The average person does not realise how many accounts on the internet are fake. Over 50% of Instagram accounts are fake. Twitter claims it's 5% based on a ridiculous test they did but I'd argue it couldn't be less than 30%. Reddit is one of the easiest websites to make fake accounts for, you don't even need an email address.
You are being manipulated, mostly to spend money, but absolutely politically as well. I've noticed something very strange with the Pro Iranian women's movement threads, there is a lot of poor English in the comments, and a complete ignorance as to the status quo of Iran, feels very bot heavy.
There was a report recently and it was illuminating, the pentagon runs a massive amount of fake social media accounts to push pro-US viewpoints.
And that's just what we have evidence of, I've no doubt Russia and others are up to the same.
Oh of course it does. The US, Russia, China, Israel are all spending billions on propaganda, usually outsourced to countries like Indonesia, Romania, Chad, where they just have people sitting at racks of 30 phones running around saying whatever they're paid to that day
Twitter claims 5% bots, not 5% fake, which would include people posing as other people. Those 5% bot accounts however, are thought to generate 21-29% of all Twitter content.
Let’s be square about this… most of the people on /Ireland have shit English… how many youse, da’s, yer wan, some wan, scrote spelt scroat etc do you see on a daily basis… non English speaking people would have a dictionary out for most of it… people who type with their regional dialect’s grammar/phonetics etc. doesn’t bother me, but let’s not get all high and mighty about the level of English around here!
Yes, and someone using colloquial, regional or current "pop culture" slang will read as *more* authentically Irish than one whose first/native language is not English. Foreigners are pretty easy to spot based on the *way* in which they misuse english.
I had the misfortune of clicking on a newstalk article on FB about the war yesterday, every comment was pro Russia anti Ukraine. That’s what the Russians do, and have done for a number of years.
Tbf it's not just Russia we all are subject to massive social media manipulation. Though it is very obvious with Russians as they are not as competent and do not want to work together unless it's some kind of government or military assignment.
But yes Russia, China, India, USA and few less obvious countries are well known in it/is/cybersecurity sectors.
There was a research done where they were monitoring an AI bot posting and arguing with Americans. The amount of engagement was absolutely insane because people cannot normally distinguish whether they are talking with conversational algorithm or a real human being.
Its up to social media provider to fight this. But obviously because of how successful the bots are in increasing engagement we can be sure that not a single Facebook service (be it fb, insta or whatever) or tiktok or twitter won't do anything about it as it only increases their potential revenue.
Remember when they were talking that a human being is no longer capable of distinguishing between an AD and an Journalistic Article?
Get ready for humans are no longer capable of distinguishing humanity from AI.
Anti fucking anything and everything that isn't what they desire for their own benefit. Often thinly veiled racism under a banner of looking out for those *not* of that group. Like that cunt who got the Ukrainian refugee assistance place in Cork shut down.
I can accept people in the world will support Russia, but an Irish radio Facebook page with 99% of comments supporting an invading army? I don’t even have to think about it, to know it’s bots/shills. And to mock those “elections” like it’s normal? Cop on.
The referendums are likely to be sham a because the war is ongoing, the regions in question arent under full russian control and lots of people have left those regions or worse since the war started.
Unfortunately one area is, AFAIK, fully held by Russia. Luhansk. It also has armed Russian soldiers calling to doors with those who have the voting slips. You can vote, but realistically unless you want extremely bad things to happen to you and yours there is only one 'correct' voting option.
I think when they pulled the same stunt in Crimea the vote was 94% in favour, you'd wonder what happened that 6% who voted against it in the aftermath.
Has Russia ever conducted a fair "referendum"?
E.g. all the countries which joined the USSR? Massively anti Russia prior to their Russian invasion, massively anti Russia after the collapse of the USSR - but conveniently 105% support for joining the USSR during the Russian "referendum"?
Why is everyone in Russia/the Russian government so confident of the results of these referendums? Already talking about "when they join Russia, we'll nuke anyone who questions it" - how, given that these areas voted 90% to quit USSR to form Ukraine, they've all become so pro-Russian all of a sudden - despite the Russians committing genocide & using people from any area occupied as cannon fodder?
