• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    the Russian disinformation strategy

    I’ll never understand why people attribute to the Russian government what was in the obvious best-interests of the Republican Party and the conservative movement.

    If you asked who owns and operates the FOX News Channel, or Sinclair Media, or Clear Channel Radio, or any of the other dozen right-wing propaganda projects, I have to wonder how many people would reflexively insist “Russia” despite all of the money spilling in from the UK, Australia, Canada, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the O&G Industry.

    • bobo@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I’ll never understand why people attribute to the Russian government what was in the obvious best-interests of the Republican Party and the conservative movement.

      Maybe because there was a demonstrated and provable coordinated effort by the Russian government in the 2016 election to get Trump elected? Look up project lakhta. Russian election interference and the efforts of the domestic conservative movement can (and do) exist simultaneously.

      What do you have against attributing to the Russian government actions that are demonstrably attributable to the Russian government?

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        3 months ago

        I’ll be real, I have my suspicions regarding that whole scandal in 2016 because following the election there were like 2-3 days of quiet introspection by the Dems and then they aligned on “the Russians were pushing fake news that tricked everyone!”

        My pet conspiracy theory is that it was already known within the political campaigns that these misinformation campaigns were happening and they chose to at that point publicize them and use that as their scapegoat. Same with the Russian spies they publicly outed that trump spoke with.

        • bobo@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          My pet conspiracy theory is that it was already known within the political campaigns that these misinformation campaigns were happening and they chose to at that point publicize them and use that as their scapegoat. Same with the Russian spies they publicly outed that trump spoke with.

          Your framing is off. It’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s true that it was already known. The FBI investigation of Russian interference began before the election, not after. The investigation was being publicized before the election.

          If you want to nurse a conspiracy theory about it, whatever. But you’re going to appear ignorant when you advance a conspiracy theory without doing the bare minimum of research into the known facts. You’re just creating a fictional narrative based on your “suspicions.” You’re not being “real.” You’re being ignorant.

          • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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            3 months ago

            I called it a conspiracy theory because it’s really just based purely off of observation and gut instinct and not facts. Good to know my gut instinct happened to be right though!

            • bobo@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Your takeaway from my reply is that your instinct was correct? You’re going to make a great conspiracy theorist.

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Because there have been literal articles and reports by the FBI that Russian interference in social media has been a thing since the 2016 election cycle.

      That’s why it’s been attributed to the Russian government. Because the Russian government actually did a ton of stuff.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        there have been literal articles and reports by the FBI that Russian interference

        There have been literal articles and reports by the FBI of domestic white nationalist organizing and domestic financing. Significantly more money and manpower is documented as entirely domestically organized, although a sizeable amount is moving between NATO and other Five Eyes states. We’re talking on the scale of tens of billions moving between domestic financiers - like the Mercers, Thiel, the Kochs, etc - and domestic fascist media/organizing. That dwarfs Russian state interventions. Its orders of magnitude different.

        That’s why it’s been attributed to the Russian government.

        Why do you search for the speck in your neighbor’s eye when you have a plank within your own?