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Fake people on forums? "astroturfing"

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A

Atreides

Member
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/feb/23/need-to-protect-internet-from-astroturfing?CMP=twt_gu

The tobacco industry does it, the US Air Force clearly wants to ... astroturfing – the use of sophisticated software to drown out real people on web forums – is on the rise. How do we stop it?
Click to expand...
After I wrote about online astroturfing in December, I was contacted by a whistleblower. He was part of a commercial team employed to infest internet forums and comment threads on behalf of corporate clients, promoting their causes and arguing with anyone who opposed them.
Click to expand...
• Companies now use "persona management software", which multiplies the efforts of each astroturfer, creating the impression that there's major support for what a corporation or government is trying to do.

• This software creates all the online furniture a real person would possess: a name, email accounts, web pages and social media. In other words, it automatically generates what look like authentic profiles, making it hard to tell the difference between a virtual robot and a real commentator.

• Fake accounts can be kept updated by automatically reposting or linking to content generated elsewhere, reinforcing the impression that the account holders are real and active.

• Human astroturfers can then be assigned these "pre-aged" accounts to create a back story, suggesting that they've been busy linking and retweeting for months. No one would suspect that they came onto the scene for the first time a moment ago, for the sole purpose of attacking an article on climate science or arguing against new controls on salt in junk food.

• With some clever use of social media, astroturfers can, in the security firm's words, "make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise … There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to fictitious personas."
Click to expand...

Perhaps the most disturbing revelation is this. The US Air Force has been tendering for companies to supply it with persona management software, which will perform the following tasks:
Click to expand...
 
M

Meadows

Banned
pfft, fake

hey, you know what guyz, the air force is really radical and really great, long live america broz
 
B

Borgnine

MBA in pussy licensing and rights management
Wow sounds a LOT like Onlive except you still need a fancy PC and to download stuff. I am loving OnLive as I can get crazy sales better than STEAM even like Trine for $2.50 or World Of Goo $4.99 or AAA Hits like Batman, Borderlands, Homefront etc on the MicroConsole..

Sounds like steam is worried about OnLive IMO.
 
C

Crovax33

Member
I know someone who did this for Microsoft in the heyday of the red rings. It blew me away at the time but it's starting to make more and more sense right now. Forums drive a lot of the public sentiment on gaming news sites.
 
R

Rapstah

Member
I seriously doubt there's any way to make these look in any way real, from what I've seen of forum spam bots. I guess if you limited it to having faked people referring to news stories and commenting "LOL" you could get an authentic enough thing.

EDIT:

Londa was more sophisticated than I thought.
Click to expand...
"Was"? I thought he/she/it was still active.
 
T

theignoramus

Member
He was part of a commercial team employed to infest internet forums and comment threads on behalf of corporate clients, promoting their causes and arguing with anyone who opposed them.
Click to expand...
bwahaha, you know these type of fuckers are in the gaming section.
 
R

ronito

Member
I've seen at this at a few clients. In fact one medical company had a team of well over a dozen people that sole job was to "keep internet presence". In essence astroturfing. It's FAR more prevalent than people think.
 
B

besada

Banned
I admit it. I'm a bought-and-payed-for agent of the vatgrown meat and breast milk ice cream industries.
 
M

Mindlog

Member
I have no doubt that LG is probably behind this. I wish LG would focus on improving their product instead of getting their 'fans' to spam up our forums.

Samsung has a much better product lineup and I don't have to worry about the quality. Samsung already makes several unique net gadgets.
 
P

Plasmid

Member
I think they did this in an episode on the FX original hit It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, thats where my avatar is from, you guys should check out seasons 1-6 now available on Blu-Ray!
 
K

Koomaster

Member
People have suspected/known this kind of thing has been going on for a long while now. Plus you can't really change anyone's beliefs over the internet anyway. People are too strong willed and set in their ways to really be swayed by whatever fake persona is on the other side of the computer screen. So let's all sit back and watch My Little Pony episodes and not think about something so ridiculous.
 
