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/InsuranceToTheRescue 15h ago

The thing is, it's not just catering to a specific group of politics. You're so close to understanding it yourself.

This kind of manipulation isn't about left vs right or Republican vs Democrat. It's everybody on Russia's radar being pitted against each other. All sides are getting whipped up. You're not immune, nor are the causes you agree with automatically unaffected.

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u/a_shootin_star 14h ago

Though we shouldn't conflate a lack of understanding with plain old stupidity.

"In conversation with the stupid person, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like, that have taken possession of them."

- Boenhoffer, 1951

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u/howlin 13h ago
  • Boenhoffer, 1951

uhh.. Boenhoffer died in 1945 and this link doesn't actually point to this quote. Are you making some sort of meta-point here?

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u/a_shootin_star 13h ago

That's when the quote was posthumously published, but he wrote it in Letters and Papers from Prison, during his captivity in Flossenbürg concentration camp.

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u/Telesto1087 14h ago

This is political destabilisation enabled by the lack of oversight on social media platforms. Papers used to get banned by governments all over the world for shit like this, somehow now it's ok for social media to serve as outlets for your enemy psyops.

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u/InsuranceToTheRescue 13h ago

IMO there's an argument to be made regarding Sec. 230. In the US, papers wouldn't get banned, by definition. However, editors were liable for the content in the paper because they were picking & choosing (read: editorializing) what readers got to see. They decided on the articles and they even decided on the wording.

Social media was originally just a platform. It was like a local marketplace where anybody could setup in any stall. However, now almost every platform filters and sorts content based on . . . Well, we don't always know exactly what it's based on. "Engagement" is the vague-ish metric we talk about. Regardless, social media platforms are effectively picking & choosing what users get to see. They use an algorithm, employing math, instead of an editor's judgement, but there's not much different.

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u/The_Webweaver 8h ago

The next generation of social media needs to do two things: allow feeds to draw from other, compatible social media platforms, and enable the user to tweak their algorithm in a simple, easy to understand, user interface.

I think a key part of that latter bit is making it possible for users to tag posts so that you can filter in or out relevant tags.

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u/ImYourHumbleNarrator 14h ago

true but they sure as hell weren't trying to get biden or clinton elected, and sure they have jill stein in their pocket but look at the lobbying groups and GOP politicians compared and they're obviously tipping the scales on groups like NRA and southern strategy reps

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u/Special_Bus5283 11h ago

Meh, I hear what you are saying and it's certainly true that they are pitting people against each other, but...

A huge part of the problem we have is that these bots seem to be able to convince a large subsection of our population of things that ARE truly nonsense. And no amount of contradictory evidence seems to ever sway those folks.

It's a whole 'nother issue that it does indeed cause us to fight internally, but if people here were all equally capable of critically analyzing posts, the issue would be far less likely to cause the major issues that they do.

I'm skipping lines here because this part is especially relevant... If a large amount of these posts truly ARE creating MAGA and AFD posts, there is simply NO WAY that major social media companies could NOT KNOW that these accounts are bots/of Russian origin.

Which means they are complicit in all of this. If everyone was truly capable of critical thinking, they'd be able to quickly realize that none of those billionaires are good for America. Are they capable of seeing that as true? Probably not, because they're so far down Musk's hole they can't see daylight anymore.

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u/BattlepassHate 13h ago

They love to think “lol it’s just da dumb conservatives!!!!” Not understanding that the left too is being manipulated into this bullshit.

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u/WhereBaptizedDrowned 15h ago edited 14h ago

This both siding shit is retarded, man.

Democrats have been trying to be progressive. These bots are hitting the most easily manipulated people: republicans.

It is true Dems can be manipulated but they are being manipulated towards progress. Which is innately good.

>Academic consensus heavily points to an asymmetry, indicating that Republicans are generally more susceptible to political misinformation and share it more frequently than Democrats.

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u/AFoolishSeeker 15h ago

The manipulation is toward anger and other high intensity emotions. The manipulation is toward chaos. Don’t be arrogant.

What that commenter said has nothing to do with “both siding”

Come on now

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u/New_Contract6331 14h ago

No it is definitely happening to everyone and it’s not just about politics. Any social issue is being amplified by bot farms. They will be commenting view points you agree with and view points you disagree with, they will be fighting with you while also agreeing with you. It’s about dividing us and causing civil unrest

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u/Zalack 13h ago

Yup, bot farms are even inflaming disagreements over non-serious topics like video games, movies, books, the best practices for cooking, etc.

ANY comment section with disagreement will be targeted by bots that make rage-bait comments on whatever the two sides of the argument are. The goal is to erode social cohesion in as many spaces as possible so that people feel as alienated as possible from their fellow countrymen. They want us at each other’s throats over any and every subject.

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u/PolanskyDMymy 14h ago

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say progress should probably involve not using the R-word

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u/WhereBaptizedDrowned 14h ago

Idc. Words are only weaponized by weak minds who let it hurt them.

I’m deaf. You think I’ve had it easy with slurs? Idc about them.

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u/ForAHamburgerToday 13h ago

Are there slurs about deaf people?

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u/WhereBaptizedDrowned 13h ago

Oh hell yeah. We are more discriminated against than any minority combined.

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u/PolanskyDMymy 12h ago

Oh cool, you’re just not worth engaging with at all

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u/WhereBaptizedDrowned 12h ago

It’s ok to recognize that you’re emotionally weak.

Call me gay, retard, spaz, whatever it is - I’m not going to cry and virtue signal online lol

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u/PolanskyDMymy 12h ago

Sure, whatever dude

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u/ForAHamburgerToday 12h ago

Are there slurs in ASL?

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u/WhereBaptizedDrowned 12h ago edited 12h ago

Yup. All languages do.

Edit: aw. Didn’t like that huh? Destroyed your train of thought.

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u/ForAHamburgerToday 12h ago

Edit: aw. Didn’t like that huh? Destroyed your train of thought.

What? I just saw this now, was there a message I missed or something? I really don't understand your edit, I was just asking a question about a language I don't know. If that hit a nerve please accept my apology as it was not my intent to antagonize or frustrate you.

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u/WhereBaptizedDrowned 12h ago

Sure buddy.

Dont be a retard next time.

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u/InsuranceToTheRescue 14h ago

This both siding shit is retarded, man.
Democrats have been trying to be progressive. These bots are hitting the most easily manipulated people: republicans.
It is true Dems can be manipulated but they are being manipulated towards progress. Which is innately good.

The kneejerk, "No! My side is right and the other side is wrong!" is the whole point. You can't even accept that manipulation of the causes & people you agree with is bad. In a single comment you went from "bots are hitting the most easily manipulated people" to your side being manipulated is good because you're being manipulated towards "progress."

You're the evidence my comment is pointing at.

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u/illsaid 14h ago

Manipulated towards progress? Holy smokes top tier.

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u/doktorjake 7h ago

Thank you. Everyone is so fucking smug about how one side is brainwashed while they’re falling for equally obvious traps in their own feeds.

Remember kids, if you can’t see a face or a name, you’re talking to a bot.