Those who visit forums and websites that tend to object to the actions of the current government won’t be surprised to hear that paid trolls are roaming the Internet with the clear purpose of manipulating opinions via social media. Last year, an anonymous author confessed that he had worked as a paid shill targeting several popular alternative websites to spread disinformation.
The online personalities, known as “sock puppets”, will allow the military to “create a false consensus in online conversations, crowd out unwelcome opinions and smother commentaries or reports that do not correspond with its own objectives.”
US Centcom (Central Command) claims that the project will only target foreign sites.
Centcom spokesman Commander Bill Speaks said: “The technology supports classified blogging activities on foreign-language websites to enable Centcom to counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda outside the US.”
He said none of the interventions would be in English, as it would be unlawful to “address US audiences” with such technology, and any English-language use of social media by Centcom was always clearly attributed. The languages in which the interventions are conducted include Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Pashto.
Centcom said it was not targeting any US-based web sites, in English or any other language, and specifically said it was not targeting Facebook or Twitter. (source)..CONTINUE READING HERE!
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