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I imagine that much of their meddling is hard to spot, but even if it were blatant, many people would not either see it or care about it.
so if it's hard to spot, then how can it have any effect?.......is this some Twilight Zone movie?
there are only a few ways they can do it.......propaganda air time and buying off our politicians to do their biddings. Russia doesn't control what comes on our t .v., radio and what the news media pushes.....they don't control Wall Street who really controls Washington.
We Americans can decide for ourselves what information to reject and what is against our interests. I speak for myself.
Because the object was not to elect either Trump or Clinton. It was to weaken our country, create dissension among our people, and cast doubt on the process and American traditions of democracy. Trump was supported by Putin because he was viewed as being the most easily manipulated, unlike the far more experienced, hawkish and intelligent Hillary Clinton.
Putin is succeeding in achieving these goals beyond his wildest hopes and dreams.
That's the concern -- creating this doubt and chaos makes the USA look unstable.
I think it is naive. The USA is more than this political divisiveness as proven by the economy over the last 8 years.
Sure it seems to be worse now but with Obama it was awful as well.
But americans keep plugging away -- working, creating jobs, investing, etc.
Not sure which is worse - that there are many people in this country who don't believe that this happens or that we have no way to combat it.
How do we combat US Media inteference?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TigerLily24
Clearly we need to be vigilant about our sources of information and keep a very close eye on actual results vs. projections as we head into election season.
Voting machines cannot be hacked, since they aren't linked to the internet.
Uh Russians have always tried to meddle. This is nothing new. What is new is the Dems conspiracy theory that Russians swung the entire election to Trump
Yes, they have always been meddlesome, but not to this degree, as the Internet and associated social media were not previously available to the present extent.
Once again, the Russian goal was to disrupt and weaken our government by creating enmity among our people, and to corrupt and cast to doubt on democracy and our democratic process of choosing elected officials, not to elect Trump in particular, although he was the favored candidate, as he was viewed as being more easily influenced than Hillary, and was undeniably less experienced and seasoned.
They did this by all means available and were extremely manipulative, though the cleverness level varied from one extreme to the other. Many Russians trolling on social media were easily spotted, especially at first, due to their poor use of colloquial English. Others were slicker, using excellent written English to plant false or cleverly distorted news stories and allegations.
Some impersonated the far left wing and stirred up online efforts to get protestors into the streets for demonstrations they hoped would become extremist and tip into controversy and violence. Others did the same thing with right wing impersonations.
There were and continue to be contributions and pay-offs to elected officials and would-be American oligarchs,, spying, tit for tat arrangements, compromat, and more.
Many of these same methods were used in Ukraine prior to the Maidan Revolution. Ukraine remained technically independent and democratic, but was increasingly prey to corruption in both big business and industry and in its government. When the Ukrainian people rebelled, Russia moved in with an iron fist. Some of the same methods were used in Georgia and other parts of the former Soviet Union anxious for independence and self-rule. The Russian playbook was somewhat altered for American use, but many, many of the techniques are identical.
In the news today, Secretary of State Tillerson is warning that Russia is already meddling in the mid-terms, basically reiterating what CIA director Mike Pompeo said several weeks ago.
"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is warning that Russia is already beginning to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections and the U.S. is ill-prepared to combat it.
Without elaborating, Tillerson raised the alarm about new Russian meddling in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday in Bogota. In an earlier stop in Mexico, he advised Mexican officials to be on guard for Russian interference in their elections scheduled for July."
Not sure which is worse - that there are many people in this country who don't believe that this happens or that we have no way to combat it.
Clearly we need to be vigilant about our sources of information and keep a very close eye on actual results vs. projections as we head into election season.
Guess Tillerson is going to be the next one out the door.
Surely this "disloyalty" to the President cannot be allowed to stand.
The President has repeatedly said that there was absolutely NO Russian involvement in the last election. Why would there be any in future elections?
Voting machines cannot be hacked, since they aren't linked to the internet.
At least twenty-two states allowed some form of online voting in the last election. Usually it's limited to overseas voters and military members, but it was available in the 2016 election.
