NSA Today: Narcissistic Psychopathic Sadistic Trolls Paid By Your Tax Dollars to Disrupt Internet

[J_J_]

Perhaps Psychology Today missed the article about how the NSA has trolls all over the internet disrupting conversations.

The day the story was released, paid trolls were working overtime to remove all evidence of the story's existence.

Quite frequently, trolls become moderators.

Reddit Mods Bury Glenn Greenwald's Story On GCHQ/NSA Use Of Internet To 'Destroy Reputations'
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140226/11344026358/reddit-mods-bury-glenn-greenwalds-story-gchqnsa-use-internet-to-destroy-reputations.shtml


How Covert Agents Inflitrate the Internet to Manupulate, Deceive and Destroy Reputations

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/


I still can't believe these assholes we have to deal with are paid for by our tax dollars to disrupt intelligent conversations.

[billhicks76]

1. They Are On DU

I bet we have all spotted them too.

[stillwaiting]

6. Yes they are. nt

[Agschmid]

8. Oh please.

[Blue_Tires]

11. Russian and Israeli trolls, too

and they play the "game" just as well as the Americans...

[Tumbulu]

18. We certainly have....nt

[Veilex]

25. They are ideed.

Some of them manage to go just afield enough to get hidden or banned.

[grahamhgreen]

28. No we're not, you pink pony, racist, conspiracy theorist! I'm alerting on your crazy comment!!!!

[pocoloco]

32. They appear instantly

just waiting with their copy and past bullshit!

[grahamhgreen]

35. What happened to blu links?

[BuelahWitch]

57. Disappeared without a trace

around the same time that Richard Mellon Scaife died. There was a bit of speculation that they were one and the same, but that seems unlikely.

[grahamhgreen]

70. Or maybe on his payroll???

[Enthusiast]

51. They promote austerity measures and outsourcing.

Last edited Sun Sep 21, 2014, 02:46 AM - Edit history (1)

They defend GMOs.

[October]

58. Yup. Divide and conquer, that's what they love to do.

/nt

[billhicks76]

65. Old Technique

Wanna know another old one NSA and their law enforcement hubs use? Blackmail. They garner embarrassing details or illegal behavior from communications of judges, attorneys, journalists, generals, senators etc and then they use it as leverage to get a certain outcome whether it be a vote, ruling, war plan, article etc. Our government had been completely corrupted and according to various insiders it is niw completely run by intelligence agencies and not elected officials who are now just front men and mouthpieces for the security state. We have essentially devolved into a fascist oligarchy no different than communist states.

[rwsanders]

66. Yep, we all live in Ferguson now. All it takes is stepping out of line far enough to find out.

[billhicks76]

68. Because We Didn't

Stand up when we needed to. Now they have full control.

[blkmusclmachine]

74. They wrote themselves exclusions to circumvent the Constitution/Bill of Rights. We're all profiled,

tracked, and recorded into NSA databases. Question is...WHO will they come after first??? My guess is gay people.

[blkmusclmachine]

75. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Tia_logo_large.jpg

[enough]

2. That firstlook Greenwald article itself is a must read. Thank you for that link. (nt)

[malaise]

3. On the other thread I pointed out that they are paid trolls

and not just people with personality disorders disrupting MBs.

[Scootaloo]

76. Nothing says they can't be both

I can think of at least one nationalist troll here on DU who has got to be severely "damaged."

[MineralMan]

4. And sometimes, people disagree with each other online.

How do you tell when it's an NSA infiltrator? That's what I want to know. There must be a conspiracy of some kind.

[RoccoR5955]

9. You can tell that they are being paid

Because they don't answer the question of their status of being paid truthfully, or not reply at all.
They will always deny it. It's one of their orders.
You can tell though. Just read their drivel, and it always includes talking points, and is repeated in many places. It's almost as if they use copy and paste.
I just want to know if they get paid by the word, or by the post.

[MineralMan]

12. People who aren't being paid are likely to deny that

they are being paid. For example, I'm paid for the websites I write for small businesses, but I'm not paid for posting on political forums. It is truthful for me to say that I'm not paid for political posting. I don't think I've seen any examples of people on DU who appear to be paid for writing posts or replies here. I see a lot of people with opinions, though. Maybe it's only the opinions you disagree with that you think come from paid posters, and never the ones you do agree with. Could that be the case?

Now, if you have some examples of people who think are being paid to post here, just pop some links into a reply. I'll definitely go look at those posts to see if I can detect what you claim to be able to detect.

[Tumbulu]

20. I don't think that we can post names of people

publicly, as it is against the rules to do that.

