Live data from Hacker News

Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

kyivinsider.com

71–80 of 96 posts

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#71

10M fake accounts? I mean, that in and of itself is impressive. Apparently, it's easy to create fake accounts on TikTok still? How hard would that be today with FB, Twitt...er, X or any thing else really?

I am sure it's easy when you likely have direct access to APIs.

That's something that I was alluding to, but we can expand on that more directly. The fear of TikTok currently is that it is potentially under CCP influence. So if the CCP says that they need something to happen, can TikTok do anything other than what the CCP wants? I don't know the nuances of the current attempt to ban TikTok without being sold, but knowing the power of the "influencer" on TikTok and how they can be pushing agendas is what makes it incredibly scary for those not pushing the agenda.

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#72
post #43

I would argue that the main benefit of democracy is not electing "the right people" by a free and fair election, but by having a mechanism to remove bad leaders without violence. So a propaganda machine influencing elections is not ideal, but if it results in bad leaders, then that will become obvious to people at some point and they will vote them out. Elections will always have some random factors. Not everyone is…

Rarely you find a country where a president can be removed without violence.

In the UK we haven't had any need for violence to change government for hundreds of years.

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#73
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The person that thinks they're above propaganda is the one most swayed by it.

Well, that rule would apply to people who are generally arrogant.

That rule would apply to people who are generally people...

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#74
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go to China and try use Instagram :) They know what they're doing by using your love of free speech against you to spread lies. Social media is a backdoor into our societies which is why authoritarian countries ban it. Youtube is banned in Russia, all western social media is banned in China, because they know how it can be weaponized against them...because they weaponize it.

Youtube is not banned in Russia (yet)

It's blocked. A distinction without a difference.

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#75

Is “propaganda” rigging? As of late, whenever someone doesn’t like the result of an election “rigging” is an adequate term.

>Is “propaganda” rigging? The propagation of the propaganda can be rigging. Every side has propaganda, so I'm not sure what your intent of scare quotes was meant to do. If you can saturate a publishing platform with the use of fake accounts so that your "propaganda" is pushed by the platform's algorithms in an "unnatural" way, then that's pretty much the definition of rigging.

[deleted]

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#76
post #74
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Youtube is not banned in Russia (yet)

It's blocked. A distinction without a difference.

Yeah, by all accounts I have read, it was blocked rather recently. I have read to coverup the failures and huge losses in Ukraine.

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In USA this is called “freedom of speech” :)

Yes but you must see the slippery slope we're on and we have no antidote for.

no antidote is right... the only semi-reasonable idea I had was to pass a law regarding identity proofing of accounts on ALL social media (anyone claiming protections under section 230 would be in this bucket).

the "blue checkmark" would be reserved for any account that has gone through identity proofing (e.g. IAL2). anonymous accounts would still be allowed of course but at least you would have a clear way to differentiate bots and propaganda vs. actual real people with known identities. not to say that identity-proofed accounts would not still be posting sh*t but it would be a better system overall

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#78
Seems like this is very good grounds to just nullifying the results. But unfortunately the people have already been influenced and that doesn't go away for the next vote.

We really desperateöy need good counters against these things or we can kiss democracy goodbye.

That all said, the source on this could be a bit biased.

Re: Russia and China rigged Romanian Elections using 10M fake TikTok accounts

#80
>How is it possible that a low level professor with pro-Russian leanings that no one’s ever heard of suddenly place 2nd in nationwide presidential elections?

Why don't they even try to hide their disdain for plebs?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was also an unknown pleb who quickly became an elected official. We don't question that, and in fact, we celebrate it. It's a great American underdog story. We love it. It's the spirit of our culture.

Why is Georgescu's rise disdained like this? Is it because he's on the "other side"?

Post reply on HN