• Welcome to the Internet Infidels Discussion Board.

Massively Popular Facebook Site "I Love America" Is Actually A Ukrainian Propaganda Site

 
 
 
ZiprHead

ZiprHead

Looney Running The Asylum
Staff member
Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
46,999
Location
Frozen in Michigan
Gender
Old Fart
Basic Beliefs
Don't be a dick.
https://www.facebook.com/Love444America/

This site has more than a million followers. It regularly publishes memes and stories originally generated by the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA). They are spreading divisive propaganda and American right-wingers are lapping it up.

The "I Love America" Facebook page boasts 1.1 million fans, with viral content that reaches more Facebook users than some of the largest media outlets in the United States. A typical post is a celebration of the U.S. military and patriotism.

There are lots of references to "our country" and "our military." Not mentioned is that the page is managed by ten people based in Ukraine. (There is also one manager from Kazakhstan, one from France, and one from the United States.) A website that was previously linked in the "About" section of the "I Love America" page is registered to Andriy Zyuzikov, an online strategist from the Ukrainian city of Odessa.

The "I Love America" page regularly recycles memes used by the Internet Research Agency, the Russian entity that set up phony Facebook pages to benefit Trump in advance of the 2016 election.

While "I Love America," which was established in March 2017, focuses on patriotism, in recent weeks it has used its extraordinary reach to push pro-Trump propaganda.
Click to expand...

https://popular.info/p/massive-i-love-america-facebook-page

This is the shit real Americans are up against.
 
Well, that and the fact that no matter how many times I have explained to friends of mine--people I actually know irl and are not just friends of friends--that a particular style of post is a marketing scam (or worse) they just keep doing the next one that comes along. One of my friends, in particular, can't stop sharing the "I bet none of you will share this post about cancer/homeless/veterans/dog abuse/Jesus/America" etc. I keep telling her that anytime someone tries to get you to share something it is clearly a marketing scam, but she just keeps sharing them. And she plays every "game" and spreads every "If you know what this easily recognizable thing/trivia is from your childhood I'll be able to guess your age" post and basically every single thing that is designed to get you to give up all of your personal information.

I've explained to her at least a dozen times exactly how this or that scam works and she always says, "Oh, ok, wow! I didn't know that. I won't do it again, thanks" and then two days later, it's her falling for the face recognition scam or sharing another "Can you believe the way they treated this poor child. I bet your friends won't share..." post.

It's maddening.
 
You just posted that so I'd quote it. ;)

Sadly, it seems as if the book is already written. People can't change their behavior, aren't going to (or even want to?) learn, and we have to live with whatever the consequences are. These people are getting trolled, and even when the trolling was exposed, they continue to allowed to be trolled.
 
Well, if you're the Russian Government and you can get someone like Trump elected as president of your strongest enemy, then you've won a major battle in the Cold War.

And who ever said joe and jane sixpack were very bright anyway?
 
So, what's the problem ? Is it illegal ? Is it against Facebook terms of use ? Should I be upset, concerned or otherwise give a shit ?
 
TSwizzle said:
So, what's the problem ? Is it illegal ? Is it against Facebook terms of use ? Should I be upset, concerned or otherwise give a shit ?
Click to expand...

About the government of your country being taken over by a hostile foreign power? No, of course not, as long as they don't breach the Facebook terms of use, everything's fine. :rolleyes:
 
TSwizzle said:
So, what's the problem ? Is it illegal ? Is it against Facebook terms of use ? Should I be upset, concerned or otherwise give a shit ?
Click to expand...

Considering that the Heartland Institute and Heritage Foundation have been astroturfing side by side with the IRA mobsters I reckon you ought to cheer; or maybe be a little upset that Scooby and the gang pulled the mask of the guys running this one facebook page.
 
scombrid said:
TSwizzle said:
So, what's the problem ? Is it illegal ? Is it against Facebook terms of use ? Should I be upset, concerned or otherwise give a shit ?
Click to expand...

Considering that the Heartland Institute and Heritage Foundation have been astroturfing side by side with the IRA mobsters I reckon you ought to cheer; or maybe be a little upset that Scooby and the gang pulled the mask of the guys running this one facebook page.
Click to expand...

I do not know what to make of this gibberish. Was this supposed to raise me above indifference ?

"astroturfing" ?
 