But I think there are a few on DU. They may not be paid, but they certainly behave in the prescribed manner. They do disrupt discourse and lead to arguments rather than illumination.

[Veilex]

26. +1

[Helen Borg]

62. Pretty much like the people in real life that we avoid...

Just that here we cannot avoid them...

[grahamhgreen]

31. We can agree that people are paid to subvert political discussion on the internet, yes?

[MineralMan]

41. I wouldn't be at all surprised.

However, there's a tendency on the part of some to claim that posters are paid when they disagree with those posters. I've seen that many times here on DU. I've even been accused of being a paid poster. I am not. I assume that very few paid posters post on DU, if any. I certainly don't suspect anyone of it.

[billhicks76]

46. Where Have You Been

In the last 5 years there have been numerous articles detailing the use of sock puppet profiles run by military contractors and in house NSA personnel. They are used to "manage" public opinion in their favor and each manager can operate up to 100 profiles a day. And if that manager retires another is inserted to manage the same fake profiles. The NYT, LA Times, New Yorker etc have published these articles. They main target is exactly websites like this one as well as Yahoo, Facebook, Huffington Post, Politico, CNN etc and they are often the most prolific and can even attain moderator status at places like HuffPost. They often operate in tandem ie when one posts to attack a commenter another one usually pops up to tag team them. And they always quickly appear on the same types of threads all the time like justifying NSA wiretapping. They are encouraged to be overly sarcastic, disruptive and if they can get away with it profane. Of course, private corporations also do this to support product reviews but there is a lot of money dedicated from those who profit from war and surveillance.

[Enthusiast]

48. Thank you.

[MannyGoldstein]

53. These are not the droids you are looking for

Unh uh!

[SidDithers]

60. Since you raised the question, are you being paid to post at DU?...

I'm absolutely not accusing you of doing so. Don't misunderstand my question, please.

It's just that you posted a test, or a set of criteria, for knowing whether someone is a paid troll, so I thought the question should be asked.

Thanks,
Sid

[RoccoR5955]

64. I will not deny the fact

That I actually pay to post on DU. Membership, you know.

[Agschmid]

10. Yup.

[zonkers]

27. I have detected NSA presence in the Sunday LOLcats thread.

[grahamhgreen]

29. You can tell because they never address issues, and always try to to attack personalities... And

Accuse people of conspiracy theories.... Then alert on them

[MineralMan]

42. Well, I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm afraid I can't really respond intelligently to your reply to my post.

[PosterChild]

61. It's easy...

...you can tell by the FACT that they disagree with you!

Now, that is FACT based reasoning!

[Triana]

5. I know a narcissistic, abusive troll who 'moderates' several forums/listserves.

He loves to brag about it. Has lots of people snowed.

[Douglas Carpenter]

7. it is possible to be wrong, misinformed and even irrational and do it for free

I'm sure most defenders of the NSA on DU or other liberal forums are operating under the notion that criticism of the NSA represents an attack on President Obama who they feel - with some justification - is constantly unfairly attacked all the time from all directions - Therefore the NSA's actions must be defended. This is not a reasonable way of thinking. They are wrong. The are being unreasonable. They may even be betraying their liberal values. But they are doing it for free. No one is paying them. Not everything is a conspiracy. People can be wrong for free.

[RufusTFirefly]

15. Agree. Many people take an honest, defensive, authoritarian viewpoint

Rather than viewing leaders as public servants, they follow them as authorities whose wisdom can't be questioned and who must be obeyed. Many people find the notion of fallible leaders and organizations that don't have our best interest at heart to be extremely troubling. It's a prospect that they don't dare consider. It creates a cognitive dissonance that prompts them to lash out at skeptics and to shoot the messenger.

[Veilex]

30. Very true!

I'll use myself as an example... I tend to believe very strongly in the senator from Vermont. I see him as being what other senators and house representatives should ascribe to be. The notion that he could somehow be tied to wrong doing could create a rather powerful cognitive dissonance that I would have trouble reconciling.

Our culture has such strong feelings on the notion of being wrong... as if it were some kind of weakness rather than merely a diagnostic tool. Scientists recognize this... and in fact, have it as part of the scientific method whenever testing... they try to disprove their own hypothesis. It allows them a level of understanding that simply cannot be gained by trying to prove they're right.

We should all endeavor to adopt the scientific method in my humble opinion.

[Tumbulu]

21. so true, nt

[navarth]

13. Some that I read here on DU couldn't possibly be paid trolls

They're so nasty that the only point they end up making is that they're nasty. Real effective if you want to change hearts and minds.

[McCamy Taylor]

14. They are on DU---but they do not run DU they way they do other boards.

Here is what I just posted on FB:

1) If the person has a name like "CaliforniaLiberal" you can bet that they are neither from California nor Liberal. It is easier to make a name than to establish a persona through a pattern of posting. 2) If a person claims to be an ordinary housewife, for instance, but just happens to know everything there is a to know about a particular industry---say medical managed care insurance----that person is a troll. If the poster will not explain how they have come by their knowledge, they are hiding something. 3) If the person shows up every time a particular topic comes up but will not explain why, that person is a troll. 4) If the person is trolling particular posters after flaming them in one or more posts relating to a topic that the person always seems to be interested in, that person is a troll, probably paid. If they are there 24-7, they may even be a committee of paid trolls. 5) If the person "Googles" you and tries to threaten you, he or she is a troll, paid or unpaid. 6) If the person's educational level in their writing does not match their stated educational level, the person is a troll (someone else is writing it for them, they are posting it). If you are convinced that someone is a paid troll, don't bother going to the mods. Instead, figure out who is paying the troll's salary and then start posting the most damning material you can find about that troll's employer. I have done this little favor for Monsanto, Blue Cross Blue Shield, even for Bush's FCC Chairman. Once they see that their trolldom only makes you meaner and your posts more damaging to their client, they get pulled off the job as the abject failures that they are. Because what kind of person spends their life posing as something they are not on the internet trying to squelch other people's free speech with their evil little mind games? Someone who wishes he or she had the talent to actually do something creative.

Trolls at DU are mostly despised/reviled/shut down by other posters unless they are trolls for Democratic candidates and causes---which, by definitions means they are not "trolls", they are supposed to be here. I can hardly visit Kos anymore, it is so full of mythological creatures---I am thinking of renaming it Narnia.

[RufusTFirefly]

17. I think you're spot on about the naming thing

Obviously, there are people who choose these names sincerely. But there are others who pick them in a cynical fashion, as a fast-and-dirty attempt to earn trust and legitimacy. Often when I see such names, my first reaction is "Methinks he doth protest too much."

[karynnj]

24. It can be - or it is the absolute opposite

When I first found DU, I noticed that one poster had a name that was (a female name) (WI). I liked that right off the bat, it answered 2 questions I sometimes had - gender and geography. I obviously used that as the model - and I then did live in NJ and my name is Karen - for some reason DU rejected a version with the correct spelling so I used a spelling I had briefly used as a teen.

I think that in some ways it is easier to realize that Californialiberal is not real if they never speak of anything local when something happens there. I realize that there are some who will not speak of anything personal, but it does make someone more believable when people do. I have seen posters - especially the RT fans who are recent to DU and who don't quite write as most people here do. I can't quite put my finger on it, but as fluent as they are, some do not seem to be the Americans they say they are.

I was lucky that my "home" on DU, right from the beginning, was the JK group. I can say that I have met in person about 30 or so people who at one time or another were there and everyone was consistent with how they spoke of themselves.

[RufusTFirefly]

36. Point well taken. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

Also, I think the ideological part of a user's name is often more problematic than the regional one.
The exception may be certain states that have a well-known reputation for a particular viewpoint and can function as a kind of shorthand.
Otherwise, I can completely see why people may incorporate their state into their username as a source of identification and pride, much in the way that some people have stickers on their cars that advertise their alma maters.

[Tumbulu]

22. well said McCamy nt

[grahamhgreen]

33. Must read! Wonder if you'll get alerted on...

[Veilex]

34. I wholeheartedly agree with...

unless they are trolls for Democratic candidates and causes---which, by definitions means they are not "trolls", they are supposed to be here.

- there is at least one poster I can think of who really needs to understand this concept.

[MannyGoldstein]

40. Spot on.

Although their does seem to be a group on DU that suddenly posts a ton of nonsense whenever a Greenwald/Snowden event is evolving. But who knows, people might legitimately think those things.

[Enthusiast]

49. It's plausible deniability.

[LiberalArkie]

78. Hey, I am very liberal and I was born and still live in Arkansas.

[FLPanhandle]

16. How does one go about getting such a sweet gig?

sit around and post on the internet all day while getting paid for it?

I'd troll conservative sites for money (if any NSA guys are reading this)!

[librechik]

38. I was thinking the same thing, but the Dems won't pay you to troll the cons.n/t

[msanthrope]

43. I'll refer you over to Agent Mike. If he likes your posts, you will be contacted. nt

[iemitsu]

54. I think you need to hang out on conservative sites

and establish your bonafides, if you want to be recruited by the NSA's Ministry of Propaganda.
The job is to direct the conversation, whether your are assigned to a conservative or a liberal site. If you are good you would probably be working both types.

