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A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

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Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#21

Post by problems »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #7
CWuestefeld wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think engagement is part of the problem - many people are very eager to spot "gotchas!" of their opponents, rather than taking a more broad and measured view. And educational achievement doesn't seem to be any barrier to the acceptance of bogus news - even being a leader in one field doesn't make you immune to disinformation from an unrelated quarter, and in fact we see this every day.

I assume education would encompass critical thinking, allowing for the neutral evaluation of multiple sides of an issue, and a critical eye toward the veracity of facts and news consumed.

Critical thinking is all well and good, but I'll hazard a guess that it won't help - many people know it but only apply it selectively.

On the other hand, I can't help but think comment threads like this amount to nothing more than "voting for the other guy is so illogical, clearly my vote is the correct one". A slightly veiled way to call anyone who doesn't vote your way stupid.

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#23

Post by lighthazard »

ahoy wrote: post #16
SteveGerencser wrote: post #8

I have said for many years now that before anyone can vote they need to take a test. It's a dead simple 5 question T/F test. And you only have to get 3 right to vote.

Seems onerous to administer, why not only allow land-owners to vote? Seems simpler to verify.

I believe we don't have a land-owners only voting scheme because of our current landlord situation. Should a majority of our population not get a say in votes because they either won't or can't afford land?

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#24

Post by twoquestions »

lighthazard wrote: post #23
ahoy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems onerous to administer, why not only allow land-owners to vote? Seems simpler to verify.

I believe we don't have a land-owners only voting scheme because of our current landlord situation. Should a majority of our population not get a say in votes because they either won't or can't afford land?

This was always true, which is why this policy didn't last a decade after the Revolution.

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#25

Post by opportune »

lighthazard wrote: post #23
ahoy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems onerous to administer, why not only allow land-owners to vote? Seems simpler to verify.

I believe we don't have a land-owners only voting scheme because of our current landlord situation. Should a majority of our population not get a say in votes because they either won't or can't afford land?

You're responding to sarcasm

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#26

Post by pjc50 »

CWuestefeld wrote: post #4

Link to the underlying report (PDF): https://documents.trendmicro.com/assets/white_papers/wp-fake... I'm not clear on how effective such a campaign promises to be. But assuming that folks wouldn't pay if they couldn't get something out of it, what does this tell us about democracy? Do we need to throw out either democracy or freedom of speech?

Freedom of speech purism is probably unworkable. I'm old enough to remember people arguing that spam was free speech and that spamfighting was immoral.

Fake news is much more sophisticated than spam but is ultimately going to encounter the same fight.

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#27

Post by pjc50 »

shuntress wrote: post #22
blfr wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty expensive when most journalists spend their days doing it themselves at no extra cost.

Do you have non-anecdotal evidence to back up this claim?

It's a joke.

But if you want some examples, have a look round the UK political punditry scene for anti-Corbyn articles from before the election, many of which look much less credible now.

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#28

Post by JoeAltmaier »

DanBC wrote: post #17
SteveGerencser wrote: post #8

I have said for many years now that before anyone can vote they need to take a test. It's a dead simple 5 question T/F test. And you only have to get 3 right to vote.

What would happen to people with a learning disability? Would you protect their vote? Or are they subhuman and not allowed to take part in democracy?

That's a reasonable question, and reasonable people come down on different sides.

Re: A 12-Month Campaign of Fake News to Influence Elections Costs $400K

#29

Post by cabalamat »

opportune wrote: post #14
SteveGerencser wrote: post #8

I have said for many years now that before anyone can vote they need to take a test. It's a dead simple 5 question T/F test. And you only have to get 3 right to vote.

Far better to educate the general public so well that such a test becomes redundant, than to live in a society where such a test is necessary.

> Far better to educate the general public so well that such a test becomes redundant

Easier said than done!

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