r/technology • u/ArgentineBeauty • 18h ago

Society Ukraine Struck Yandex Data Centers, Russian Bots Went Silent—Now Questions Are Mounting

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-struck-yandex-data-centers-russian-bots-went-silent-now-questions-are-mounting-23339
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u/celuur 17h ago

So here's my question - if we know where it's coming from, why can't we flag it to people as foreign manipulation?

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u/AshundertheOlivetree 17h ago

Because Facebook and Twitter are controlled by people who are fine with conflict, just not on their platform.

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u/recurecur 17h ago

If they flagged all the users and purged or block, advertisers could probably argue they were defrauded if large swathes were given to bots of demographic vs user of demographic.

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u/Intelligent-Try-4738 15h ago

OK agree, but the advertisers are being defrauded right now and now they know!

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u/illy-chan 14h ago

It's easier for everyone to just keep things ambiguous enough to let the money flow. The folks doing the ad-buys don't want to admit to their clients that most of the traffic isn't even human.

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u/Intelligent-Try-4738 14h ago

That's somewhat true. A big party of my point is that despite not wanting to admit it at some point advertisers will have to cut back knowing they're putting in money only for bots to be the majority of traffic.

Continuing to spend when you know your money doesn't go as far is how you go bankrupt.

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u/Albireookami 16h ago

Sounds like a win/win for everyone if the whole system crumbles.

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u/LevelFix83 16h ago

Not for the people running the system, which is the real issue. You have to take their power away, not ask them to give it up.

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u/Fuddle 15h ago

Problem is the people at those companies spending the money on social media advertising NEED it to be inflated, if the revenue people at these companies started asking the wrong questions “Hi Jerry, have you been spending $5M of our company budget to advertise to bot farms instead of actual people?” the whole thing would collapse, so they do zero research.

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u/AshundertheOlivetree 8h ago

One can hope.

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u/King_Chochacho 13h ago

Make no mistake, Reddit is perfectly content to be overrun with bot traffic too. Platform owners don't want to address the issue because they know their site traffic/active user numbers would take a huge hit and piss off advertisers and investors.

So we all just live with a bunch of mediocre but profitable services.

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u/Republican-Snowflake 15h ago

Facebook loves it on their platform. They even have their own AI bots spreading bullshit, and have for a while. You can make a fresh account, and watch how fast they push these bots, that are marked "AI content," who just post rage bait, and culture war crap.

Now keep telling FB that you are not interested in these posts and snooze users.Then watch to see how they push it even harder after a few days to a week. Now join groups for smaller local towns, and watch how hard these people repeat what the AI bots have been saying.

They make it almost impossible not to get caught up in some sort of conflict, drama, culture war, whatever. Then they laugh all the way to the bank.

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u/HoldingForGenova 12h ago

Don't forget reddit. Spez has (most likely) known about this since 2015, and he's explicitly allowed it.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/Pyromaniacal13 17h ago

Not for AntiMatter because they don't care and won't listen, but for other people reading, a Democrat in office does not mean Musk and Zuckerberg don't want the same things they always wanted. It does not mean that they can't treat their systems that they own exactly how they want to. They just can't prance around the Oval Office while their son tells the president who the real president is while wiping boogers on the Resolute Desk.

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u/AntiMatter89 16h ago

Why would I not care or listen? I agree with what you're saying. You guys are hilarious. 1 criticism of Democrats, of which I am, and you guys can't handle it and label me a bot and act like I'm campaigning against the Democrats for christ sake. 

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u/Pyromaniacal13 16h ago

Not for AntiMatter because they don't care and won't listen

Check it out, I was right. We were having a wonderful conversation griping about the people controlling big social media platforms, specifically the ones controlled by the ones openly bribing conservative politicians, and they're still going "BuT tHe DeMoCrAtS aRe BaD yOu GuYs!!"

I said Good Day.

