Read on Twitter
X : Thoughts on Desmond?
Me : Hmmm ... do you mean the whole manipulate the system to avoid giving £45M to an impoverished region - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/24/we-dont-want-to-give-marxists-doe-texts-between-desmond-and-jenrick
X : Yes.
Me : Oh, it's "outrageous" but that's the point.
X : Eh?
Me : Hmmm ... do you mean the whole manipulate the system to avoid giving £45M to an impoverished region - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/24/we-dont-want-to-give-marxists-doe-texts-between-desmond-and-jenrick
X : Yes.
Me : Oh, it's "outrageous" but that's the point.
X : Eh?
Me : Haven't you noticed the whole drip feed of "outrageous" moments recently e.g. relax ban on Grenfell type cladding - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/time-to-relax-ban-on-grenfell-type-cladding-housebuilder-urges-tc8qk297j
X : That's outrageous.
Me : It's supposed to be.
X : That's outrageous.
Me : It's supposed to be.
X : Gov is deliberately provoking outrage?
Me : It has worked well for Trump. Move the cycle fast enough, you capture all the news and distract from what matters.
X : Such as?
Me : BLM, lack of Russia report, need for public inquiry into covid-19 deaths, standards in public life.
Me : It has worked well for Trump. Move the cycle fast enough, you capture all the news and distract from what matters.
X : Such as?
Me : BLM, lack of Russia report, need for public inquiry into covid-19 deaths, standards in public life.
... you manufacture outrage, you have "plausible" reasons for it and take a "reasonable" position, you lead the news hounds on a merry chase and you set the attack dogs (i.e. artificial collectives of social media bots) onto a whole "news is bias" / "news is anti-brexit" tirade.
... ultimately you put chunks of the population and the press into a state of semi-permanent outrage. They're easier to control then.
X : Politics isn't that smart.
Me : Not about "smarts", it's about practice, over a decade's worth - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks
X : Politics isn't that smart.
Me : Not about "smarts", it's about practice, over a decade's worth - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks
... if you really want to go down this rabbit hole then start with the "Institute for Statecraft" - https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/tory-minister-mislead-parliament-over-13738951. Get used to it, we're living in a world of automated radicalisation and the use of outrage as a control technique.
X : Any advice?
Me : Don't get outraged.
X : Any advice?
Me : Don't get outraged.
X : Is there a counter?
Me : No-one seems to have developed an effective defence against it and even small positive efforts that are made (i.e. twitter putting warning notices on messages) are quickly rebuked by many with a vested interest.
Me : No-one seems to have developed an effective defence against it and even small positive efforts that are made (i.e. twitter putting warning notices on messages) are quickly rebuked by many with a vested interest.
X : You almost make this seem like a military exercise.
Me : Hmmm. Do you feel like you're in the midst of a silent war where information, trust, symbols and psychological state are targets?
X : Sort of.
Me : Encouraging. That's called awareness.
Me : Hmmm. Do you feel like you're in the midst of a silent war where information, trust, symbols and psychological state are targets?
X : Sort of.
Me : Encouraging. That's called awareness.
X : Isn't this a bit conspiracy?
Me : The tools and practice have been developed over a decade. It's happening in public view. This is also why we need to see that Russia report i.e. just how bad is the damage. Oh, and don't think for a second think that we're innocent in this.
Me : The tools and practice have been developed over a decade. It's happening in public view. This is also why we need to see that Russia report i.e. just how bad is the damage. Oh, and don't think for a second think that we're innocent in this.
X : Why Russia?
Me : It's not about Russia. The report is just a window into what is happening. Without it, there's a vacuum and both conspiracy and alternative truths love a vacuum. We need cold, hard analysis which hopefully the report can provide.
Me : It's not about Russia. The report is just a window into what is happening. Without it, there's a vacuum and both conspiracy and alternative truths love a vacuum. We need cold, hard analysis which hopefully the report can provide.
X : Where do you think this is heading?
Me : It's not about direction. This is all about outcomes. Using techniques to achieve certain results - win an election, change the conversation etc. There is no "guiding plan". I doubt anyone knows what is the machine we're creating.
Me : It's not about direction. This is all about outcomes. Using techniques to achieve certain results - win an election, change the conversation etc. There is no "guiding plan". I doubt anyone knows what is the machine we're creating.
X : That there's no conspiracy is almost the worst outcome.
Me : What do you think market economics is? Do you think the market has a "purpose" or a "guiding plan"? It certainly has an impact. It's outcome driven but no-one knows what is the "system" that the market is making.
Me : What do you think market economics is? Do you think the market has a "purpose" or a "guiding plan"? It certainly has an impact. It's outcome driven but no-one knows what is the "system" that the market is making.
... i.e. the "market" didn't decide one day to go about damaging the environment. It was the use of techniques in pursuit of other outcomes that did this.
... in the same way, tools of manipulation might give you the desired outcome you want in the public sphere but there can be unintended consequences. It doesn't require conspiracy, it requires self interest.
So, think of this like social externalities of the political methods deployed today in the same way that we have environmental externalities of market forces. We're potentially undermining the very fabric of "society" ... not through conspiracy but short term self interest.
X : What Gov's are involved?
Me : All of them. It's a global silent war e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/20/twitter-blocks-accounts-saudi-arabia-manipulation-effort
Me : All of them. It's a global silent war e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/20/twitter-blocks-accounts-saudi-arabia-manipulation-effort
... and people are trying to find ways to defend against it. But, we're still learning how to do this -> A New Law Makes Bots Identify Themselves— https://www.wired.com/story/law-makes-bots-identify-themselves/
Excellent thread by @carljackmiller (H/T @aaaaiiiieeeeeee ) -> "The information that wants to find you usually isn't the information you want to find" - https://twitter.com/carljackmiller/status/1185881602712322048
X : Is this a recent thing?
Me : No. I started noticing the behaviour in 2014, though I was skeptical that anyone would be deliberately using it - https://twitter.com/swardley/status/499173807794704384 - however, I was a numpty.
Me : No. I started noticing the behaviour in 2014, though I was skeptical that anyone would be deliberately using it - https://twitter.com/swardley/status/499173807794704384 - however, I was a numpty.
