Inside Russia's Troll Factory: Fake Content at a Rapid Pace (NYT)

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/world/europe/russia-troll-factory.html
Inside the Russian Troll Factory: Zombies and a Breakneck Pace
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR | FEB. 18, 2018

MOSCOW — At first, new recruits to the Internet Research Agency, the notorious Russian troll factory, were thrilled by the better-than-average salaries they earned simply for posting on the internet. But one says he eventually realized that the work hid a darker reality: both they and their audience were meant to turn into zombies.

“They were just giving me money for writing,” said the former troll, a St. Petersburg resident who wanted to get into marketing or journalism but was drawn by the hard-to-match $1,400 weekly paycheck. “I was much younger and did not think about the moral side. I simply wrote because I loved writing. I was not trying to change the world.”

On Friday, the United States Department of Justice accused the Internet Research Agency and its senior employees of working illegally to meddle in the 2016 American presidential election, indicting 13 Russians and the companies linked to it.

In recent interviews conducted before the indictments, two former trolls spoke about their experiences. Neither man wanted his full name used, citing the threats and intimidation others have been subjected to for speaking out.

[OhNo-Really]

1. This is third troll story. Here are the other 2. all under one roof

A Professional Russian Troll, who worked for Internet Research Agency named in Mr. Mueller's recent Indictment news, tells how the troll teams formula worked.

Reported by Radio Free Europe 2015
https://www.rferl.org/a/how-to-guide-russian-trolling-trolls/26919999.html

The interview is a fascinating read.

I have paraphrased one short version of the interview here:

HERE IS HOW THE INTERNET RESEARCH AGENCY TROLL FACTORY TEAM WORKS


Troll Disinformation Procedure Short Version:

1. Propaganada Department posts propaganda article that will be posted on selected public forums.

2. A 3-Member Troll team goes to each listed forum site and works the Formula:

2.a. Troll number one attacks the article/writer;
2.b. Troll number two supports writer/article and includes supporting picture/graphic; and
2.c. Troll number 3 also support propaganda with a link to a supporting propaganda article.

TRIPLE TEAM TROLL FORMULA Longer version

The former Russian troll spells out exactly how the trolls worked in tandem to sway public opinion.

Quote from the interview:

Someone in another Internet Research department

...."would write something on the forum -- some kind of news -- and our task was to comment on it.

We did it by dividing into teams of three.

One of us would be the "villain," the person who disagrees with the forum and criticizes the authorities, in order to bring a feeling of authenticity to what we're doing.

The other two enter into a debate with him -- "No, you're not right; everything here is totally correct."

One of them should provide some kind of graphic or image that fits in the context, and

the other has to post a link to some content that supports his argument. You see?

Villain, picture, link"

Very interesting read, written way back in 2015!

USA knew about the Russian indicted troll factory in 2015.


Also in 2015, Dutch intelligence alerted US FBI to Russian "Cozy Bear" hacking of Democratic National Committee during Hillary Clinton campaign
https://www.metro.us/news/the-big-stories/danish-spies-shared-intel-russian-cozy-bear

DonViego reported another Russian Troll speaking out recently as well. That is two so far!

A former Russian troll speaks: 'It was like being in Orwell's world' [View all]
By Anton Troianovski February 17 at 7:10 PM
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10251440

[Stargleamer]

2. This is going on right now. . .

I see several trolls who fit this pattern at ted lieu's twitter posts

[OhNo-Really]

3. It helps to know their modus operandi