[Doctor_J]

23. already being discussed

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025560518

[Thinkingabout]

37. Conspiracy, trolls, spies, yep, they go hand in hand.

[MannyGoldstein]

39. Perhaps these are the posters who go ballistic

At the suggestion that leaders who start wars should encourage their own children to join the military.

Who can say?

[msanthrope]

44. That was a 5-2 jury hide. Are you suggesting that the 5 jurors are paid trolls?

Oh--and you never answered my question about Third Way Manny. Am I allowed to call him a wanker?

[MannyGoldstein]

45. Given that at least one DUer has confessed to conspiring with others,

outside of DU, to make me pay a price for making them uncomfortable:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5257344

and I'm told by others that this is common practice...

Who can say?

[msanthrope]

47. So if you think a conspiracy is happening, did you alert on the results? And you avoided

my question----can I call Third Way Manny a "wanker?"

[BuelahWitch]

55. You could

but then someone might come along and say "it takes one to know one," especially when they get all pissed off over the word "honey."

[zappaman]

72. This one?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5257353

[msanthrope]

79. No....the 5-2 hide on his Malia Obama thread.......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025561729

[Enthusiast]

50. The propaganda effort is equal to the surveillance effort.

[Pholus]

52. That was always part of the plan. DARPA...

throws LOTS of money for research in automatically sensing trends in social media and immediately countering it with counter messaging.

It's all about "hearts and minds" after all....

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

56. Name a sensitive subject and we have trolls "controlling" the conversation.

I especially enjoy reading the threads about genetically modified crops- the Monsanto trolls are extremely easy to spot. They base their attacks on the assumption that we're all ignorant idiots, incapable of understanding any sort of genuine research.

[SidDithers]

59. And fucking zombies too...

People who keep coming back over and over are some of the biggest narcissistic, psychopathic, sadistic, disruptive trolls on the internet.

And the Alex Jones fan trolls are the fucking worst of the worst.

Fucking zombies.

Sid

[Rex]

63. You can tell who they are, by their excuses.

I guess it is too hard for their troll brains to comprehend how easy it is to spot.

[Octafish]

67. Marching Orders

GCHQ describes the purpose of JTRIG in starkly clear terms:

“using online techniques to make something happen in the real or cyber world,” including “information ops (influence or disruption).”




The same NSA that unconstitutionally spies on Americans also gets to propagandize Americans.

You can't get more Orwell than that, hobnailed boot and all.

[PatrickforO]

69. At this point we might as well use the Bill of Rights as

toilet paper, for all the good it does us.

This 'security' thing has gotten totally out of hand. Maybe if we promoted social and economic justice instead of drone attacks and senseless wars, we wouldn't NEED the NSA.

And a great day that would be, indeed!

[whereisjustice]

71. Feeling safer yet?

[defacto7]

73. If there are NSA trolls on DU

rest assured they are a lot more subtle that most of us think. I doubt the "problem" is that big. I would suspect that an NSA troll on DU is more likely gathering information; that's their main job. They can pull a lot of information from the post people write even without participating. I don't see any real useful reason that an NSA troll would try to motivate the clientèle either for mind control or disruption, that wouldn't make sense and would be a waste of effort.

I still think the average trolls on DU are simply RW pushers who want to divide, irritate and plant RW text bombs wherever they can which is still a sort of sociopathic behavior. They may be paid they may not be. But the troll conspiracy is a bit overblown.

There are better places than DU to do serious information damage on individuals. There are better places to garner influence over a crowd than here. But don't take me wrong, the odds are that there are NSA trolls here, but they are more likely quiet and keep gathering information for whatever purpose is relevant to the state. That's bad enough. AND they're Mormon!

[J_J_]

80. the moderators on reddit kept removing the story for a reason

This is a democratic think tank, and a place where they can practice and test if their propaganda is working.

Republicans are easy to control because they don't bother thinking, so I imagine they spend most of their time trying to manipulate Democrats.

[davidthegnome]

77. Haha...

I'm sorry, but that's just funny. I mean, the idea of NSA trolls trying to disrupt stuff here... they must really be bored. What we need are some NSA billy goats. Some big, strong, hungry ones.

I can't decide what's more frustrating. That we pay these assholes, or that we pay assholes like Boehner, McCain, LePage, Christie, etc.

Need to give them their own little island somewhere, where they can have their own bridge. Maybe put the Republicans and Religious Fundamentalists there with them....