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Putin's New Weapon In The Ukraine Propaganda War: Internet Trolls
Forbes ^ | 12/09/2014 | Paul Roderick Gegory

Posted on 12/11/2014 8:28:42 AM PST by WhiskeyX

Edited on 12/11/2014 9:55:51 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

The internet troll army’s selling of the Kremlin’s parallel universe to the Russian people and to a skeptical Western audience is a matter of life and death for the Putin regime. If the Russian people do not buy their story, Putin loses the high “ratings” on which his regime rests. If he cannot convince his Western audience, Europe and the United States will take actions that spoil his Novorossiya ventures and threaten his regime. Trolling is a high stakes business that Putin takes seriously and the West must not underestimate.

Germany’s Angela Merkel described Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a phone conversation, as “living in another world.” Like Merkel, we, who write on Russia’s War on Ukraine, have all had our rude introduction to Putin’s “other world.” In his parallel universe, the aggressor is the victim, strangers appoint themselves “premiers” of non-existent “republics,” hundreds of soldiers mysteriously perish in border exercises or “on vacation,” a certified nationally elected government is a “neo-Nazi junta,” and hundreds of tanks and heavy weapons crossing borders are optical illusions.

[....]

According to a Buzzfeed account, each troll is expected to post 50 news articles daily and maintain six Facebook and ten Twitter accounts, with 50 tweets per day. At these rates, a small army of one thousand trolls will post 100,000 news articles and tweets per day.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Russia
KEYWORDS: buzzfeed; crimea; disinformation; facebook; neosovietempire; propaganda; putin; putinsbuttboys; russia; troll; twitter; ukraine; vladtheimploder
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1 posted on 12/11/2014 8:28:42 AM PST by WhiskeyX
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To: WhiskeyX

Yahoo News (which I see every day on my phone) is polluted with trolls from Russia and China who use names like “Ted” and “Andrew” and then post comments with pathetically poor grammar that betrays them as trolls.


2 posted on 12/11/2014 8:30:46 AM PST by MeganC (It took Democrats four hours to deport Elian Gonzalez)
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To: WhiskeyX

The Cyber-Warriors For Obama Project has been wildly successful, and was funded by the coffers of OFA.

Stands to reason Pooty-poot will do the same - just that he has the resources of a nation-state at his disposal, and not just campaign money.


3 posted on 12/11/2014 8:34:32 AM PST by Old Sarge (Its the Sixties all over again, but with crappy music...)
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To: MeganC

Putin is taking a page from the American libtard’s playbook.


4 posted on 12/11/2014 8:46:40 AM PST by dragonblustar
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To: dragonblustar

You no like freedum and Putin great big hairy man chest? As patriotic american i know for sure Putin is on are side. As he rides astride on great white beasty bear he destroy corrupt western oligarchies and corporate puppets. Obama? He rides astride the faces of those same corporate masters. Shame on west for failing the world. Go putin go master of truth, justice and the ameriKan way!! /s


5 posted on 12/11/2014 8:53:15 AM PST by Colehill1999 ( Obama always gets a five finger discount at the greensboro woolworths counter.)
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To: MeganC

6 posted on 12/11/2014 8:54:46 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
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To: WhiskeyX

We have one of those here, you should ping him.


7 posted on 12/11/2014 8:58:25 AM PST by ansel12
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To: UCANSEE2

Sadly, I suspect the internet trolls are not so cute!


8 posted on 12/11/2014 9:02:02 AM PST by MeganC (It took Democrats four hours to deport Elian Gonzalez)
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To: WhiskeyX
Image and video hosting by TinyPicImage and video hosting by TinyPic
9 posted on 12/11/2014 9:02:11 AM PST by MtnMan101
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To: WhiskeyX

Don’t let our resident Putinistas know about this...


10 posted on 12/11/2014 9:08:57 AM PST by Thunder90 (All posts soley represent my own opinion.)
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To: Colehill1999

They’re a little slicker than the old Soviet propagandists. On the other hand, the self-appointed, ideologically-motivated Putinista trolls on here are cruder, crasser, and more clueless than the slicky boys Putin is using for his full spectrum information operations.