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u/AntiMatter89 15h ago

Because we all know that the Republicans are shit and terrible people. Dems can fix it, we'll see if they do. I assume the Dems will get back into office and you'll just be ok with whatever they do. And God forbid we criticize them or be held accountable.

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u/Pyromaniacal13 15h ago

Two things:

How many of these policies are laws that require a congressional majority and a new bill to remove, how many are in place because of regulatory capture, and how many are executive orders that require the rescinding body to be the President?

Oopsie, nuance! Looks like there are complications to doing things properly instead of just snapping fingers and undoing things! That's not in the Fox News briefs, so whoever gave you your talking points didn't get that info to you.

Second, in what world does "I have too much on my plate to read Trumplican talking points" mean "Please continue ramming this baloney down my throat!"?

I may not have been nice with the whole Good Day thing, but at least I was civil. Now I'm not.

Shut the fuck up and take your Trump-thumping talking points to r/conservative. A MAGA Democrat will find the bots much more welcoming.

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u/rangecontrol 17h ago

bots are back.

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u/Pyromaniacal13 17h ago

It was nice while it lasted...

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u/AntiMatter89 17h ago

Lol you guys really are stupid if you think that 1) I am a bot and 2) that just because we need the Dems back in power that they shouldn't be criticized or held to a higher standard. Otherwise this shit will happen all over again. But go on and think that they're perfect 

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u/Pyromaniacal13 16h ago

No, you're probably a human because you understood context clues. I just don't think you're arguing in good faith because we were criticizing social media executives before you barged in with "BUT WHAT ABOUT DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS, HUH!?"

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u/AntiMatter89 16h ago

And what do you think these social media executives are? Who do you think they're pumping millions and millions of dollars too? Very connected. 

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u/Pyromaniacal13 16h ago

And what do you think these social media executives are? 

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump, spez, those guys.

Who do you think they're pumping millions and millions of dollars [to]?

Conservative politicians who will install their toadies into powerful positions in regulatory bodies. Looks like it worked.

Very connected.

Considering one of them is Donald Trump, yup.

As for why you aren't arguing in good faith, we have Republicans openly posting toadies into regulatory bodies to render them impotent right goddamn now, and you're still mewling around about "ThE dEmOcRaTs ThOuGh!" like they're somehow worse than what we have now.

Good day.

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u/AntiMatter89 16h ago

By asking what the executive are, I wasn't asking WHO. I meant what. I.r they are Republicans/MAGA.

So Democrats never thought that there should be a checks and balance system with our regulatory bodies and anyone who gets into office can completely wipe them out and do with them what they please? Especially since we knew Republicans were a threat in 2016 and we held office after that...

I also have literally been saying that the Democrats are a lesser of two evils. The Dems are infinitely better than what we have now, but they are almost certainly not "good guys" acting in our best interest. You really think a lot of them aren't lining their pockets and acting in self interest? You're delusional. I want to remain critical of the Dems and hold them accountable so they actually change things and take into account what is in the peoples best interest...not there own.

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u/Chewed420 17h ago

Because Libya and Syria dont exist?

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/MiaowaraShiro 17h ago

You're not criticizing though... you're just making ridiculously vague accusations.

If you were criticizing you'd be saying something much more useful.

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u/AntiMatter89 16h ago

I am criticizing. It's been well known before and while Democrats were in office that corporate lobbying was an issue, which is largely what has gotten us here today. What did they do about it? Being less vague and pointing out certain issues is only going to get me downvoted even more because it's going to sound like I'm actively trying to slander them. Obviously the Democrats have done good things and are a far cry from this shitty Republican administration but it's hilarious that no one on here thinks that the democratic party has done next to nothing to fix some of the biggest issues in our government, because they're benefitting from it also. I'm still voting for Democrats but you guys are ridiculous if you think they're looking to fix the system or do everything they can to protect citizens. If the Dems win, see if they pull flock cameras and ALPRs or many other things.... I hope they do, but they won't. See if they stop building AI data centers and PROPERLY subsidize the utilities. Money talks. 