F

FairyD

Member
This message is for the professional forum posters.

How do I become one?? I would love to get paid to do this shit.

Mcdonald's coffee is free for a limited time only. See I can do that shit, pay me!!!
 
D

DeadRockstar

Member
ronito said:
I've seen at this at a few clients. In fact one medical company had a team of well over a dozen people that sole job was to "keep internet presence". In essence astroturfing. It's FAR more prevalent than people think.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was about to say this is old news really, then I realised I work in marketing and as such am exposed these tactics more than other people. What a shady place the real world is.
 
C

Chichikov

Member
CaptYamato said:
This explains all the prise for Winter's Bone.
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You shut your dirty little mouth, with WINTER’S BONE, Debra Granik has crafted a classic detective story, a nail-biting thriller and an unbelievably touching family drama, all in one film . It’s everything film is about. It’s everything independent film is about. And it’s everything I go to the movies for.

But seriously, movie of the year.

p.s.
These threads always devolve into reverse troll fests -
"I know this forum where they found out all the iPhone fans had Apple IPs".
"I used to get paid by Nintendo to trash Sonic".
etc. etc. etc.
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Why can't they just develop a brainwashed nerd army that will pay extra for their products and defend them for free on every Internet forum like Apple?
 
T

Tony Rocky Horror

Member
Chichikov said:
You shut your dirty little mouth, with WINTER’S BONE, Debra Granik has crafted a classic detective story, a nail-biting thriller and an unbelievably touching family drama, all in one film . It’s everything film is about. It’s everything independent film is about. And it’s everything I go to the movies for.

But seriously, movie of the year.
Click to expand...
See, another one.
 
I

itxaka

Defeatist
Borgnine said:
Wow sounds a LOT like Onlive except you still need a fancy PC and to download stuff. I am loving OnLive as I can get crazy sales better than STEAM even like Trine for $2.50 or World Of Goo $4.99 or AAA Hits like Batman, Borderlands, Homefront etc on the MicroConsole..

Sounds like steam is worried about OnLive IMO.
Click to expand...


I lost it because there was a post almost exactly like this in the gaming section lol
 
D

Dabanton

Member
Not surprising at all i mean they even have countries doing it...

On here i would not be surprised to see some members on the gaming side being brought and paid for it would explain why some gamers are so 'passionate' about their favored company.

Must be nice work if you can get it.
 
C

CF_Fighter

Member
Hey there fellow gamers, I know I'm not the only one excited for the next installment in the Uncharted franchise. I'm even more excited to play it from the comfort of my new Klaussner couch that I picked up at Ray's Couch-a-torium on the corner of Grover and S. 52nd Streets in Omaha, NB.
 
S

Steelrain

Member
Man the Guardian sure is a top level organization. I don't read the news too much but when I do I make sure the Guardian is my source for information. What about you radical dudes? Is the Guardian 1337?
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
This is where all those stupid Yahoo comments are from.

Should be illegal.

Although I'm guessing someone has to make each post, which means it could be stopped with CAPTCHA!
 
S

StuKen

Member
It's the only thing that can explain the corporate zealots willing to hand over rights for gamerscore and psn trophys over on the gaming side.
 
R

Rapstah

Member
Ether_Snake said:
This is where all those stupid Yahoo comments are from.

Should be illegal.
Click to expand...
Not to mention those stupid-ass Digg and Kotaku comments, god damn it. I own neither of those copyrights.
 
T

thomaser

Member
Someone was banned for this a few years back in the gaming forum. I don't remember which company he was from, though.
 
W

Wiseblade

Member
While I have no doubt about the authenticity of the claims in the OP, I don't think there are many professional sockpuppets on GAF. I used to think everyone was being moneyhatted to promote games when I saw how much effort went into making OPs and supporting GAF sub-communities, but after making my OT I see now that no company needs to pay people to do that when they're guaranteed to have fans willing to do it for free.

I sure it's a much more popular in industries less likely to instill brand loyalty though.
 
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