Make no mistake: GOP is paying trolls to "blog attack"

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

http://www.politicsandtechnology.com/2007/07/make-no-mi...

This is unbelievable. We always knew that there were right-wing political hacks trolling the blogosphere, but this is a new low.

There's a company called Advantage Consultants that's offering up "professional blog warriors" to "flood the zone" with comments. In short, astro-turf trolls for the blogosphere.

Here's the text:


Are you ready for a blog attack?
Get ahead of your opponent with Professional Blog Warriors.

Be prepared to "flood the zone" with comments from professionals who are ready to put your talking points on the blogosphere 24/7.

Whether it's defense or offense, Advantage Consultants has a dedicated team of experienced blog warriors ready to advance your candidate or campaign.


Why wait for the attack? Launch your attack with a battery of blog and forum comments aimed at all media and blog sites in your district.

Contact us today and let us show you the Advantage in professional blog warfare.

Wow. Unbelievable. "Flood the zone?" Yeah, it's all about quantity - forget quality.

Now don't get me wrong -- there's nothing wrong with being a paid blogger. There's plenty of organizations that have staff or consultants on retainer to write on their blogs - which inevitably means commenting on blogs.

But here's the key: Be open and honest about it. Unlike these guys, who promise "complete confidentiality", don't fake it, don't lie, and always disclose.

Incidentally, who are these people? Who is Advantage Consultants? Their president is Doug Guetzloe, a right-wing radio host and anti-tax activist in Florida.


Kari Chisholm | July 16, 2007 | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Permalink: Make no mistake: GOP is paying trolls to "blog attack"
Category: blogs, GOPWatch

[Hansel]

1. And they're pretty obvious here lately. nt

[tekisui]

26. Yep. I'd Like to Welcome the Troll Class of 2009!

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. It's pretty unlikely they do try anything on DU, actually

Because the vast majority of people reading DU have decided their views on most political topics, and will reject any right wing crap they see here - and alert on it, and we can ban people for just saying RW stuff.

The places these people will target will be where they think they can change reader's minds - neutral blogs, newspaper sites, places like that.

There are a few topics where there's genuine division on DU, but I doubt they'd be the ones where people would pay to get one viewpoint across. During the primaries might have been another matter, of course. But it's also a question of whether they need to pay for it, or whether there are plenty of supporters who'll put forward a point of view off their own bat.

[heppcatt]

2. They are all over Digg

Whenever a health reform story makes the front page.
Most of the comments are from right wingers.

[SpiralHawk]

34. And Digg is losing credibility because of it.

Republicon lies and propaganda have the gravity of a bag of chickenhawk crap.

[rwheeler31]

3. Stand on a street corner and say I will lie for money.

[L0oniX]

25. Congressmen are already doing that.

[RandomThoughts]

4. Sometimes I laugh a bit about having no money.

But to post things offensively not true like paid bloggers do, is far more then I would ever sell, it seems really wrong to me.

Maybe their should be a law of reporting conflicts of interest if a post is made by a payment from a group. Non Disclosure is deception if the post is meant to just sound like a persons opinion when it is someone that was bought to post.

Just like the idea of having the congress people wear suits with their sponsors on them.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Where do we sign up?

I can troll just as good as any freeper!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. .....

[texastoast]

10. That's exactly what should be organized with laser targeting

Oh, the Dems are caught again not ready for the depths to which they have to plunge to "keep up" with the Reich-wing think tank spewing to the lockstep faithful who do not believe any Democratic "mandate" will ever apply to them. We have to proceed accordingly.

[Edweird]

32. You might be on to something... "troll double agents" Kinda like your namesake, Colbert.

Not a bad idea.

[Sanity Claws]

6. They're all over YouTube

particularly on the videos of the town halls.

[Greyskye]

22. Yep. Spent a while playing with one of those.

After I kept demolishing her arguments and pointed out that her entire YouTube account consisted of anti-Democratic screeds, she announced loudly that she had been advised to stop feeding the lying troll (that would be me) and abandoned the discussion. They obviously only get paid for quantity, not quality.

[corpseratemedia]

7. .

