I have to ask, let us say a country employs thousands if not a million plus to be posers to infiltrate forums, Myspace..etc etc to influence the mind set of the masses to strategically place itself on the popular side of any issue...or weaken the publics stance on an a conflict in order to win it. A shadow buzz.
Manipulation through Net.Warfare
- Thread starter chefster
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John Sansom
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A good question about a thoroughly logical probability. Wait a minute.....probability?
While the single-source numbers may not be in the thousands, there is no question but that forums, scam tactics, and other more disruptive efforts are under way all the time. Large numbers of manipulative forum postings spread across a significantly broad forum "field" could indeed cause some public confusion. To a certain extent, it is going on now. This, of course, has nothing to do with the far more disruptive attacks on systems. The question is, to what situational end would the exercise be applied and (bottom line) would it be worth the effort?
While the single-source numbers may not be in the thousands, there is no question but that forums, scam tactics, and other more disruptive efforts are under way all the time. Large numbers of manipulative forum postings spread across a significantly broad forum "field" could indeed cause some public confusion. To a certain extent, it is going on now. This, of course, has nothing to do with the far more disruptive attacks on systems. The question is, to what situational end would the exercise be applied and (bottom line) would it be worth the effort?
weasel1962
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John Sansom
New Member
I think the original question was about thousands, if not millions, of adversarial personnel directing their efforts to postings on forums, My Space, etc., thereby influencing public opinion. TASS, Pravda, the various Oblasts, and even Krokodil were and are largely directed at to conveying pre-approved opinion to their domestic audiences. They were, in fact, arms of government. Things are changing, of course, the murders of various dissenting news people notwithstanding.
In the western world it's not all that easy to sway news media opinion one way or the other. That's one thing that work experience in radio and TV news, the wire services, newspapers, PR and advertising certainly taught me--although sycophants can be found everywhere and at any time. And, of course, the left wing/right wing leanings of some major media are a matter of record. However, those leanings are probably more evidenced through columnists than through newsrooms.
Again, the original question envisioned thousands of personnel making concerted efforts to place "weighted" postings on forums ranging from this one to the worlds of fly fishing and, say, knitting. It's certainly possible if the proponent(s) can make a damn' good case for it.
But, as Weasel1962 points out, the application of effective PR techniques--as practised by both the west and the east--may still be the "best way" to go. As for the Russians being the "bad guys" in the Georgian scenario, maybe they were and maybe they weren't. I think it's just a little early to send that particular case to the jury.
In the western world it's not all that easy to sway news media opinion one way or the other. That's one thing that work experience in radio and TV news, the wire services, newspapers, PR and advertising certainly taught me--although sycophants can be found everywhere and at any time. And, of course, the left wing/right wing leanings of some major media are a matter of record. However, those leanings are probably more evidenced through columnists than through newsrooms.
Again, the original question envisioned thousands of personnel making concerted efforts to place "weighted" postings on forums ranging from this one to the worlds of fly fishing and, say, knitting. It's certainly possible if the proponent(s) can make a damn' good case for it.
But, as Weasel1962 points out, the application of effective PR techniques--as practised by both the west and the east--may still be the "best way" to go. As for the Russians being the "bad guys" in the Georgian scenario, maybe they were and maybe they weren't. I think it's just a little early to send that particular case to the jury.