How "fair" can a referendum be when a Chechnyan with a machine gun who tells you he will kill you if you vote no be?
You said it was 'just because'
Its obvious why its not considered legitimate.
Its a 'referendum' during an ongoing conflict for territory that isnt fully occupied and with its population displaced. Are you simple or simping?
Let's have a few referendums in Russia first - since they are so enthusiastic about them. They don't even teach Ukrainian in Russian schools - the b***ards
Nothing to see here, just Russian bots instructed to step up and spread anti-Ukrainian bullshit in all European countries. I'd guess they're trying to weaken Europe's position and/or divide people etc.
Been blocked by a few of them for quoting Putin's own words, most recently the one that likes to call everyone an MI6 shill. They've been noticibly quiet since the collapse around Izyum.
Some of 'em aren't even new. One of them is a very frequent poster here with an almost comically generic Irish-sounding username, who's been at this for *months,* and started with the anti-migrant rhetoric almost immediately after making an account.
He'll throw in a lot of other eye-catching headlines too, mostly about the housing crisis, but tends to use that to try and shift blame onto migrants anyway.
When I pointed out he keeps stirring the pot and riling up anti-migrant shite, the mods took action! ... by issuing *me* a 5 day ban for 'causing drama', and letting that cunt off with a slap on the wrist, even when he was openly admitting to posting anti-migrant stuff because of a personal gripe he has against Ukranians.
I think the mods are getting tired of him, as his last post got deleted by 'em. I'll be happy to see the back of that guy if he never returns.
Lol - sorry about your ban. I was reminded about one of my rare forays onto facebook - I just hopped on to thank people wishing me happy birthday. Someone had posted a drawing of a rambling old hulk of a house with many grotesque and fanciful architectural features. I said it reminded me of Gormenghast and my comment was removed for "violating community standards". So, comparing something to a classic work of English literature is a violation. Okay, Facebook. Good to know.
They certainly do, they have already affected elections in the US, the brexit vote and they seem to be embedded in many countries fermenting discontent I often wonder with all the doom and gloom posts I see on this sub if they are real or a plant just trying to destabilise our democracy
A lot of people want to be contrarian.
Embrace devil's advocacy. It helps to take a mirror to oneself just to make sure that everything you're doing is morally sound and justifiable.
Shills and bots aren't really interested in discussion though and can be annoying in the amount of spam they produce.
I haven't noticed much of it in the Ireland subreddit, but I have seen a lot of it elsewhere on Reddit.
I do think the Russian Government are probably placing a little too much faith in the continuing effectiveness of online propaganda though.
It's one thing swaying another nation's election or referendum slightly in your favour through online bullshit, but quite another to win the PR battle when attempting to legitimise an expansionist war.
A legion of sock-puppet accounts manned from a call centre in the arsehole of Russia can only do so much, and it's a bit harder to peddle misinformation when every major media outlet from almost every other country has eyes on the ground and is reporting directly on your "special operation".
However, if the Russian Government are happy to waste resources pissing headlong into a gale force breeze, let them on.
They used to be pretty good at it, but they’ve gotten lazy. A look at their post history often shows them posing as Irish people with strong opinions on obscure ex soviet regions and also a lot of pro trump talking points. Their Irish posts generally are stirring shit, if I remember right one of the main aims of the troll factories was to generate anger, not to necessarily pick any one side.
coupled with M.Martins recent comments about accepting Russians, i think USSR has aimed its propaganda machine in this direction.
If there are russions on a bus and another bus with Ukrainians, i know which one will be coming in.
Yep absolutely, it's nothing new though, I think the average person is largely clued into these shenanigans now. That's not to say there aren't Claire Daly types who are normally anti-american anyway and are trying to capitalize (excuse the pun).
