Are there paid shills, hired trolls, and web bots on boards.ie?

Billy86 wrote: »

Well there was one poster who couldn't twist and turn fast enough to agree with everything Putin related, from the US election to Ukraine, but they've not posted in a good eight months. I mentioned in one of the threads though that there has been a 'peculiar' uptick in the number of abortion themed threads on AH in recent weeks, it'll be interesting to see if that continues to ramp up and up between now and the referendum.

Typically though, I wouldn't expect it on here much. You can find them on reddit really easily in any subreddit based on politics, abortion, or anything along those lines (they usually beef their accounts up early on with memes, sports and gaming posts to get easy upvotes and to look like a genuine account).

It makes more sense for them to move in waves, and while we did have a wave of pro Trump accounts register in the months leading up to the US election that quickly vanished after as another example, I really don't think boards is a big enough target or Ireland a 'relevant' enough player for it to be worth the effort, and by and large these guys tend to try to hit hard and fast en-masse to control the narrative, rather than individually where their comments can just slip through the net unnoticed. If we had another Lisbon referendum type situation though (and I suppose for some interests, abortion would qualify) then I could see them having use on boards.

Good, quick video on how these accounts work on Reddit in particular for anyone confused (the same principle easily translates into other platforms like Twitter, and while I'm sure there are other methods it also shows why this type on a 'traditional' forum setup like boards would be less successful e.g. no upvote system for prominence).

3 years since the user I was thinking of posted.

https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?user=436119&sort=newest

Biggest lickspittle on boardz wrote: »

Meanwhile, FF have proposed that using web bots to influence public opinion should be a crime.
Squeaky bum time for a few notable boardsies I would say....



https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/new-bill-proposes-action-against-fake-social-media-accounts-1.3316254


It would be interesting to see just what the Leo's 'Strategic Communications Unit' is getting up to behind closed doors. Their budget for next year alone is €5 million euros :eek:

https://www.thejournal.ie/strategic-communications-unit-cost-3639125-Oct2017/

More nonsense ramblings from the opposition.

Claiming it to be something it's not.

Fake news.

Biggest lickspittle on boardz wrote: »

Certain posters have a very noticeable trend of only appearing for certain topics, and disappearing again until the next similar debate pops up. (There are also certain posters who group together and thank each others posts repeatedly, but they seem be to more partisan in nature.)

To be honest here I would say that there are a few topics that I find really interesting and I think the best discussion or argument, for me, is contained within those topics. I'm not Russian though. I'm not a bot.

I would say I basically see Boards as a form of entertainment primarily and a source of news to a lesser extent. Participation is just a nice bonus, really.

I think the opinion you've presented above puts you in a bit of a strange situation yourself.

By saying a certain group of people always show up on certain topics and are partisan in nature you have already "poisoned the well" when it comes to discussion on that topic.

Implying that people on one side of an argument must be "fake" or "bots" or "Russian" before the discussion even gets going is just a tactic.

when someone uses that tactic it brings their motivations into doubt.

What if there are a bunch of bots that go around accusing other people of being bots? How do you untangle that? Botception! BWWWAAAAAAM!

Let's say there is a pro-choice vs "pro-life" debate going on and the pro choicers are accusing the pro lifers of all being "bots" or evangelical american backed paid accounts or some such. Then how do we know that actually the pro choice crowd are not also paid shills trying to undermine the genuine pro life people?

Imagine going into a discussion with the idea already set in your mind that anyone who disagrees with you is a fake Russian account. How are you not totally blinkered at that stage? How would you even be able to think rationally?

Such posters have already decided that not only are they right but that they also know what everyone else is thinking and that anyone who wants to offer any contradictory points must be a fake or a troll account.

In the wake of Trump and Brexit it seems like a lot of people are using these "bot" situations as a tactic to control the discussion.

Madalynn Tasty Barrier wrote: »

That's the point though, to stir things up, cause division and distrust.

Bomb Syria to generate a huge influx of refugees, while promoting anti-immigration politics throughout Europe.

It's not about trying to win people to their cause, it's about weakening and undermining western democratic nations.

Definitely and they seem to be doing a terrifyingly good job of it.

In the US it looks like you've got large sections of the population who simply cannot accept any kind of disagreement. The amount of people I see online talking about "Nazis" and "SJWs" is ridiculous.

Everyone is losing their mind over fringe groups that should not be allowed anywhere near positions of power and that "outrage" is giving those groups the power they need to exert influence.

DONALD F*CKING TRUMP IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

Something is seriously, seriously, wrong here. How did this happen?

If you have an opinion that questions either of these 2 extreme sides? Prepare to be hounded, banned, blocked, whatever. They simply will not accept any criticism. The side that hounds you most? Of course you are going to vote against their interests, no matter what. It makes sense.

However, these groups seem to be driven by Americans venting their various frustrations on the Internet. Sometimes it seems like they are about to go to war with each other over tweets and memes.

The whole thing is driven by people in the US. At least it has started in the US. Maybe the Russians are nudging things along but I don't think the sole responsibility lies with the Russians.

It might be a good time for everyone to look at their internet activity.

I see well meaning people who are not bots spreading outright lies and misinformation and I wonder "why would you do this".

I have a friend on Twitter who lives in Ireland but posts about "Nazis" 20 to 30 times a day. EVERY DAY. I tried saying "maybe dial it down" but I got the old WW2 happened because people didn't protest the Nazis line.

This person is a good person. Really a good person but they just can't help themselves at this point. They just NEED to "win" and be right on the Internet.

A lot of times it's real people who KNOW the truth about a situation but they will share the lie because it suits their agenda or makes them feel good.

I think that this could almost be worse than bots or trolls or shills. The genuine guy or girl who just wants their dopamine hit now and to hell with the consequences.

I think I'm guilty of it sometimes too.

joe40 wrote: »

He works in "marketing"

He's an "influencer"