And when I read someone calling someone else names for...calling freepers names...then you gotta wonder.

[pnwmom]

9. I'm sure it's not just the GOP. Corporate interests do this as well. n/t

[valerief]

18. What's the difference? nt

[WeDidIt]

11. These assholes are SOOOOOO 2005

They're way the fuck behind the times and couldn't start a cyber drizzle, let alone a blog storm.

It takes established well known bloggers to create the type of firestorm that leads to pushing shit intot the mainstream from the blogosphere.

Joe "Professional Blog Warrior" can't do anything but get his ass banned from sites. IT takes a MArkos Moulitsas or Jane Hamsher (and usually five or six such big name bloggers) type to REALLY push a story to the mainstream.

[madamesilverspurs]

14. That's as may be,

but around here the comments boards for the newspaper have been almost entirely hijacked by wingers. They've managed to utterly clog what used to be a place for conversation.

[kevinbgoode]

17. I've seen it at many places

And now you have something to send the newspaper and other media about those kinds of operatives. They have a way of requiring registration which validates local addresses.

Their whole point is another form of intimidation - overwhelm the public discourse so that others are afraid to post opinions. They did it over the last decade with the form letters that were sent to local newspapers with local names - it's another scam.

[TheMightyFavog]

24. Seen it in the Green Bay paper, too.

They've been kicking around the St. Louis incident quite a bit.

[ThoughtCriminal]

12. If the talking point I've seen are from "Pros"

Idiots. It's like paying for masturbation.

[depakid]

13. They're all over the newspaper comment sections

[bleever]

15. The quantity is impressive, but the quality isn't what one might wish.

One helps they might find employment more suited and productive, upon graduation.

[ControlledDemolition]

16. After the latest Wall Street swindle they've got more than enough money to brainwash us all! n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

29. Yes.

[Crunchy Frog]

19. So that's what's happened to the comment section of Alternet.

[madrchsod]

20. politico is a perfect example

they publish news with out ever naming one source. every article they write about obama or his cabinet is never sourced with a name of anyone who attended a meeting. there`s a perfect example on this site right now.

i maybe old fashioned but to me a story is only creditable when it`s properly sourced.

[Raster]

30. politico is perfect example of the new "believable" face of M$M...

masquerading as balanced and fair, but actually anything but balanced and fair.

[johnaries]

21. They've been doing this for quite a while.

There have been several sites and references posted here before. And quite a few trolls here were paid professionals.

[Liberalynn]

23. I think that's why the so called CNN report card ended up the way

it did. Think about it the polls on the internet normally favor the Dem side. Now suddenly it flips so they are all on the PUKE side, even the MSNBC polls when MSNBC is the only MSM that gives our side a voice with Keith and Rachel,

It had to be fixed by paid Puke operatives.

[nashville_brook]

27. a few years ago, my fiance confiscated all his possessions with federal marshals in a court battle

involving Bally Spas. Just showed up at his house with a van and the feds, and took all his stuff. he had a judgement against him and wasn't making with the money, so they took his shit.

Central Florida is full of these right wing high rollers who go through feast and famine with their criminal endeavors.

[slay]

28. Can be very obviously seen on most all Yahoo - Buzz stories

When you "buzz up" a story on Yahoo you can link to see comments about the story. (There may be another way to the comments section but I haven't found it). You can tell by the number of "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" how people feel about comments to the story. Used to be most were not necessarily pro-Obama, but definitely pro-thoughtfulness and pro-human rights. But now - HUNDREDS up thumbs up go to the crazy Palin stories comments that agree with her, while HUNDREDS more thumbs down go to the comments that call her out on it. It's obvious bullshit and rigged, but an average Yahoo viewer may not have noticed the change. This change has mostly occurred over the last month or so best I can tell.

[opihimoimoi]

31. PROFESSIONAL BROWN SHIRTS...thats is so OBVIOUS...they DO NOT HAVE Courtesy, Fairness, and Reason...

They have a Fantasy that they are Right and we all are Wrong on most issues....and Philosophies too.

The money makes them WHORES TOO

[babylonsister]

33. Kick! nt