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One Professional Russian Troll Tells All
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) ^
| March 25, 2015
| Dmitry Volchek and Daisy Sindelar
Posted on 03/26/2015 7:55:01 AM PDT by WhiskeyX
More and more, posts and commentaries on the Internet in Russia and even abroad are generated by professional trolls, many of whom receive a higher-than-average salary for perpetuating a pro-Kremlin dialogue online.
There are thousands of fake accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, and vKontakte, all increasingly focused on the war in Ukraine. Many emanate from Russia's most famous "troll factory," the Internet Research center, an unassuming building on St. Petersburg's Savushkina Street, which runs on a 24-hour cycle. In recent weeks, former employees have come forward to talk to RFE/RL about life inside the factory, where hundreds of people work grinding, 12-hour shifts in exchange for 40,000 rubles ($700) a month or more.
St. Petersburg blogger Marat Burkhard spent two months working at Internet Research in the department tasked with clogging the forums on Russia's municipal websites with pro-Kremlin comments. In the following interview, he describes a typical day and the type of assignments he encountered.
(Excerpt) Read more at rferl.org ...
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: disinformation; internetresearch; propaganda; russia
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1
posted on
03/26/2015 7:55:01 AM PDT
by
WhiskeyX
To: Paid_Russian_Troll
2
posted on
03/26/2015 7:55:25 AM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: WhiskeyX
There are a few of them also here. I expect them to show up any second now.
To: WhiskeyX
Thanks for coming forward and may the angels watch your back.
Comment #5 Removed by Moderator
To: WhiskeyX
How much do you get paid to peddle the US State Dept. version of events?
6
posted on
03/26/2015 8:10:29 AM PDT
by
mac_truck
( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
To: WhiskeyX
Ha, ha, it took all of 15 minutes and the first one showed up as post number 6.
To: WhiskeyX
8
posted on
03/26/2015 8:30:36 AM PDT
by
free_life
(If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
To: PatHimself
Yes, both those agencies aren’t pretending to be unbiased private citizens not in the employ of Vladimir Putin.
To: WhiskeyX; Paid_Russian_Troll
We have one here at Freerepublic. His/her name is "Paid_Russian_Troll"
The account is allowed to fester here, and is only used to post pro-KGB propaganda.
10
posted on
03/26/2015 8:32:27 AM PDT
by
lormand
(Inside every liberal is a dung slinging monkey)
To: mac_truck
Ah over here in the US of A we speak well of our country for free, Ivan Fonda.
11
posted on
03/26/2015 8:33:04 AM PDT
by
free_life
(If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
To: WhiskeyX
I'm the one in the picture Sam.
12
posted on
03/26/2015 8:35:18 AM PDT
by
PieterCasparzen
(Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.)
To: SoCal Pubbie
Yes, both those agencies arent pretending to be unbiased private citizens not in the employ of Vladimir Putin.
Right, they're pretending to work for the "American people" instead of admitting they're really working on globalist agendas.
13
posted on
03/26/2015 8:39:08 AM PDT
by
PieterCasparzen
(Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.)
To: 05 Mustang GT Rocks
Ha, ha, it took all of 15 minutes and the first one showed up as post number 6. That's interesting: his join date is in 2001. So, either he has been doing this a long time, or a sympathetic hacker provided a username/password for an inactive account.
Or, he is just joking. But, his recent posting history makes that unlikely.
14
posted on
03/26/2015 8:45:59 AM PDT
by
justlurking
(tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
To: BenLurkin; lormand
Thanks for a tip, guys! Don’t you have their contacts to send my resume? On the other hand it doesn’t look like a good idea to work 12 hours a day for $700 a month. God bless you and thank you for caring anyway!
To: BenLurkin
LOL
Was just going to ping as well...
16
posted on
03/26/2015 8:51:33 AM PDT
by
Vendome
(Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
To: WhiskeyX
17
posted on
03/26/2015 8:56:20 AM PDT
by
RedStateRocker
(Nuke Mecca, deport all illegal aliens, abolish the IRS, DEA and ATF.)
To: WhiskeyX
“Work begins after an initial post, written by a troll in a different department, is published on the LiveJournal social-networking site under the username flcrbgrjn. The post argues that foreign mercenaries are fighting on the side of Ukrainian soldiers and links to a video that purports to show two American soldiers in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.”
LOL ! Isn't it the same stuff FRussian scum was spreading around here several weeks ago ?
To: WhiskeyX
Does he work for SEIU/Obama-for-America in the off-season???
19
posted on
03/26/2015 9:04:00 AM PDT
by
tcrlaf
(They told me it could never happen in America. And then it did....)
To: free_life
Hey douche bag, I’ll put my American pedigree up against yours any day of the week.
20
posted on
03/26/2015 9:04:38 AM PDT
by
mac_truck
( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
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