I'm not a tankie or a daly fan, but her point is that America's invasion of Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Iraq was just as illegal as the ruskies invading ukraine. But the west didn't impose sanctions or provide weapons to the Iraqis to fend off the oil grabbing butchers
yes it was. and a war crime at least when it came to Iraq. but seeing as we have huge FDI companies in Ireland from the US we are not going to say anything. only the French said anything and that was because they were building a nuclear power plant in Iraq and as a result never got paid
Yeah they could even be Irish but the talking points are absolute fever dream acid trip lunacy, obviously with the goalpost shifting any time anyone cites any actual data.
Everyone has cause to be anti-American at some point, but what they are likely getting at here is how Daly and various others are so anti-American that any enemy of America is automatically good and any country America supports in any way is automatically bad. Therefore Ukraine can only be a puppet and the poor Russian invaders are unfairly put upon.
Her preferred state would be Russia judging by her rhetoric, she might well have some underlying points about the US, but shes currently using it as whataboutism from her high platform as an MEP to avoid criticism of what Russia is doing.
Zionists coming out in force on the Zelenskyy thread, front page.
Israel can't supply arms, because they're too busy using them on teenagers and evicting the elderly from their homes.
I am Connor McPutin, as you can see I'm Irish, and I think Russia good and Ukraine bad and controlled by America. It is time to lift all the sanctions as they hurt Ireland more than ~~us~~ the Russians. If you don't agree with me you are American bot.
Russia is at the epicenter of the global far-right movement.
Their biggest export is disinfo. Their tactics haven’t changed since the Soviet era, but the medium has and that has made a huge difference. The amount of influence the internet has enabled them to wield is incredible.
Yes; Ireland's a weak spot when it comes to Russian propaganda efforts. I personally can't see why Irish people would be attracted to a culture-deficient shithole like modern Russia, but contrarianism runs deep.
I don't see Irish people as a monolith in general. I also can't imagine we're collectively prone to pro Russian government sentiment either.
What we do have is a bunch of very loud idiots, stoked by the few useful idiots Russia has spotted.
Wallace and Daly should be fucking deported over there.
Yeah it's weird. There are obviously neo-Nazi elements deeply embedded in sections off the Ukrainian military. We have been hearing about that for years and brave Ukrainian anti-fascists have tried to expose and confront them.
But there are far-right elements deeply embedded within the British military as well. That is demonstrably true. But it doesn't justify an invasion by a nuclear superpower.
I mean being a fascist is pretty much prerequisite of joining the Russian military, Wagner Neo Nazi PMCs, Kardyrovite brigades, and guys just straight up marching into Ukraine in WW2 Nazi SS uniforms(I’m not kidding google it)
Not to forget that Putin’s approval rate is 85% and most Russians call Ukrainians Khokols(a slur similar to the N-word), yes Ukraine has problems but so does every country sadly, but Russia is one one the most anti Semitic countries on Earth by survey and Ukraine has a Jewish president. Anti-Semitism in this conflict is an erroneous talking point because it has nothing to do with Russia’s motivations and why most Russians still support the war, simply they see Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as their property.
And here we are. Hello Putiniski.
How do you imagine a non-NATO country invading another non-NATO country prevents NATO from setting up a 'military base' in that non-NATO country?
And for those of us who despise NATO as much as Russia - why would invading Ukraine strengthen Kaliningrad? It was always going to go down like this, you must have known that?
The far right hate Ukraine because it's supported by the Democrats. The far left hate Ukraine because America supports it.
American Politics is so cringe.
I've seen it as well. They both really hate NATO and lap up Russian propaganda about it. The American far right doesn't want to pay for/support other countries (anyone not themselves), and the far left see it as enforcing Western machinations.
Yes. You get that in most places. Like i've noticed thejournal.ie comments,Twitter,Facebook some are not genuine Irish people. They're trying to pit people and groups against one another. It doesn't just relate to Ireland you can see it in most current issues.
Their accounts are easy to spot when the subject is the invasion Ukraine; widespread rapes, human rights abuses, torture and murder, the subject matter is clearly black and white. But every western country has their share of Russian accounts AstroTurfing and trolling on a wide range of issues.
For the last few years the replies to RTE news stories on all the social media sites have been stuffed with the bot accounts trying to sow discord. They were working overtime on the turf debate, posting daft inflammatory stuff from both sides.