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u/MiaowaraShiro 16h ago

Being less vague and pointing out certain issues is only going to get me downvoted even more because it's going to sound like I'm actively trying to slander them.

Slander is lies... if you don't lie... it's not slander...

What did they do about it?

Introduced legislation to regulate it that Republicans shot down? Democrats have put forward tons of bills to stop things like this that Republicans shoot down...

but it's hilarious that no one on here thinks that the democratic party has done next to nothing to fix some of the biggest issues in our government

They don't have the political power to do so cuz people don't vote for them enough. You need basically a super majority in both houses to get anything done these days. Also we don't control the SCOTUS so anything the legislature does the SCOTUS can undo.

I'm still voting for Democrats but you guys are ridiculous if you think they're looking to fix the system or do everything they can to protect citizens.

You're just displaying your emotional thinking and ignorance of how Democrats work. Are they perfect? No, of course not. But if you're gonna make criticisms, make ones that are actually legitimate.

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u/AntiMatter89 16h ago

Ok, so these are my perceived issues with the Democrats. You say these days you need a super majority to get anything done, but how about for the last 20-50 years? the Democrats never had enough majority to make those changes that I mentioned? How did Republicans get all the power they have now to do whatever they want? And why is there no ability to keep them in check? Are you saying the Dems had literally no way to prevent this? Or would this have hindered there own party in some capacity, so they didn't do it? Those are actual questions, not something I'm claiming to be fact. And again, we'll see if they take away ALPRs and manage data centers but we both know that money talks and the Dems aren't immune from being swayed by the almighty dollar. Whether we want it or not.

Also, I think my criticisms are valid. Whether the Democrats have the ability to get it done is one thing, but my criticisms are certainly valid. I really hope they get back into power but when they do, I hope people continue to be critical of them and hold them accountable.

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u/MiaowaraShiro 16h ago

You say these days you need a super majority to get anything done, but how about for the last 20-50 years? the Democrats never had enough majority to make those changes that I mentioned...

Have you tried answering these questions yourself?

How did Republicans get all the power they have now to do whatever they want?

Propaganda? Fox News? Christians? This is super complex question you're asking and expect the answer to just be Democrats somehow?

And why is there no ability to keep them in check?

Do we have the votes to do so?

Are you saying the Dems had literally no way to prevent this?

I think it's on you to suggest a way they could have...

Those are actual questions

Why are you asking them to me instead of stating the answers you've already discovered? Your ignorance is incredible considering the things you're saying.

And again, we'll see if they take away ALPRs and manage data centers but we both know that money talks and the Dems aren't immune from being swayed by the almighty dollar. Whether we want it or not.

Give them a chance to do something first before binning them?

Also, I think my criticisms are valid.

I kinda assumed this...

Whether the Democrats have the ability to get it done is one thing, but my criticisms are certainly valid.

"They don't have the power to do what I want them to but my criticisms of them not doing what I want them to do are still valid." is not very logical to me.

I really hope they get back into power but when they do, I hope people continue to be critical of them and hold them accountable.

That I can agree with. Let's hold off on criticism until they actually do something that we can criticize?

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u/InsertCleverNickHere 17h ago

Bots create controversy, which generates engagement, which makes the platform (Reddit, YouTube, Facebook) money.

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u/Sweetwill62 14h ago

Only because advertisers are being lied to about what is actually happening on the site. If they were fully aware how many of the accounts are bots, advertising wouldn't be worth shit.

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u/InsertCleverNickHere 13h ago

I renember Musk "exposing" how many bots were on Twitter, and them buying it anyway. Fucking hypocrite.

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u/ACompletelyLostCause 17h ago

Because wealthy people in charge benefit both politically and financially from the manipulation.

Most of the people manipulated by the bots want to be manipulated as its feeding their need for rage bait and making them feel good. Crack addicts don't usually support actions that cut the supply of crack.

