An oldie-but-goodie: Astroturfed Teabaggers PAID TO TROLL liberals online

[UrbScotty]

. . . The trainer, Austin James, was instructing Tea Party members on how to "manipulate the medium". This is what he told them:

"Here’s what I do. I get on Amazon; I type in "Liberal Books". I go through and I say "one star, one star, one star". The flipside is you go to a conservative/ libertarian whatever, go to their products and give them five stars. ... This is where your kids get information: Rotten Tomatoes, Flixster. These are places where you can rate movies. So when you type in "Movies on Healthcare", I don’t want Michael Moore’s to come up, so I always give it bad ratings. I spend about 30 minutes a day, just click, click, click, click. ... If there’s a place to comment, a place to rate, a place to share information, you have to do it. That’s how you control the online dialogue and give our ideas a fighting chance."

Over 75% of the funding for American Majority, which hosted this training session, comes from the Sam Adams Alliance. In 2008, the year in which American Majority was founded, 88% of the alliance’s money came from a single donation, of $3.7m(13). A group which trains rightwing libertarians to distort online democratic processes, in other words, was set up with funding from a person or company with a very large wallet.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/29/932182/-EXPOSED-Astroturfed-Teabaggers-PAID-TO-TROLL-liberals-online-to-enforce-corporate-propaganda

Always good to remember that they're out there - so be careful.

[xmas74]

1. People have far too much time on their hands.

With that much time to do silly crap you'd think they'd have time to get out of the basement and find a job.

[Populist_Prole]

2. True. You can tell when someone's being a shill

For one thing, it seems they do one of two things: Either over the top invective designed to sound stalwart and "tough", or a little too prosaic or lacking in passion, yet the amount of posts belie their supposed objectivity. That brings me to the other sign: They are like rubber stamps on forums and comments sections as they do their "gish gallop" and constantly one-up other posters, always trying to get the last word, even if they have to post when most people are in bed and can't respond. I guess they think that a casual reader will come away with the opinion the troll is right.

[xmas74]

5. I can only hope that they are paid well for all that time

and that they are paying their taxes.

Who wants to bet they don't pay taxes on what they earn?

[Thinkingabout]

3. It is fun to troll the libertarian, TP, and conserative sites. The truth hurts them a lot. It is

cognitive dissonance, they keep repeating their story long enough and hard enough, send their candidates out for debates so they can have the truth told to them so everyone can see.

[siligut]

4. Most times it is obvious, but sometimes it isn't

I am acutely aware of agenda based activity. There are some very specific techniques that can be used to influence thought and behavior. The subtle ones are dangerous/most effective.

[MillennialDem]

6. how do i get paid to do this? ill do a few then go rogue

[sigmasix]

7. they are in DU too

Most all of the so-called controversies from the last couple months, including the so-called NSA scandal. I'm tired of watching Teabaggers disuised as DU members lie about President Obama's patriotism and character. Paid teabagger trolls have been working overtime to try to get thier lies about the POTUS to be seen as a DU product. Because teabaggers know that most Americans dont trust them to be truthful or truth-seeking, they lie about thier true affiliations and racist ideology. If you aren't a teabagger in disguise on DU this isnt about you- but most honest DU members know who the Teabagging cowards in disguise are~ Just look for the ODS excuses and hyperbole about the president's "true objective to spy on every American all the time".
Makes you wonder what price teabaggers charge to commit these acts of treason.

[jaysunb]

10. +1 Good post n/t

[sibelian]

8. It's a fucking STUPID idea.

Who forms their opinions on content from website ratings? Pf.

[think]

9. total harmonic distortion