame an outsider than to really look at ourselves and to try to find middle ground. This would be funny if the consequences weren't so serious. Russian interference is not a partisan issues. I understand that Trump's ego won't allow him to address this as a legitimate issue, and that what he and Fox News say, must be truth in the mind of many republicans. But at some point republicans are going to have to get their heads out of the sand and decide that country comes before Party and that this is bigger than Trump. It is real, not some made up diversion that Democrats are using to avoid real issues. This IS a real issue. Part of this is - what is the 'real' divide vs. what is the hyper-amplified conflict that the Russians are using to their advantage? How strong is the movement to secede for states like Texas and CA? Almost non-existent. And yet the Russians tried to run it up the flagpole with the Calexit thing to see if it worked. It didn't because there wasn't enough support, so that faded away. The flag thing - how big is the divide, really? Do people really care that much about kneeling? Sure, there are people who don't like it. About 16% of people supported players being kicked off the team for kneeling. But 84% supported the right for them to protest, even if they didn't agree with the form of the protest. That's not a divide - that's a pretty high percentage of people agreeing that they should be able to exercise their first amendment right to protest. If you were to watch the twitterbots and fake FB messages, the issue would seem like a much bigger thing than it is - it makes it feel like it's a 50/50 split and there's no way to bridge the gap. In reality, there really isn't much of a gap at all. Maybe if it were framed 'closer to home' it would help. Let's say that you are a SAHM and feeling kind of frumpy. Your husband is going out for company dinners, out of town business trips, etc. He always brings you gifts and is happy to see you. Your neighbor - who is divorced and back on the dating scene - likes to stop by and 'hang out' with you while he's away. Everything's great in the marriage, no problems other than minor issues that are easily resolved. But the neighbor starts telling you all about how her ex used to cheat on her. Starts telling you that the first sign was business trips away. Then late nights at the office. She started noticing that he was really tired when he came home, and less interested in sex. She got suspicious of him, and noticed that he would buy her gifts when he went on business trips as a way to cover his guilty feelings. Then she started smelling perfume she didn't recognize on his clothes. Next thing you know, the SAHM is asking herself - wait, my husband is doing these things! He has always brought me gifts - has he always been cheating on me? And he's out late a lot, and he's always too tired for sex. And I noticed some perfume the other day as well... There wasn't a problem in the marriage, and the man isn't cheating - yet the helpful neighbor who 'happens' to be interested in the happily married husband has built a problem. And the perfume? He left his car unlocked on night and she just snuck a couple of sprays in there. Just enough to leave a tiny scent, but not too much... The SAHM could talk to the husband and take care of the problems, but the problem with the neighbor still exists. The neighbor needs to be out of the picture before the relationship can be repaired. And there has to be trust between the husband and wife in order for it to work.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 21, 2024 13:29:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 13:16:36 GMT
This would be funny if the consequences weren't so serious. Russian interference is not a partisan issues. I understand that Trump's ego won't allow him to address this as a legitimate issue, and that what he and Fox News say, must be truth in the mind of many republicans. But at some point republicans are going to have to get their heads out of the sand and decide that country comes before Party and that this is bigger than Trump. It is real, not some made up diversion that Democrats are using to avoid real issues. This IS a real issue. Part of this is - what is the 'real' divide vs. what is the hyper-amplified conflict that the Russians are using to their advantage? How strong is the movement to secede for states like Texas and CA? Almost non-existent. And yet the Russians tried to run it up the flagpole with the Calexit thing to see if it worked. It didn't because there wasn't enough support, so that faded away. The flag thing - how big is the divide, really? Do people really care that much about kneeling? Sure, there are people who don't like it. About 16% of people supported players being kicked off the team for kneeling. But 84% supported the right for them to protest, even if they didn't agree with the form of the protest. That's not a divide - that's a pretty high percentage of people agreeing that they should be able to exercise their first amendment right to protest. If you were to watch the twitterbots and fake FB messages, the issue would seem like a much bigger thing than it is - it makes it feel like it's a 50/50 split and there's no way to bridge the gap. In reality, there really isn't much of a gap at all. Maybe if it were framed 'closer to home' it would help. Let's say that you are a SAHM and feeling kind of frumpy. Your husband is going out for company dinners, out of town business trips, etc. He always brings you gifts and is happy to see you. Your neighbor - who is divorced and back on the dating scene - likes to stop by and 'hang out' with you while he's away. Everything's great in the marriage, no problems other than minor issues that are easily resolved. But the neighbor starts telling you all about how her ex used to cheat on her. Starts telling you that the first sign was business trips away. Then late nights at the office. She started noticing that he was really tired when he came home, and less interested in sex. She got suspicious of him, and noticed that he would buy her gifts when he went on business trips as a way to cover his guilty feelings. Then she started smelling perfume she didn't recognize on his clothes. Next thing you know, the SAHM is asking herself - wait, my husband is doing these things! He has always brought me gifts - has he always been cheating on me? And he's out late a lot, and he's always too tired for sex. And I noticed some perfume the other day as well... There wasn't a problem in the marriage, and the man isn't cheating - yet the helpful neighbor who 'happens' to be interested in the happily married husband has built a problem. And the perfume? He left his car unlocked on night and she just snuck a couple of sprays in there. Just enough to leave a tiny scent, but not too much... The SAHM could talk to the husband and take care of the problems, but the problem with the neighbor still exists. The neighbor needs to be out of the picture before the relationship can be repaired. And there has to be trust between the husband and wife in order for it to work. False equivalence (i.e., "both sides" implying that "both sides" are equally as valid or equally as large) is a powerful tool and one of the first tools reached for by the irrational and the scheming.
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Post by #notLauren on Sept 29, 2017 14:15:56 GMT
Of course we can do both. The problem is we don't. Democrats want to focus on Russia rather than the real divide in this country. It's easier to blame an outsider than to really look at ourselves and to try to find middle ground. This would be funny if the consequences weren't so serious. Russian interference is not a partisan issues. I understand that Trump's ego won't allow him to address this as a legitimate issue, and that what he and Fox News say, must be truth in the mind of many republicans. But at some point republicans are going to have to get their heads out of the sand and decide that country comes before Party and that this is bigger than Trump. It is real, not some made up diversion that Democrats are using to avoid real issues. This IS a real issue. You and I are now doing exactly what the rest of the country does; blaming the other side. Insisting that the other side is diverting. The real problem is that neither side is willing to acknowledge that the other side might have a point and to be willing to give an inch.
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Post by missbennet on Sept 29, 2017 14:22:26 GMT
It's been a relief to find out about all these Russian accounts pretending to be outraged Americans, BLM activists, feminists, AntiFa, etc. Now when I read something really outrageous that supposedly is one of these groups' members, I take it with a grain of salt.
Because maybe we aren't as divided as we think and at least a small part of the crazy is fake. Yes, it brings out your insane cousin on Facebook who "likes" outrageous statuses and news articles that are frankly mind-boggling, and it does embolden racists, extremists, and other nuts. But now we know that some of it is just a pied piper of crazy that is intentionally sowing chaos, and that's a different scenario.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 29, 2017 14:52:47 GMT
This would be funny if the consequences weren't so serious. Russian interference is not a partisan issues. I understand that Trump's ego won't allow him to address this as a legitimate issue, and that what he and Fox News say, must be truth in the mind of many republicans. But at some point republicans are going to have to get their heads out of the sand and decide that country comes before Party and that this is bigger than Trump. It is real, not some made up diversion that Democrats are using to avoid real issues. This IS a real issue. You and I are now doing exactly what the rest of the country does; blaming the other side. Insisting that the other side is diverting. The real problem is that neither side is willing to acknowledge that the other side might have a point and to be willing to give an inch. I recognize that there is a divide and that both sides have a role in that. The problem I have is that I have not seen one republican say that Russian interference is a problem. Your own posts show the diversion--"democrats don't want to look at the division in the country and just want to blame Russia". You are not hearing what people are saying or looking at the big picture. If Fox News isn't reporting it, Donald Trump is claiming it is a fake story, and republicans are falling for that....that is a problem.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 29, 2017 15:00:16 GMT
It's been a relief to find out about all these Russian accounts pretending to be outraged Americans, BLM activists, feminists, AntiFa, etc. Now when I read something really outrageous that supposedly is one of these groups' members, I take it with a grain of salt. Because maybe we aren't as divided as we think and at least a small part of the crazy is fake. Yes, it brings out your insane cousin on Facebook who "likes" outrageous statuses and news articles that are frankly mind-boggling, and it does embolden racists, extremists, and other nuts. But now we know that some of it is just a pied piper of crazy that is intentionally sowing chaos, and that's a different scenario. I'm not so heartened by the fact that Russia has propagated these issues. I have seen my own friends and family posting and sharing nasty memes and comments. They are not Russian bots. They do not respond well (or stop posting crap) when told that something they have posted is fake or a lie. The division in the country is real, although I think there have been various factors that have led to the divide being wider, including tactics by Russia.
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