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u/janethefish 15h ago

Because wealthy people in charge benefit both politically and financially from the manipulation.

No, they fucking don't. Russia throws rich people out of windows. COVID didn't check bank accounts. Fascists and autocrats are bad for everyone except the one guy on top.

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u/Protiguous 4h ago

Because wealthy people in charge benefit both politically and financially from the manipulation.

No, they fucking don't

Yes, they absolutely do. More ads==more revenue. And bots ramping up and swaying public opinions alters the stock markets.

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u/ZestyTako 17h ago

Conservatives aren’t really known for fact based reasoning

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u/Woodcrate69420 16h ago

Because Twitter, Reddit and Facebook are owned by fellow Oligarchs wo support the foreign manipulation or straight up are the foreign manipulators.

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u/Andreus 16h ago

Because every right-winger is a traitor, and out of a mistaken sense of fairness, they were allowed access to power over themselves and others.

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u/Time-Result-767 14h ago

you underestimate the median voter and how much of them voting is just "are these people saying things that allow feel ok ignoring stuff?".

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u/Demurrzbz 17h ago

Also I assume it's pretty easy to obfuscate one's location. VPNs and such.

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u/GoldenRegister 16h ago

We could, probably can. The issue is owners and operators of those social media corps are part of it. Musk is actively interfering in german elections, literally, why would he stop free bot farm engagements in his favour? We need to take the root of the problem out, not the symptoms. Take on oligarchs and hold them accountable, than they will act, very fast.

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u/CaptainONaps 16h ago

Foreign bot influence isn't a bug, it's a feature. It's not only legal, but one of the most profitable products the United States business's provide.

Russia couldn't have an online influence campagin without US companies making it possible.

And Russia isn't the only country that does it. Saudi Arabia, Israel, China, and by far the most active, the US private sector, all have massive bot operations in the US.

You can actually see data about this, because some of the companies that sell the products that make it possible, are publicly traded. So you can read about it in their quarterly earnings reports, and in their annual letter to shareholders.

The last report from reddit talks about bot influence and touches on how it effects their profits.

https://investor.redditinc.com/news-events/news-releases/news-details/2026/Reddit-Reports-Second-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx

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u/notforyoutoknow33 16h ago

Remember when twitter had their origination nation exposed a few months back and they shut that shit down so fast.

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u/OpenGrainAxehandle 15h ago

I think Txitter tried that, but had to disable it because everything was foreign manipulation, didn't they?

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u/ButtEatingContest 16h ago

One reason sites like reddit won't act on it is because then people will figure out just how long it's been going on and how big the impact has been. How much of MAGA support was entirely astro-turfed from the beginning, etc.

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u/psmgx 15h ago

who is "we" here?

facebook, google, tiktok, etc. all want to make money. it's their platforms and they're "free for everyone" if you can pay.

and the Russians will pay. Ditto for anyone else.

there could be laws about this, but ultimately those will require people to verify their ID -- and those have gone over about as well as a lead balloon.

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u/LowSkyOrbit 14h ago

Because we do it too.

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u/DrButtgerms 14h ago

All of those companies make a large proportion of their money a via ad revenue. It doesn't matter to them if the ad clicks and views are from meat humans or bots because they are still getting paid from the advertisers. Now if the advertisers wise up and stop buying ad space, that's a different thing. My speculation there is that the news cycle is so fast and advertisers move so slow, that this will amount to zero change in behavior.

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u/Turbulent_Gazelle530 13h ago

the people who are being manipulated have been trained to ignore the flagging.

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u/Effective_Olive6153 11h ago

real answer is that we can't "really" know where its coming from. At least individual companies can't. This could be known by government agencies tasked with cybersecurity. It takes real power and a lot of effort to gather and analyze info from many places to map this stuff out on global scale

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u/Danton59 6h ago

The powers that own these platforms are quite happy with culture war being promoted no matter the source.