cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/16162455

How Russia is Influencing US Voters. Russian Intelligence Document “Guerrilla Media Campaign in the US” [Translated] Page 5

Rest of the document is visible here:

https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/exhibits_9a_and_9b.pdf

85 points

And before people say “not Lemmy, we are too small” - It’s pretty obvious that a major Lemmy instance is literally a training ground for these recruits before they get promoted to Facebook and reddit duty (either intentionally or otherwise). There have been a few narratives this election which seem to have been tested out on here weeks before getting to Facebook and reddit. “Blue MAGA” was a pretty obvious one they seemed to workshop on Lemmy.

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1 point
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It’s pretty obvious that a major Lemmy instance is literally a training ground for these recruits

Is there any evidence to substantiate this claim, or are we doing the “Everyone on the instance I don’t like is a Russian bot, because they disagree with me” line of reasoning?

“Blue MAGA” was a pretty obvious one they seemed to workshop on Lemmy.

Wasn’t this in response to the dead-end Biden guys who were growing increasingly hysterical as he tanked out in the polls? Lemmy’s gotten significantly more normal since Harris took the top of the ticket and the numbers have rebounded.

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9 points
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Nah, more like “Russian bots exist and some people I disagree with are Russian bots.” Which is pretty much the entire premise of the article.

It’s also pretty easy to tell the difference IMO. The trolls tend to just do nothing but troll and flame. They don’t really spend much time engaging on other topics.

As far as why I think Lemmy is a training ground? Call it a hunch. Obviously I don’t have a notarized letter from a troll farm saying that they are in control of a certain worldnews forum, but a lot of the usual suspects fit a bit too neatly into that box to not raise an eyebrow. There are some other patterns as well but its definitely all circumstantial.

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5 points

It’s also pretty easy to tell the difference IMO.

Sounds like something a bot would say.

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3 points

Is there any evidence to substantiate this claim, or are we doing the “Everyone on the instance I don’t like is a Russian bot, because they disagree with me” line of reasoning?

It’s option B in all cases.

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-4 points
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Don’t be silly. Those comms are filled with people who could no longer stand reddit-brained commenters shouting all the pro-US propaganda.

The belief that all political dissenters of the DNC are somehow trained or foolish monkeys tricked by the wiles of a foreign country is itself a powerful propaganda point. Now i don’t expect you to believe that just cuz i said it, but if i were right, what might such propaganda achieve? Does it perhaps cause you to consider all criticisms of the DNCs policies as “russian prop” and then not read more? If it does, is it a "thought terminating cliche? "

After all, you believe it somehow (even though thinking through it would dismiss the idea as ridiculous) and i bet you’re a smart person generally.

You might think I’m a ruskie no matter what but consider my POV. I left reddit because i couldn’t stand the politics there, only to have those politics follow me and scream that im some agiprop to fool them.

No, no, i don’t want anything to do with the childish US-centric worldview of reddit. Its not about them cats, i did it for my sanity, cuz the shit redditors say hurts my soul. I leave to find people who think like i do only to have the most strident screamers follow me. No, screamers, you arent my target, you goldarn children are my endless headache

I don’t want people to change their politics i want them to stop filling my feed and inbox with stupid bullshit.

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-15 points

I mean the US gets to shape the narrative everywhere else by making the social companies to do so, but the people removed about how they’re being manipulated in return is always going to be hilarious.

Lemmy is being overrun by brainwashed wankies more than anything.

There have been a few narratives this election which seem to have been tested out on here weeks before getting to Facebook and reddit. “Blue MAGA” was a pretty obvious one they seemed to workshop on Lemmy

can you post some links?

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-2 points

Lemmy is being overrun by brainwashed wankies more than anything.

It’s all the same people who comment on YouTube and post ForwardsFromGrandma on Facebook. Its not like there’s some secret reserve of “normal” people that are being diluted. Americans are going to American, whether they’re cheer leading our invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, freaking out over a gay couple trying to buy a wedding cake, or marching around Charlottesville with torches.

These assholes are everywhere. And when you call them on their bullshit, their knee-jerk response is “You’re anti-American! No aktuly you’re the extremist! You’re either with us or you’re with the Terrorists! You’re not even a real person, you must be an elaborate engineered computer program / insincere paid special agent specifically tasked with tricking me into questioning my preconceptions!”

Implying that folks are “brainwashed” assumes they had some better prior understanding of the world that was subsequently overwritten by a nefarious evil agent. But this baseline ultra-nationalism is the original conception we’re raised with. American Exceptionalism is the norm and believing in it is for normies.

They’re not the freaks and weirdos and wankies for adhering to this very cloistered understanding of the world. We’re the freaks for questioning it, for interrogating it, and god-fucking-help-us-all rejecting it.

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-1 points

Yep, i’ve noticed their rhetoric has gotten bad on the Memes sub. I just unsubbed there actually. 196 is more fun anyways.

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3 points

The .ml memes sub is so infuriating at times.

