Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How the left recruits trolls to make website comments
americanthinker ^ | Nov. 17, 2014 | Thomas Lifson

Posted on 11/17/2014 12:20:08 PM PST by PROCON

Earlier today I wrote about the way the official Obamacare website has apparently recruited people to post thousands of comments each, creating the appearance of mass support, a variant on the traditional astroturfing strategy of creating bogus grassroots organizations.

Big Fur Hat of iOTW Report has spotted what looks very much like a Craigslist ad recruiting trolls to post positive or negative comments on left-wing or conservative websites, respectively. The text in full, as well as a screen capture (in case the ad is removed), follow:

We are a large social activism organization that advocates on behalf of issues including the environment, human rights, animal welfare, social justice, politics and more. We are seeking part-time interns who are interested in working on these important causes. Interns will improve their writing and research skills, while building a broad portfolio of online writing samples.

Interns are given broad discretion in choosing the causes they work on. The time commitment is flexible and work can be done from anywhere with an Internet connection. Applicants should have a strong interest in activism and possess good writing and Internet skills, but prior activism experience is not required.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: trolls
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-67 next last
To: GeronL

DU postings = online writing samples

HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!


41 posted on 11/17/2014 1:10:29 PM PST by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

rofl


42 posted on 11/17/2014 1:15:26 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: PROCON
Trolls: See "Zot Bait"

Paid or not- Have to admit they provide hours and hours of FR entertainment .

43 posted on 11/17/2014 1:15:27 PM PST by Pajamajan ( Pray for our nation. Thank the Lord for everything you have. Don't wait. Do it today.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
Lol.
44 posted on 11/17/2014 1:15:28 PM PST by Attention Surplus Disorder (At no time was the Obama administration aware of what the Obama administration was doing)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco
Gotta go for that, because you can't justify voting for a liberal to a conservative.

And because you don't want to admit that voting for a liberal republican is throwing your vote away.

Welcome to the new world, where liberal republicans can't get elected. It's coming.

/johnny

45 posted on 11/17/2014 1:15:43 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: JohnnyP

Yeah; well, most likely they’re a part of the “gang” groups.


46 posted on 11/17/2014 1:20:46 PM PST by CyberAnt ("The hope and changey stuff did not work, even a smidgen.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: JRandomFreeper

I vote my choice in the primary and if he doesn’t win, it ain’t my fault. And I’m certainly not gonna stay home in the general election and pout because my guy never made it to the finals........guaranteed losers do that.


47 posted on 11/17/2014 1:22:26 PM PST by Hot Tabasco (Don't harsh my buzz homie......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
Bald faced is correct. It refers to clean-shaven people during negotiations. Easier to see facial expressions and cues that a person is lying than when they are bearded. Goes back to the days when most people didn't shave.

-PJ

48 posted on 11/17/2014 1:24:11 PM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco
I never stay home and pout, either. I work hard against any liberal in the general election, even if they are Republican.

And voting 3rd party isn't anymore of a wasted vote than voting for a non-viable liberal Republican candidate.

The upside is that it slowly destroys the liberal republicans.

/johnny

49 posted on 11/17/2014 1:26:30 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
What is a government dowel?

Does he mean dole? If so, I’m seeing irony here. :-P


He could mean a goverment dowel.

Like a dowel pin, used for precise lineup.



If you've got trolls, you want them all in precise alignment.

Little tool & die joke. Sort of.
50 posted on 11/17/2014 1:27:29 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: CyberAnt
Why: Because the “game” is to get you to go ballistic so they can have a good laugh about it.

The game is to hijack the thread when someone is caught.

The gang comes in and the thread devolves into a back and forth over some minutiae, causing others to lose interest and stop reading.

It's like when liberals talk over a conservative on TV. It's not about making counter arguments, it's about wasting the conservative's time so he can't get his message out.

The gang swarms a dangerous thread so that others get frustrated and leave it before the message can resonate.

-PJ

51 posted on 11/17/2014 1:28:48 PM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: PieterCasparzen

Tool & die humor...rare but effective.
Well played!


52 posted on 11/17/2014 1:29:32 PM PST by nascarnation (Impeach, Convict, Deport)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: PROCON
Those ads have been on CL almost since the day it started. There was a guy that answered one, got the job and wrote an article about it. Don't remember his name but it clearly was a lefty organization.
53 posted on 11/17/2014 1:29:42 PM PST by mad_as_he$$
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CyberAnt

That type of troll does not actually need to have a group with them. It can be one person with multiple screen names. Saw a poster here recently respond praising their own post as if someone else had said it. This person outed his own self. I never did see them on that thread again.


54 posted on 11/17/2014 1:34:02 PM PST by Waryone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: PROCON

When John McCain was running for president, I read many conservative sites; and from that time, I felt that there were professional trolls often making it impossible to have a serious discussion. The trolls are winning and most people don’t seem to care. Whenever homosexuality is discussed no matter how small the site, a troll always comes and stays for hours to call people bigots and trash Christianity. When it comes to Obama, the same is true but people are called racists. The troll will often stay for extended period of time indicating that he or she does not have other employment. Part of community organizing is twisting the facts to meet a certain agenda. If you go back to the original article in this post, you will see how a troll is posting replies to that article.


55 posted on 11/17/2014 2:17:58 PM PST by Essie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Essie
Lots of the 'hold your nose' pro-GOP-E trolls that were here on FR are gone now that the election is over.

/johnny

56 posted on 11/17/2014 2:34:43 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
And a little MANUAL proofreading never hurts.That's

That's frowned on this site, son.

57 posted on 11/17/2014 3:03:35 PM PST by TangoLimaSierra (To win the country back, we need to be as mean as the libs say we are.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: GeronL
If the CraigsList posting is real, it was made on behalf of forcechange.com, which says:

"The ForceChange community is comprised of passionate individuals who care deeply about issues such as animal rights, the environment, human rights, social justice, progressive politics, and more. We are writers, students, professionals, activists and citizens. We aim to provide the important news, policy and analysis intended to arm people with the information and tools necessary to force change in the unsustainable status quo."

The registrar for that domain is GODADDY.COM, but the current whois registrant is a proxy. There's a history going back seven years with twenty-one significant changes. There must be a free way to check domain registration histories, but I've never used anything but a service and I don't currently pay for any kind of service. Do very little webwork currently. If somebody wants to check the domain's history . . .

However, I do say hmmm when I see that the domain forcechange.net was registered by one Jacob Lipman in 2006 (about seven years) through GODADDY.COM.

I know I always wrap up the .net for a .com I register . . .

58 posted on 11/17/2014 3:41:21 PM PST by Scoutmaster (Opinions don't affect facts. But facts should affect opinions, and do, if you're rational)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: JRandomFreeper

I always enjoy watching you try to engage the die-hard, gonna-vote-for-the-R-no-matter-what true believers. It’s a thankless task and you never do seem to get through the thick-as-a-brick wall of denial, but maybe it serves to bring truth to those reading the posts.


59 posted on 11/17/2014 3:57:53 PM PST by COBOL2Java (I'm a Christian, pro-life, pro-gun, Reaganite. The GOP hates me. Why should I vote for them?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf

It wouldn’t hurt for many Freepers to have a dictionary or use an on-line dictionary to check and correct their spelling. While everybody makes spelling and grammar mistakes, we all should try to improve our posts in those areas...before I “loose” my mind.


60 posted on 11/17/2014 4:03:32 PM PST by driftless2 (For long term happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-67 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson