Wikileaks founder Julian Assange weighed in on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s “13 Russian troll” indictment noting that the Russians bots from The Internet Research Agency, spent thousands of dollars on Facebook ads to grow their audiences…something that is very common and encouraged by Facebook.
Mueller "troll farm" indictment today– explicitly states no collusion– does not mention WikiLeaks – states trolls intent to support Trump & Sanders, oppose Clinton, Cruz– states trolls intent on anti-Trump AND pro-Trump rallies post electionhttps://t.co/uMxBAwOeOY
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 16, 2018
This is how Facebook makes money, and how groups build an audience, which can then be sold to advertisers who wish to target such groups.
In other words, the IRA was and is operating a run-of-the-mill marketing and social media spam business, not a “sow American discord” operation.
Via The Gateway Pundit…
The Russian ads mentioned in Mueller’s indictment were already released by the House Intelligence Committee in November 2017.
Facebook previously announced the Russian ads comprised .004% of their advertising during the election.
Assange tweeted all this out on Friday, but of course the mainstream media failed to note any of this while reporting its propaganda to those who naively listen and believe in the nonsense (courtesy The Gateway Pundit)…
Buried in the Mueller astro-turfing indictment is something that we have long suspected. The Internet Research Agency’s “troll farm” is geared to develop audience in socially active communities (e.g through aligned memes), in order to spam them on behalf of anyone willing to pay: pic.twitter.com/sms0YAKB3j
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 18, 2018
Julian Assange: Buried in the Mueller astro-turfing indictment is something that we have long suspected. The Internet Research Agency’s “troll farm” is geared to develop audience in socially active communities (e.g through aligned memes), in order to spam them on behalf of anyone willing to pay.
Before advertising networks can advertise they must build audience. How much of IRA’s activities were simply trying to build audience by gaining followers using tweets and memes likely to be shared in those communities?
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 18, 2018
Julian Assange: Before advertising networks can advertise they must build audience. How much of IRA’s activities were simply trying to build audience by gaining followers using tweets and memes likely to be shared in those communities?
IRA allegedly also ran kitten appreciation groups. Are we also to believe that these kittens were also a plot to divide America? To not distinguish between audience building and customer advertising payload is sketchy.
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 18, 2018
Julian Assange: IRA allegedly also ran kitten appreciation groups. Are we also to believe that these kittens were also a plot to divide America? To not distinguish between audience building and customer advertising payload is sketchy.
The US has 320 million people with a trillion dollar media and cultural sector that employees over a million people. I do not assess that it is possible whatsoever to divide America by trying to “heighten the differences” with a hundred trolls.
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 18, 2018
Julian Assange: The US has 320 million people with a trillion dollar media and cultural sector that employees over a million people. I do not assess that it is possible whatsoever to divide America by trying to “heighten the differences” with a hundred trolls.
Re-enforcing audience bias is exactly what Facebook & Google have been doing at a vast scale by algorithmically preying on people’s existing biases to increase engagement. In a more traditional manner, FOX, MSNBC, CNN, NYTimes, WaPO etc, are doing the same thing.
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 18, 2018
Julian Assange: Re-enforcing audience bias is exactly what Facebook & Google have been doing at a vast scale by algorithmically preying on people’s existing biases to increase engagement. In a more traditional manner, FOX, MSNBC, CNN, NYTimes, WaPO etc, are doing the same thing.
Regardless of whether IRA’s activities were audience building through pandering to communities or whether a hare-brained Russian government plan to “heighten the differences” existed, its activities are clearly strategically insignificant compared to the other forces at play.
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) February 18, 2018
Julian Assange: Regardless of whether IRA’s activities were audience building through pandering to communities or whether a hare-brained Russian government plan to “heighten the differences” existed, its activities are clearly strategically insignificant compared to the other forces at play.
Jimmy Dore did catch on to Assange’s explanation as to what exactly was happening at IRA’s HQ in St, Petersburg, which can be summed up as just another social media spam business, which had the misfortune of operating in Russia at a time when American swamp creatures are trying to find any scintilla of evidence to demonize Russia, and drag on a falling apart “Trump-Russia” collusion investigation.
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