“The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.
“A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an “online persona management service†that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.†. . .
“Once developed, the software could allow US service personnel, working around the clock in one location, to respond to emerging online conversations with any number of co-ordinated messages, blogposts, chatroom posts and other interventions. Details of the contract suggest this location would be MacDill air force base near Tampa, Florida, home of US Special Operations Command.â€
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks
British Army To Create 1500-Strong Social Media Propaganda Force
from the Facebook-warriors dept
There’s a small but growing club of countries that have created various kinds of groups to produce social media propaganda. Alongside Turkey, China and Israel, we can now add the UK to that list, as the Guardian reports:
The British army is creating a special force of Facebook warriors, skilled in psychological operations and use of social media to engage in unconventional warfare in the information age.
You mean just like Russia has done with their legions of trolls who use fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-Russian propaganda?