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The Gentleperson’s Guide to Forum Spies ronaldthomaswest.com/2017/08/21/the-gentlepersons-guide-to-forum-spies/

2805 sats \ 14 comments \ @Coyote_Cosmico 29 Sep culture

A pretty cool and in-depth write up I stumbled across yesterday about disinformation techniques.

It says some of this is from COINTELPRO but I have no idea if that's really the case.

At any rate, the content is fascinating and spooky as hell (pun intended).

Preview of the contents:

1. COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
2. Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
3. Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
4. How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
5. Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Don't go using any of this for evil! Feels like an "Anarchist's Cookbook" for the information age -- for educational & entertainment purposes only ;)

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59 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 29 Sep

Very interesting. It seems like it would be tougher to do here, but not impossible. Replies don't automatically elevate a post. We also seem like a peace loving bunch. Most of the lunatics get outlawed quickly. Maybe I'm being naive, though.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 30 Sep

There's a lot below the "forum sliding" bits. A lot of it reads like a playbook for modern politics, which is a little depressing. I agree though, SN is a pretty healthy and robust space for discussion so a lot of the intentional nonsense techniques wouldn't get much traction here.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @Malachi17T 30 Sep

Don't forget about the classic: Accusing someone, anyone, or everyone, of being Mossad. That's classic.

21 sats \ 2 replies \ @Satosora 29 Sep

I wonder if any of these topics have been used on SN to skew a narrative?

150 sats \ 1 reply \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 29 Sep

I bet many of these "tactics" could creep into a discussion unintentionally by bad faith debaters, or as a result of the normal messy back and forth of internet arguments.

"Don't attribute to malice what you can attribute to incompetence" sort of thing.

I had to remind myself when reading it to not to become too paranoid.

But... Yeah. Maybe (probably?) there are people doing some of this intentionally.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 29 Sep

I guess the people using different accounts and anons are doing this?

21 sats \ 7 replies \ @ninjagrandma65 29 Sep

Honestly this post is probably one of those posts....... anyway, maybe don't use stacker news to promote violence, and you should be ok.

Also since this is the forum used by much of a certain bitcoin cult...... yes. they're out to get you. the whole world is out to get you. absolutely. otherwise, if you didn't think that, how would you ever be a cult?

10 sats \ 6 replies \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 30 Sep

21 sats \ 5 replies \ @ninjagrandma65 30 Sep

That entire piece is about being a spy on people plotting violence. And.... honestly that seems fair. All's fair in love and war, so if you're going to fair, don't cry if others try to prevent you from committing violence, you know? Seems fair. I'm not sure it really applies to folks on this forum. I haven't exactly seen anyone trying to stir up violence. So it just seems to me that it's probably not something everyone here needs to worry about. Although it is interesting. And god knows I've seen bitcoiners doing it to other bitcoiners in some forums, which is interesting.

But one of the marks of a cult is thinking you are persecuted and under siege and everyone is out to get there. You might say stuff like "This is the last based place in the country" or some dumb shit like that. Koolaid drinkers tend to see the entire world as a threat. And.... THAT I see plenty of around these parts. If you join the bitcoin cult, you've lost the bitcoin plot.

110 sats \ 1 reply \ @Coyote_Cosmico OP 30 Sep

Just found it interesting and thought I'd share it, that's all.

I'm not really one of the paranoid ones, though I know what you mean there are some of those here. It seemed odd to me at first too but I've began to come around to the idea of doing more to protect my privacy just on principle.

Have a good one ✌️

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ninjagrandma65 30 Sep

There is genuinely a LOT going on in bitcoin. But a lot of the government folks will literally tell you they are. Then you have the retired NSA folks doing research for the VCs. You've got business espionage. Honestly, there is a lot going on. But that said, paranoia is something else. Something that will be used against you.

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 30 Sep

If you believe Bitcoin is not a huge threat to the legacy fiat powers- ie politicians and bankers then you do not understand Bitcoin.

While Bitcoin is a peaceful revolution it is one that challenges the core power of the state- its fiat monetary issuance and control of capital and the power and wealth of the fiat bankers.

If you think Bitcoin groups will not be and are not being infiltrated by state surveillance agencies operatives you are tragically naive.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @ninjagrandma65 30 Sep

Here's the thing though. Paranoia can be developed as a weapon. An agent can come in, make it clear they are a spook, then disappear. Then a week or month later, someone else can come in and say something. Little papercuts. And next thing you know, you're ranting and raving about spooks and looking crazy, and honestly are being driven a little bit crazy. I could see this being a very effective tactic to completely discredit someone, but also make them so paranoid they are ineffective.

While you can never know if someone is a spook or not, there ARE people in your life that you can KNOW are not. That crazy sweet nutty low-IQ lady down the street next to your parents since you were a kid. The child playing soccer in the street. These folks are your grounding.

The rest, don't guess too hard. It would only be used against you. They might be, they might not. And don't plot violence. ;) Easy enough.

I have no doubt there are government folks in bitcoin. Many are easy to see. Many will just tell you. Many are just working for VCs. There's a lot more besides. There's a hell of a lot going on in bitcoin. But paranoia is not going to help you.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 30 Sep

Did you even read the linked article? https://ronaldthomaswest.com/2017/08/21/the-gentlepersons-guide-to-forum-spies/

Acknowledging that there will probably be social media operatives infiltrating this group with the intention of disruption is not paranoia.

It is simply acknowledging reality- to deny that reality is not going to help you...instead it will make you far more vulnerable to their strategies.