patrick.net

Yes. One way to tell is by how much of a stretch their trollish comments are. Although you never know for sure, because there are a lot of really stupid people out there too.

tr6 says

I feel like fake commenting to influence public opinion has become a huge game. This has been happening on all major sites that I read.

Have you noticed the same?

He was called the social media president for reason.

Your tax dollars are paying a whole army of propaganda trolls.

It wont be an issue with Huffingtonpost and SFgate until the next Republican president utilizes this new department.

tr6 says

I feel like fake commenting to influence public opinion has become a huge game.

Ever hear of Facebook? Most of the "likes" on it are marketing bots.

Yes, online advertising is 90% fraud. Only it's not just the consumer getting defrauded. It's now also the advertiser.

You can buy Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc. And people do this because the common American is so dumb that he thinks "if this is popular, I should read/view it". So politicians, celebrities, vain people, and companies try to get real audiences by buying fake ones. Some companies, looking to be bought out, don't even care about real audiences because their sell price is determined by the size of the perceived audience, real or fake.

The real problem is that our society wastes far too many resources on advertising, which is essentially a zero-sum game and one that produces no wealth. We'd all be a lot better off, including companies wanting to sell stuff, with 99% less advertising. The more advertising there is, the less effective it becomes.

tr6 says

In this case the user was clearly supporting the agenda of Obama
administration. I am sure I can find users that support Republican agenda.

I feel like fake commenting to influence public opinion has become a huge
game. This has been happening on all major sites that I read.

Are you suggesting that these "people" are paid off or are they doing this preaching pro bono? If it's the former, how does the puppeteer measure return on investment since it's extremely unlikely that this posting will influence election results?

dublin hillz says

Are you suggesting that these "people" are paid off or are they doing this preaching pro bono? If it's the former, how does the puppeteer measure return on investment since it's extremely unlikely that this posting will influence election results?

I am not sure. I was just making an observation. I doubt the goal is just to influence elections, there are a lot of legislative issues all year around.

Meh - this goes back at least as far as the Windows 95 FUD days.

Microsoft hired teams of galley slaves to inhabit internet fora, talk about how much they loved Windows, whine about how OS/2 was a dog, and rebut whatever other information might hurt their image.

Letters to the editor in the newspaper have had this issue.

What I can't understand are the folks who preach the cause of the 0.01% day after day, free of charge, as if that next tax cut will catapult them into the ranks of the billionaires. Libertarianism is a fascinating ideology.

HydroCabron says

What I can't understand are the folks who preach the cause of the 0.01% day after day, free of charge, as if that next tax cut will catapult them into the ranks of the billionaires. Libertarianism is a fascinating ideology.

Those people usually have about 0.00001% chance of making it to 0.01%

You don't remember all the users who came on here to promote Obama during the election and then vaporized right after?

Oh good ole politicofacts.com that bitch over there at the Tampa tribune called me all kinds of names.

When I traced her down and called her on it, the asshole quickly disappeared.

Co inky dink! I THINK NOT!

CaptainShuddup says

Oh good ole politicofacts.com that bitch over there at the Tampa tribune called me all kinds of names.

I'll bet that happens to you a lot, huh, stoofek.

That's Mr. Stewfat to you.

its basically most forums/social networks today.

there is a well organized and capitalized industry for manipulating social media and online forums. You really can't even be informed by these things anymore due to this.

My sister makes $200/hour posting pro-Russia comments on the internet. It's easy and it's free to start! Just go to FreePutieGold.com, and you'll get a free cubic meter of natural gas just for signing up!

thunderlips11 says

My sister makes $200/hour posting pro-Russia comments on the internet. It's easy and it's free to start! Just go to FreePutieGold.com, and you'll get a free cubic meter of natural gas just for signing up!

Is she Masha from Nashi?

bgamall4 must be a paid troll to make the anti Zionists look dumb.

lostand confused says

bgamall4 must be a paid troll to make the anti Zionists look dumb.

He's not paid enough. Whatever it is, it should be doubled.

I have a friend whose daughter's job is to blog for different companies - and to post replies articles and sites that further the company's agenda.

In one day she passionately posted both pro- and anti- gun registration propaganda.

elliemae says

I have a friend whose daughter's job is to blog for different companies - and to post replies articles and sites that further the company's agenda.

By the way, this is exactly why Wikipedia is worse than worthless. All articles except esoteric math and science ones are conquered and controlled by special interests: governments, corporations, and lobbyists.

If this is indeed prevalent, it can serve as a conduit for people like koch, soros and others to take over the world without firing a single shot.

are you twins??

thunderlips11 says

My sister makes $200/hour posting pro-Russia comments on the internet.

tr6 says

I feel like fake commenting to influence public opinion has become a huge game. This has been happening on all major sites that I read.

But that would imply that people actually listen to what other people say.

elliemae says

I have a friend whose daughter's job is to blog for different companies - and to post replies articles and sites that further the company's agenda.

In one day she passionately posted both pro- and anti- gun registration propaganda.

there are entire farms of these sorts of people.

there is at least one poster on here who is a paid political promoter, I've pointed it out before.

The Original Bankster says

there is at least one poster on here who is a paid political promoter, I've pointed it out before.

Probably. At least here when you spend enough time you really understand people's opinions since you've interacted with them for years.