HuffPo - Bernie Sanders' Campaign Faced A Fake News Tsunami. Where Did It Come From?

[TomCADem]

Going into the 2018 midterms, what is the likelihood that trolls will go into liberal sites and start threads designed to distract from the facist Trump regime in order to divide the invigorated left.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58c34d97e4b0ed71826cdb36/amp

WASHINGTON ― Last June, John Mattes started noticing something coursing like a virus through the Facebook page he helped administer for Bernie Sanders fans in San Diego. People with no apparent ties to California were friending the page and sharing links from unfamiliar sites full of anti-Hillary Clinton propaganda.

The stories they posted weren’t the normal complaints he was used to seeing as the Vermont senator and the former secretary of state fought out the Democratic presidential primary. These stories alleged that Clinton had murdered her political opponents and used body doubles.

Mattes, 66, had been a television reporter and Senate investigator in previous lives. He put his expertise in unmasking fraudsters to work. At first, he suspected that the sites were created by the old Clinton haters from the ‘90s ― what Hillary Clinton had dubbed “the vast right-wing conspiracy.”

But when Mattes started tracking down the sites’ domain registrations, the trail led to Macedonia and Albania. In mid-September, he emailed a few of his private investigator friends with a list of the sites. “Very creepy and i do not think Koch brothers,” he wrote.

[WomenRising2017]

1. kick for a much needed reminder

[Warpy]

2. Who benefits from dividing the Democratic Party

so that it won't be able to take Congress in 2018?

There's your answer, and it's not the Republicans this time. It's deeper.

[elleng]

3. Feels like it's caught on here,

kind of like shingles (but worse.)

[zentrum]

5. I know what you mean.

I've had the same thought.

[democrank]

6. Indeed.

Low post numbers attaching like barnacles to and opposing any pro-Bernie thread.

[synergie]

9. I guess you're not looking at the low post numbers posting those ludicrously

over the top ridiculous "thanks be to Bernie" threads.

[calimary]

4. I hope the awareness of this spreads far and wide.

[iamthebandfanman]

7. paid right wingers

are everywhere ...

even on DU lurking about.. causing division ...

we know nations practice this tactic , i dont know why its so far fetched to think political parties in the united states use the same methods of disinformation.

[synergie]

11. The pushback you're seeing is from the entities spreading the division, discord and disinformation.

[duncang]

12. Yep

We know russia had a hand in the on-line attacks. But also dipshit donnie hired a on-line public opinion reputation company for ? reason. How much of that was the use of paid trolls. Some of the on-line reputation companies do pretty much the same thing. Post as consumers to boost a brand reputation. Dipshit is already in campaign mode. His first quarter this year he has spent almost all of his campaign funds. Some may be just the normal skimming of the top like he did during the campaign. But is he still using that company and are they doing part of the trolling?

[SunSeeker]

8. K & R

[Ilsa]

13. I leave any thread bashing HRC or BS alone.

I'm not going to engage with them and the divisive BS. Let the threads sink. Of course, the trolls like keeping them current.

[klook]

14. Very interesting information. "Truthiness" is seductive.

The "Bernie Bro" sock puppets were very effective at inflaming passions among Democrats and motivating many to engage in circular firing squads, all to the benefit of the Right.

The way the spammers, bots, and trolls built on legitimate and semi-legitimate messaging meshed well with RT's mix of stories that appeal to progressives and propaganda that benefits the Putin regime.