11 posted on 12/11/2014 9:33:48 AM PST by elhombrelibre (Against Obama. Against Putin. Pro-freedom. Pro-US Constitution.)
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To: WhiskeyX; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

I had one of the trolls who operate on FR complain in open thread about one of my criticisms of his hero, the murderer Vlad Putin, by asking what was wrong with patriotism (meaning, why is it wrong to favor a hostile regime ruling a hostile nation with an iron fist, over one’s own country, IOW, loyalty to the NeoSoviet Empire). Anyone who shills for Pooty-Poot isn’t a patriot of the US — that is the only patriotism that matters — or a conservative, and certainly doesn’t belong on FR.

Thanks WhiskeyX.


12 posted on 12/11/2014 9:45:51 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Celebrate the Polls, Ignore the Trolls)
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To: dragonblustar
Putin is taking a page from the American libtard’s playbook. M.

The libtards took a page from the Russian playbook, actually.

13 posted on 12/11/2014 9:52:29 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To everyone.......we Ash you—please don’t feed the trolls.


14 posted on 12/11/2014 12:01:28 PM PST by Rockpile
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To: elhombrelibre
Putin is in the running for man of the year.

What I find commendable is his outrage at the killing of Christians all over the world.

Also his promoting Christianity, family, and condemning homo propaganda.

Can't say the same for Merkel and other western leaders. It's they who have shifted into another world. Putin, weak as Russia is, is trying to stop, slow or even reverse a US-EU-Islamist lemming like march to nowhere.

It's all pretty straight forward. Sadly, too many FRs have a hate Russia syndrome that they don't know is embedded in them,or want to change.

15 posted on 12/11/2014 12:47:05 PM PST by duckln
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To: duckln
First, I think you're talking about TIME'S MAN OF THE YEAR award. It doesn't mean he's a great man if he gets it he'll join Hitler as a winner from 1938. So how much it means and why, is no big deal unless that's what you'd like.

Second, do you think when he kills Georgian Christians, or Ukrainian ones, that that's how he demonstrates his outrage? Or when he sells weapons and nuclear capabilities, do you think that's part of his pro-Christian agenda? He undermines the Christian Church - the Russian Orthodox Church - and makes it subservient to his personal desires. Is this something from the New Testament?

The Westboro Church is anti-homo, too. Are you enamored of them too?

As for the US and EU and any connection to Islam that may exist, do you think Putin stops Islam by aiding Iran with nuclear technology? Does he slow Islam by arming Israel's enemies.

Sadly, you're being duped into being a Putinista.

16 posted on 12/11/2014 1:04:09 PM PST by elhombrelibre (Against Obama. Against Putin. Pro-freedom. Pro-US Constitution.)
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To: elhombrelibre

Good points, don’t think dumping your wife for a 18 year old gymnast constitutes good Christian moral standing either. The putin is a sociopath.


17 posted on 12/11/2014 1:58:34 PM PST by KOZ.
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To: elhombrelibre
Second, do you think when he kills Georgian Christians, or Ukrainian ones, that that's how he demonstrates his outrage?

Bullhockey. On Aug. 7-8, 2008, Georgia invaded South Ossetia, a tiny province that had won its independence in the 1990s. Georgian artillery killed Russian peacekeepers, and the Georgian army poured in.

Only then did the Russian army enter South Ossetia and chase the Georgians back into their own country.

do you think Putin stops Islam by aiding Iran with nuclear technology?

As far as I know, they're helping them in building a nuclear power plant. If they were aiding on a bomb, Iran would have one by now. We started from scratch and dropped 2 on Japan in less 4 years. A few years later Russia, France, etc had one. It's not that difficult to do. It's all been a ruse for the kollaide crowd.

...do you think Putin stops Islam by aiding Israel's enemies.

Maybe. Iran supports Syria who are fighting fanatics trying to take over.If Syria goes down, there goes the whole ME.

Why did we, not Putin, aide North Korea in it's nuclear program? Why did we, not Putin, bomb the hell out of Serbia, in favor of the Islamists?

Who's side are you on. We can't win this thing without Russia.

18 posted on 12/11/2014 2:20:17 PM PST by duckln
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To: KOZ.
What's the point.

Reagan dumped #1. And what does that make Rush, dumping 3, and Larry King dumping 7.

19 posted on 12/11/2014 2:39:29 PM PST by duckln
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To: duckln

The point is that proclaiming Putin as a defender of Christianity is a joke. The man is a sociopathic tyrant. Nothing more.


20 posted on 12/11/2014 7:30:39 PM PST by KOZ.
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