The officials say Russia intends to use social media to manipulate US public opinion in favor of Trump

  • WatDabney@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    No shit?

    Of course Russia wants Trump - he’s a cowering wretch who’s only barely managed to stop short of publicly falling to his knees and licking Putin’s shoes.

  • N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    At this point, it’s becoming a cute underdog story. Poor Russia is still losing a war they thought would be over in three days two and a half years ago. Now, they’re breaking out the Facebook and Twitter bots to take over the election like it’s still 2016.

    Keep flexing as though you’re still a “superpower,” little buddy. In a few years, we’ll be nostalgic for when you were a real adversary. Again.

    • ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com
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      3 months ago

      Russia is not a superpower, but they are absolutely kicking our asses on information warfare. They spent probably in the order of low single-digit millions of dollars in 2015 and 2016 to influence that election.

      Though we’ve all read headlines that there’s “no proof” they succeeded, I think that’s a statement about how difficult it is to prove, not how likely it is that they affected the election. With how narrow Trump’s victory was and how gullible so much of the voting public is, it’s impossible to think they didn’t have an effect. Trump is still here just barely not leading in the polls in 2024, 9 years later, a sword of Damocles hanging over the nation’s democracy.

      I don’t doubt for a second that they’re going to throw everything possible at us, and that they may succeed, given that return-on-investment and previous success.

      • RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        That is what they funneled through the National Rifle Association alone.

        They laundered 100’s of millions through Trump branded properties.

        The Saudis gave literal Billions to Jared and Ivanka.

        Rudy was getting big bucks before he screwed the pooch.

    • Dr. Bluefall@toast.ooo
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      3 months ago

      As much as it is very funny, it’s still a threat that should be taken seriously.

      Stay vigilant, lads. Be watchful for any bots trying to throw a wrench into the works.

    • Pilferjinx@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      To be fair, without the US ukraine would crumble. I don’t know if all of Europe’s support could hold back Russia. Russia has adapted significantly during this war and their propaganda and IT efforts are still top notch.

      • WanderingVentra@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Even if they win, it’s still a multi-year war that everybody expected to be like a week long invasion at most. You’ve got to give the credit for that. And that’s with all their effort. I doubt they can manipulate the US again while doing that, especially now that we’re on the look out for their social media tactics again.

        • Pilferjinx@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          They certainly don’t have the resources to spare as they once did before the full scale invasion. And I’m rooting for ukraine, their extinction would be a travesty.

    • Katrisia@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Have you watched the movie Network (1976)? I feel like Russia is in the position of “the Arabs” right now (and I don’t say more in case you haven’t watched it).

    • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Putin’s fear of “colour revolutions” and paranoia about America aiming for regime change in Russia have led him to try and do this to us.

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Tbh I am coming around to the belief that we should make a concerted but covert-as-possible effort at a Russian regime change. Though it’s absolutely a strategy best left to the history books, in this particular case, they’ve been trying to do it to us (and succeeded in 2016!!!) for decades, and turnabout is fair play.

          • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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            3 months ago

            Yeah, and I’m saying that since we got so much practice at it in South America when we were drunk on the Cold War, maybe it’s time to put those skills to use against an actual goddamn adversary which is posing a clear and present danger to us and large swaths of the world instead of sCaRy sOCiALiSt eLEctEd GovErNmEntS

            • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Success at direct regime change has been, shall we say, elusive. I’d rather we keep making Ukraine and NATO increasingly muscular, while also keep rebuilding the state department. Trump really gutted it, you may recall, which I’m sure was music to Putin’s ears.

        • Etterra@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          You’re presuming that they actually have a fair election process in Russia. They do not. No amount of tampering will change the outcome. We could try to rabbel rouse, but our history of doing that in other countries shows a tendency for it to backfire. I mean the CIA has enough trouble getting shit done in South and Central America, much less Russia.

  • indomara@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/5/2024/04/MTAC-Report-Elections-Report-Nation-states-engage-in-US-focused-influence-operations-ahead-of-US-presidential-election-04172024.pdf

    This is public knowledge and has been tracked for years, if you follow an outlandish article to its source, and the source before that, you end up on one of thousands of normal sounding small town news websites that just happen to be registered to people with very Russian sounding names.

    The goal is to spit out a somewhat believable lie, then wait for it to be posted about on some blog, then someone else copies it from there and posts it elsewhere, then the gossip mags pick it up and before long it is “news”.

    https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/16/1035851/facebook-troll-farms-report-us-2020-election/

    19 of the top 20 Christian Facebook groups are run by Eastern European troll farms.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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      3 months ago

      I can only imagine this is intended to improve the perception of Russia among their audience.

    • Marin_Rider@aussie.zone
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      3 months ago

      the writings on the wall. Trump has never faced an opponent like Harris. even the cucks in the media can see it. rats jumping to pretend to be behind the winning side

    • Phoenixbouncing@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Honestly, Fox have been putting distance between themselves and Trump for a little while.

      They can see he’s nuts and also that Team trump means risking jail time.

      Add to the fact that the election is now a toss up, and being seen as not R enough for Trump is a lesser evil than getting dragged through the courts on treason charges.

      Doesn’t mean that they’ve changed their heart, just that the rats know when to abandon ship.

    • SqueakyBeaver@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 months ago

      They probably spun (or will spin) it to mean that the “crooked Joe Biden’s” administration will persecute Trump at all costs and “invalidate his future win”

  • Drusas@kbin.run
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    3 months ago

    Just like last year. And the year before that. And the year before that.

  • Zier@fedia.io
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    3 months ago

    There is nothing that putin’s deranged government could do or say to get me to vote for fat donnie or any republican, ever.

  • Crikeste@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Does the United States meddle in other nation’s elections? If they do, well then this is all just fair play. Whatever evens the scale.

    If they don’t? lol let’s be serious.