Yes, they have always been meddlesome, but not to this degree, as the Internet and associated social media were not previously available to the present extent.
Once again, the Russian goal was to disrupt and weaken our government by creating enmity among our people, and to corrupt and cast to doubt on democracy and our democratic process of choosing elected officials, not to elect Trump in particular, although he was the favored candidate, as he was viewed as being more easily influenced than Hillary, and was undeniably less experienced and seasoned.
They did this by all means available and were extremely manipulative, though the cleverness level varied from one extreme to the other. Many Russians trolling on social media were easily spotted, especially at first, due to their poor use of colloquial English. Others were slicker, using excellent written English to plant false or cleverly distorted news stories and allegations.
Some impersonated the far left wing and stirred up online efforts to get protestors into the streets for demonstrations they hoped would become extremist and tip into controversy and violence. Others did the same thing with right wing impersonations.
There were and continue to be contributions and pay-offs to elected officials and would-be American oligarchs,, spying, tit for tat arrangements, compromat, and more.
Many of these same methods were used in Ukraine prior to the Maidan Revolution. Ukraine remained technically independent and democratic, but was increasingly prey to corruption in both big business and industry and in its government. When the Ukrainian people rebelled, Russia moved in with an iron fist. Some of the same methods were used in Georgia and other parts of the former Soviet Union anxious for independence and self-rule. The Russian playbook was somewhat altered for American use, but many, many of the techniques are identical.
You really nailed it. This isn't about Trump v. Clinton or Left v. Right, its about keeping the integrity of the system and preventing others from exacerbating pre-existing fissures in our political views.
Of course, you will always have simpletons and who will demand, "show me a Facebook post that made me switch from voting for Trump instead of Hillary" and others (such as Hellion1999) who will continue to justify and invite the spread of Russian misinformation in America by claiming that such interference is the functional equivalent of the long-employed use of soft power to further American interests abroad (hint: it isn't). But at the end of the day, your post nailed the crux of what is actually a serious issue that has been bi-partisanly acknowledged.
so if it's hard to spot, then how can it have any effect?.......is this some Twilight Zone movie?
there are only a few ways they can do it.......propaganda air time and buying off our politicians to do their biddings. Russia doesn't control what comes on our t .v., radio and what the news media pushes.....they don't control Wall Street who really controls Washington.
We Americans can decide for ourselves what information to reject and what is against our interests. I speak for myself.
Russia is not about to buy air time and play by the rules. They do pay off politicians, under the table, and they have a presence on Wall Street and in big business. But they also influence what's online. That is undeniable.
As for how to recognize disinformation, it requires a good knowledge of American government and history. It also requires reading carefully and critically, from a wide variety of sources, and measuring the likelihood of what you read. It requires questioning that which seems bizarre or extreme. It requires contacting your representatives at all levels and seeing how they respond. It requires some knowledge of debate techniques - deliberate efforts to change the subject, false equivalencies offered as fact or distractions (LOTS of those here at C-D), and knowledge of American history and government.
It's great that you can decide for yourself - but many are lazy or unwilling to put in the time or effort, and just run with the stories which confirm what they already believe or tell them what they want to hear: confirmation bias.
It appears to me that Trump is an expert at telling his followers what they want to hear, whether or not it's true, or something he can actually bring to pass. And since he somehow managed to convince many of his supporters that he's really just like them, only more successful, they voted him into office, follow him faithfully and view any questioning of his words or actions as disloyalty verging upon treason. They seem to discount or disregard his contradictory statements and claims and his checkered personal and professional history, as identifying with Trump's other characteristics and getting praise from Trump seems more important. They take any criticism of Trump's failings very personally. I think they also identified with Trump's angry rejection of much which they viewed as oppressing them, and he was able to give voice to those frustrations during his campaign and afterwards.
So - he became president. And in the viewpoint of many of his original supporters, that means he's golden and above reproach.
Like I said, knowledge of American history and government and how democracy is supposed to work, including checks and balances and the notion that the people are ultimately in charge and their elected leaders serve them and our country's best interests, is something that not enough Americans currently possess.
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