Undercover reporter reveals life in a Polish troll farm

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, Nov 04, 2019, 7:15 PM UTC

RobertRoberts wrote: post #58

Shivetya wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

anyone with a vested interest on any side of an argument is a candidate for these types of services. we can all go pick the groups we don't like, paint with that broad brush, but in the end we need to realize that all sides do this and we need to be aware. with the internet comes a lot of freedom and this is part of the price of having it because you can bet there is a politician waiting in the wings who will ask you…

I disagree that all sides do this. Some sides simply have no money or resources to hire professional trolls. For example home owners that do not want a nuclear reactor in their backyard are not likely candidates for troll farms, but huge energy companies (or whomever) are.

Post by TheOtherHobbes » Mon, Nov 04, 2019, 7:16 PM UTC

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #15

michens wrote: post #3

I highly recommend reading their statement, which is btw the only content on their site - https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=pl&tl=en&u=http%3A...

They object to being called a troll farm, but essentially admit to all the activities, including making fake accounts, that makes them a troll farm. Other than getting picky about terminology it appears to be an admission of guilt.

Post by wuliwong » Mon, Nov 04, 2019, 7:17 PM UTC

darth_skywalker wrote: post #79

lucideer wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure I see the effective difference between bad faith domestic interference in democratic process and foreign interference in democratic process. Both have the same end result.

On the other hand, politicians have been trying to manipulate voters for centuries - it seems like a new danger that foreign governments are now trying to manipulate voters.

Post by dsfyu404ed » Mon, Nov 04, 2019, 7:22 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #37

peterlk wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it pretty interesting that this comment is on HN. A few years ago, I think it was pretty widely accepted in SV that the last method you mention was just part of the grind. Maybe not the most straight-shooting approach, but still accepted. We even had a title for it: growth hacking. People hired growth hackers! I'm going to refrain from asserting a value judgement; I just thought it was interesting

We ban accounts that do that. It has never been acceptable on HN, not since the beginning, and not by a long shot. People have wildly varying ideas about what is "widely accepted in SV", largely imaginary I think, but in any case not in the section of the Venn diagram that HN overlaps with. (Btw, only about 10% of HN's community is in SV.) One case where we might not instantly ban someone is if they had a long histor…

Post by ineedasername » Mon, Nov 04, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

lucideer wrote: post #71

ineedasername wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US campaigns doing it is, while still bad, is vastly different. One is an issue of sleazy election campaigns. The other is a matter of foreign interference with a country's fundamental sovereignty.

Not sure I see the effective difference between bad faith domestic interference in democratic process and foreign interference in democratic process. Both have the same end result.