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troll factory 2018-02-20 20:36 UTC
I read another article about how a particular protest and counterprotest in my city that defied explanation were both organized by the troll factory in St. Petersburg. Which is both hilarious and scary. What's scary is how easy it was and - think about it - how easy it will always be.

It's comforting to blame the Russians (and I suppose I do), but when we do that, aren't we setting ourselves up for more? Sure seems like another case of trying to explain post-national events using a nations model.

We won't fix what happened with statescraft (or with facebook/twitter shaming). Right now I don't see how we can fix things with technology alone, either. We - each individually - are going to have to adjust. Do you think we will?

Peter Steiner's one-panel public service announcement from 1993 bears repeating (over and over): On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

Of course, using deception to create or magnify political unrest has been going on for a very long time - what's new is that anyone can do it.

Things are different now, and there's no going back.

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