Fake grass-roots movements and organizations. Accounts that look like personal accounts but that are really run by a shadow group.
 
scombrid said:
Fake grass-roots movements and organizations. Accounts that look like personal accounts but that are really run by a shadow group.
Click to expand...

I thought fake accounts were against the Facebook terms of use ? And didn't Facebook (Zuckerberg?) say they were clamping down on this sort of thing ? Why are they allowed to remain active ? :shrug:
 
TSwizzle said:
Why are they allowed to remain active ? :shrug:
Click to expand...

Same reason Youtube protects scammers like Dutchsinse by shutting down the debunkers that counter his claims. His bullshit generates clicks and revenue. Look at the facebook pages of hyper-partisans, especially the retired guys. They post-share as much in a day as a dedicated bot and they aren't the least bit discerning.
 
scombrid said:
TSwizzle said:
Why are they allowed to remain active ? :shrug:
Click to expand...

Same reason Youtube protects scammers like Dutchsinse by shutting down the debunkers that counter his claims. His bullshit generates clicks and revenue. Look at the facebook pages of hyper-partisans, especially the retired guys. They post-share as much in a day as a dedicated bot and they aren't the least bit discerning.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm out of the loop but I don't know who Dutchsinse is. I did a quick google search and it appears to have something to do with earthquakes ? What's your beef with them/it ? Same goes for Facebook, I have managed to get through my life without getting involved with Facebook so I honestly don't know too much about it other than I seem to remember they were supposed to be clamping down on "fake news" stuff. I think you give too much attention to these things. And why do you care how much post sharing someone does ? I don't get that.
 
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-23/president-trump-ukraine-election-facebook

The attention to the site’s roots had a quick effect: Facebook deleted the various pages within hours of Popular Information’s reporting (and shortly after the initial version of this post went live). Explained Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne, “We are removing these Pages for violating our policies against spam and fake accounts, and are continuing to investigate for any further violations.”

According to the company, the pages were stricken for violating Facebook’s rules against spam and fake accounts. No evidence has been turned up yet linking the pages to any governments, although the investigation is continuing into that and into possible “coordinated inauthentic behavior” — the sort of thing Russian entities engaged in during the 2016 campaign.
Click to expand...
 
The Internet really is a propagandist's dream. There's always been misinformation broadcast by nations to the citizens of their adversaries, at least since the development of the printing press, but up until very recently, the target audience almost always knew the source of the tales that were being spun, and tended to mainly respond with laughter rather than acceptance of what they were being told.

But on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog. Or an operative of a foreign power. And lots of people, particularly the older people who grew up before the Internet (and who are currently in most of the positions of influence in society) are astonishingly trusting of things they see online.

Facebook has taken down the page in question, but doubtless there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of similar pages still active; And doubtless the people behind the now closed page will go on to create more pages to replace the one that has been deleted.
 
bilby said:
The Internet really is a propagandist's dream. There's always been misinformation broadcast by nations to the citizens of their adversaries, at least since the development of the printing press, but up until very recently, the target audience almost always knew the source of the tales that were being spun, and tended to mainly respond with laughter rather than acceptance of what they were being told.

But on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog. Or an operative of a foreign power. And lots of people, particularly the older people who grew up before the Internet (and who are currently in most of the positions of influence in society) are astonishingly trusting of things they see online.

Facebook has taken down the page in question, but doubtless there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of similar pages still active; And doubtless the people behind the now closed page will go on to create more pages to replace the one that has been deleted.
Click to expand...

Have you seen those fake pictures of Walmart shoppers? Have you seen those fake pictures of cakes that were made all wrong? People who think those pictures are real are the same people who love these fake sites. Their critical thinking is lacking.
 
The problem is that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the crap that the Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, Ukrainians, etc. post on the internet and the crap that Fox News, the Heartland Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the AEI, the RNC, etc. dream up to satisfy the need of conservatives to believe the basic lie at the very heart of their ideology, that their beloved status quo isn't responsible for the vast majority of society's problems when it obviously is.
 
SimpleDon said:
The problem is that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the crap that the Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, Ukrainians, etc. post on the internet and the crap that Fox News, the Heartland Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the AEI, the RNC, etc. dream up to satisfy the need of conservatives to believe the basic lie at the very heart of their ideology, that their beloved status quo isn't responsible for the vast majority of society's problems when it obviously is.
Click to expand...

Right-wingers believe in democracy so long as they get to win the election. If they lose there's something wrong with democracy. They're authoritarian and so their love of Russia and hatred of liberal democrats.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom