Best insider expose of a Russian troll factory yet:

[Blue_Tires]

Yle Kioski Traces the Origins of Russian Social Media Propaganda – Never-before-seen Material from the Troll Factory

We followed the operations of the secretive so called troll factory in Saint Petersburg on the spot for three days.


Troll. TROLL.

Everyone having discussions on the Internet knows the word.

It means a person who annoys and provokes others participating in web discussions on purpose.

In Russia, this word of web slang has a new meaning: a troll is an employee who is paid to post ingratiating comments in the social media about president Vladimir Putin anonymously and often aggressively.
​​
But what kind of a workplace employs people whose job is said to be to praise Putin’s Russia? Kioski investigated the background of the secret office building in Saint Petersburg that is called “the troll factory” and followed the life in it for three days. A satellite image on Google Maps shows that the troll factory is a fairly large office building.​​A satellite image on Google Maps shows that the troll factory is a fairly large office building.​​

THURSDAY 3.53 PM: WE CALL THE RECRUITER

According to the information revealed by hackers and journalists, the salaries of the employees of the Troll Factory are paid by “Internet Research Agency”, Agentstvo Internet Issledovanii, in Savushkin Street 55.

The company that is funded by Russian businessmen has not commented on the information. The connection of the troll factory with the Kremlin has not been proved but, then again, there is no proof about all the forms of information warfare, in general.

We studied the job advertisements of the Internet Research Agency. On 2 February, there were ten of them on a Russian job website. The company is not looking for “trolls” but, for example, “social media specialists”, “Internet operators”, “content managers”, and “copywriters” for day and night shifts.

The advertisements state that the company wants to recruit people who “can work on the Internet, produce web content to different types of audiences, and rewrite texts”. The monthly salary varies from about 400 euros for regular employees to approximately 660 euros for managers. The job is described as “steady” in the advertisements.

The Internet Research Centre is looking for a Content Manager whose tasks, according to the job advertisement, include writing and moderating news, info material, and analyses.​The Internet Research Centre is looking for a Content Manager whose tasks, according to the job advertisement, include writing and moderating news, info material, and analyses.​

We called the recruiter at the Internet Research Agency and asked for more information about the jobs. The close-lipped woman answering our questions reveals that the copywriter and content manager mostly write about political topics in English.

Much, much more at the link -- VERY definitive:
http://kioski.yle.fi/omat/at-the-origins-of-russian-propaganda

[newthinking]

1. So are there really more "Russian Trolls" than there are western paid social media?

I know this meme is well used. But we have a far larger budget and much more sophisticated apparatus don't you think?

Especially given that most Russian Social media would have to have very good secondary language skills (as in more expensive credentials). For the US? No language skills required.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Just how much money do you think it takes to run an operation like that?

It's much, much less than you think -- FFS even small-medium sized businesses can hire hourly wage workers to spend all day promoting their product online while denigrating a competitor...So "budget" is irrelevant...

[fasttense]

4. Yeah, I agree, the US and corporations do it

Better and more often than Russia ever hoped to. I'll bet even China is more effective at trolling. There is just way more pro-GOP, pro-capitalism, pro-corporate control and pro-China obvious trolling than any amount of pro-Putin crap. In fact, I see more anti-Putin and anti-Russian trolling than any amount of pro-Putin

I think I'll believe what I see.

[uhnope]

2. K&R

[Blue_Tires]

5. This needs to be pinned to the top

So DUers can identify the information war when they see it...

[BainsBane]

6. k&R

[Blue_Tires]

7. ttt