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30 points

There are certain actors on Lemmy that I’m betting will disappear after the presidential election cycle or significantly pull back their posting.

Basically fanning the flames of “democrat bad, support israel genocide” while also saying “republican not in power, can’t blame them!”. Genocide is terrible no matter who does it and we shouldn’t pretend Republicans would be any better. In all likelihood, they would be worse.

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-21 points

Democrats only want a little genocide, as a treat. Gee, I wonder why people don’t want to vote for that? Must be those darn Russian bots.

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4 points

Is genocide bad? No, it’s the leftists who are Russians.

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7 points

I’m not defending their actions. I’m pointing out that there are those that astroturf social media that -only ever point out the negatives of one major political party while completely ignoring the other-.

So since you seem to be reasonable despite your satire and snark, what do you think about the Republicans and how they would handle the ongoing genocide?

Or will you prove my point again for me?

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1 point

Always a safe bet

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11 points

this is a bit scary as the fediverse is likely a bit more difficult than facebook and such. I hate to think we are training them to well.

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-17 points

Lol. My TV is overrun with zionist propaganda. Politicians are completely bought and sold by the zionist cult. Our “public” radio and television completely supports an ongoing genocide.

And they’re going to tell me that some “guerrilla media campaign” is the problem?!? I haven’t seen it at all. The phone call is coming from inside the house, y’all.

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0 points

Yeah but pro Israel shills are approved by the government and elites… Russians are doing this without permission… that’s the issue here

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10 points

It fascinates me how hard it is to make sure people understand that

  1. Two things can be bad at once
  2. You can comment on an issue without whataboutism

Real people are being hurt, real elections are being won with these operations. Read the full memo, it’s in the crosspost.

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3 points
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You can comment on an issue without whataboutism

This point specifically is getting ignored. I feel like this kind of blatant ignorance is starting to make Lemmy a lost cause, because its gotten worse the past few weeks. I’m starting to think Tildes may be more my speed.

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4 points

What’s tildes friend?

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-1 points
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Removed by mod
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3 points

The West should just adopt the same tactics for Russian social media channels (VK, Telegram, etc), regular civilian groups if the state does not want to resort to it. Feed Russia some of their own medicine.

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-3 points

I wish. But the republicans would never.

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7 points

I hope you’re aware the West isn’t just the US (or worse, that republicans are in control of the entire West), and neither are the information related to this leak just about the US.

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4 points

I am, I’m Swiss.

But the fact is by far the most active, successful and offensive western intelligence agencies are in the United States.

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-3 points
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Yes, fascists are in control of white supremacy (aka “the west”). It’s only the nationalist branding that changes.

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-5 points

“The West” would have to start giving a fuck what goes on in who-gives-a-fuck-istan to have that happen. The warfare is asymmetric because only one side has an open society anyone else is actually interested in. No one in “The West” outside of the CIA ever thinks about Russia when they aren’t putting their dick in the punchbowl.

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8 points

No one in “The West” outside of the CIA ever thinks about Russia when they aren’t putting their dick in the punchbowl.

They’re literally bathing in the punch bowl for at least a decade+ now. Surely there’s people who do give a fuck. I do.

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2 points

Oh yeah sorry I missed all the Russian TV, music, electronics, art and culture everyone enjoys in the west. 😂

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-3 points

You should look up regime change and color revolution. The US openly speaks about subverting and supplanting democratic governments in other countries if they don’t align with their foreign policy goals. And they have done it many times.

What Russia is doing is despicable but “they learned it from watching US”.

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4 points

Color revolution = “What do you mean those countries don’t want to be friends of Russia? Woke culture is out of control: you run a few thousand people over with tanks and they take it personally!”

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20 points

I have no doubt that the USA has fingers in the pie of public sentiments elsewhere.

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19 points

“Manga editorial office”??

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3 points

Mistranslation of “Maga”?

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1 point

Isn’t manga chinese art? I’m pretty sure it’s referring to that instead of maga

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3 points

Manga is Japanese comic books; the “print version of anime” if you will. Lots of anime is based on manga.

It doesn’t make any sense in the context of the document, though; which why I wonder if it was a mistaken translation

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8 points

Given that the other two are text and video, I’m going to guess it should be image.

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1 point

I was thinking some variant of “illustration” or “graphic design”

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-5 points
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Yes, these are the weakest possible threats that absolutely pale in comparison to the unfettered zionist propaganda coming from almost every USAian news source and almost every USAian politician.

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1 point

USound mAd aboUt Something, cAre to share?

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11 points

Russia has learned the power of Japan.

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2 points

That puzzled me too.

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1 point

It’s really ‘Manga’ in what I read in the end of the alleged original doc. Can’t judge it yet, but it seems weird.

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66 points

In order for this work to be effective, you need to use a minimum of fake news and a maximum of realistic information. At the same time, you should continuously repeat that this is what is really happening, but the official media will never tell you about it or show it to you.

Yep, that last sentence pretty much sums up right-wing media, especially since “Candidate A” who is definitely not Trump, shhh ran for office around 2016.

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