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Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

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Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#61

Post by code_duck »

jshevek wrote: post #52
soared wrote: post #8

This doesn't really communicate anything. All the examples are something of this ad about americans liking cars was targeted to americans who like cars. I don't at all deny Russia meddling, but the website does a poor job at showing what they were trying to influence. Example: This ad targeted people interested in same-sex marriage and 12 more. We speak for all fellow members of LGBT community across the nation. How…

"This doesn't really communicate anything. All the examples are ... How is this influencing anything, all it does is " I agree with your impressions, but I think that it 'communicates' the most important thing of all: Data without much spin, without excessive interpretation and cherry picking. My takaway is: The Russian sponsored ad campaign is not as serious as some would like us to believe.

Yeah, okay - many others like yourself want to convince us it is not significant.

So what about their hacking of state and national elections systems, hacking into voter databases, voting machine software companies? There have been a wide variety of warnings from wide variety of national security agencies concerning Russian activity that goes far beyond advertising propaganda.

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#62

Post by wefarrell »

aksss wrote: post #37

I think it's telling that tech people are very skeptical of the "$100k in facebook ads turned the election" narrative. Read the actual report from the DNI. Election counts weren't altered, the ads are nothing-burger. The hacks on mail systems were primarily done with spear-phishing, the same things businesses are caught with every day. My conclusion - phishing is the real story here of any consequence, if we want to…

I've never heard anyone claim that "$100k in facebook ads turned the election".

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#63

Post by dragonwriter »

aksss wrote: post #37

I think it's telling that tech people are very skeptical of the "$100k in facebook ads turned the election" narrative. Read the actual report from the DNI. Election counts weren't altered, the ads are nothing-burger. The hacks on mail systems were primarily done with spear-phishing, the same things businesses are caught with every day. My conclusion - phishing is the real story here of any consequence, if we want to…

> I think it's telling that tech people are very skeptical of the "$100k in facebook ads turned the election" narrative.

But...that narrative doesn't exist, it's a strawman.

No one that attributes any significant impact on the election to the Russian information warfare operation limits their description of the operation to $100K in Facebook ads. The Facebook part of the operation involved ads designed (among other purposes) to draw audience to false-flag Pages, that then distributed non-ad propaganda which would be relayed by the followers of the group, who were dupes of the operation, including organizing meat-space events designed to foment conflict and draw conventional media attention. The $100K on ads wasn't the operation, it was an expenditure to recruit unwitting agents for the operation.

And that broader Facebook angle itself wasn't the whole operation, either, there was also the targeted hacking and information release aspect, as well as other channels through which influence was (or was attempted to be) exercised. Like the NRA.

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#64

Post by code_duck »

kuraudo wrote: post #56
code_duck wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that’s nice but it’s a different issue. We already have plenty of inquiry into the influence of Americans with money on politics, with Citizens United and whatnot. A hostile foreign government’s operations to propagandize Americans about politics is important to analyze.

I'll believe that it's important to analyze a foreign government's operations to propagandize Americans when we start analyzing Israel's long campaign to do the same.

That’s a great topic too. But I don’t think we need to wait for one to do the other. It’s also worth noting that we did not fight an extremely expensive and unnerving political struggle for 60 years with Israel, and we are at no risk of entering into hostilities with Israel.

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#65

Post by [deleted] »

aksss wrote: post #34
swsieber wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it absurd though? Russia probably didn't follow any disclosure laws. Also, these ads are more about driving traffic to groups with content designed to influence people without coming off as ads. I guess the real question is how much Clinton and Trump spent on astro-turfing vs Russia's ads.

It's absurd. 100k vs 81m. If their ads were that much more effective for that much less money, they've not just got the best marketing pros in the business, they've discovered some revolutionary secret to advertising. What's the most likely explanation? 100k ads from Russia tilted the election, or Hillary was a shit candidate. Could it be that someone's ego is at play in this narrative besides Trump's?

[deleted]

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#66

Post by calibas »

I've looked through the Russian posts a few times, and to me it seems quite tame compared to the bitter, nasty, divisive rhetoric I hear sometimes from my fellow Americans. If this is the kind of thing that hurts our country, our own politicians are doing a far better job than the Russians.

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#68

Post by [deleted] »

aksss wrote: post #37

I think it's telling that tech people are very skeptical of the "$100k in facebook ads turned the election" narrative. Read the actual report from the DNI. Election counts weren't altered, the ads are nothing-burger. The hacks on mail systems were primarily done with spear-phishing, the same things businesses are caught with every day. My conclusion - phishing is the real story here of any consequence, if we want to…

[deleted]

Re: Fakebook: A tool exploring the 2016 U.S. election Facebook ads bought by Russia

#69

Post by badlucklottery »

calibas wrote: post #66

I've looked through the Russian posts a few times, and to me it seems quite tame compared to the bitter, nasty, divisive rhetoric I hear sometimes from my fellow Americans. If this is the kind of thing that hurts our country, our own politicians are doing a far better job than the Russians.

Most of them are pretty tame but that's the point. It's something with a slight slant to get people to engage then it's all about slowly isolating them and luring them a bit farther down the rabbit hole with crazier and crazier shared posts.

It'd be hard to recruit for a cult that starts with poison kool aid on day one.

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