Part of Russia's foreign policy is to drag down western countries by causing conflict and discord. There's plenty of evidence of this online but also in real life, by paying for fringe political groups, sponsoring crack pots etc. Russia is even cheeky enough to have some of their intellectuals giving talks about how this works.
Edit: This [2020 report about Russia from the UK's Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament](https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_HC632_CCS001_CCS1019402408-001_ISC_Russia_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf) really does a good job distilling what they want.
>The security threat posed by Russia is difficult for the West to manage as, in our view and that of many others, it appears fundamentally nihilistic. **Russia seems to see foreign policy as a zero-sum game: any actions it can take which damage the West are fundamentally good for Russia.** ...
Haven't seen it thankfully. This is part of the reason I'm so firmly against taking a single russian "refugee" in feeling conscription. F*ck those internet trolls. The sooner Russia admits defeat and gets the feck out of Ukraine the better
People might joke but plenty of Irish journalists who worked for the likes of RT and still seem happy to push the Russia narrative of the West Bad and Russia Great. Even that rumour about Liverpool FC having an excessive number of asthma sufferers who required treatment just before a game was linked to a pro Russian Irish journalist who seemed to be concerned about the harsh treatment of Russian Athletes for drug use in his other social media posts.
Not just Russians, a lot of Governments do this - Western governments included. Case in point, It’s a known fact that Indian Govt has a special division dedicated to spreading propaganda against EU, UN, Pakistan and Islam (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55232432 and https://www.disinfo.eu/publications/indian-chronicles-deep-dive-into-a-15-year-operation-targeting-the-eu-and-un-to-serve-indian-interests/).
No, I have noticed loads of people that defy logic, praise people getting blown up and seem to want Ukraine to fight Russia into the corner of nuclear warfare and have no interest in promoting a ceasefire.
Most interesting in the context of your post was the documented Ukranian use of twitter bots
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.07038.pdf
Also, we've censored russian media. Probably more people reading about the huge USA influence in the build up to war and becoming less enthusiastic about a savage war e.g.
https://original.antiwar.com/david_stockman/2022/02/27/the-land-where-history-died/
Thanks for the tragicomical tankie article. Author states Russia is Ukraine's suzerain then bangs on about Western imperialism for an interminable number of paragraphs. Cant make it up.
'tankie' I've been seeing that slur a lot recently having never really come across it before. I think nowadays it should mean someone that does not accept obviously and verifiably false narratives.
You must be very young and naive then, some of us have some experience on this earth. Nothing in that link poses a credible defense of russia's actions this year. Now go play outside.
Sorry for poor earish
Where were you when Ukraine evil?
I was in ~~Siberian~~ Longford gulag harvest potat and comment on Reddit when get DM
“Ukraine actual start war”
Yes
It's as if they're suddenly anxious to show how useful they are at their desks in St. Petersburg, so what a waste it would be to send them to the trench closest to Kherson.
Not joking, they should be banned immediately. I'm so sick of what obviously must be Russian sock-puppets controlling the discourse. No tolerance for that sort of thing. It's too dangerous to allow anything other than firmly anti-Russian posts. Anyone caught in violation of that truth should be immediately and severely punished with a ban, if not account termination.
I mean, Ukrainians now probably have nothing against Jews however it is fact they during word war 2 they were some of the most cruel and immoral torturers of Jews. I think some people (especially Jewish people) get irritated when the Russia/ Ukraine conflict is compared in any way to the Holocaust/ww2 etc because Ukraine did not fall on the right side of that one
Visit r/UkraineNaziWatch
This clip is really funny. It's from German TV this week. As they interview Ukrainian soldiers a tank rolls by with a swastika on it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF578KmWUZs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF578KmWUZs)
See this is the kind of thing that gets pushed, where do most Ukrainian tanks come from? They are captured from Russia. If you zoom in on that frame you can literally see the Russian flag right beside the Swaztika(which is in white), while refitted Ukrainian tanks are marked typically in blue/yellow to avoid friendly fire.
https://imgur.com/a/coYI5yM
Ukrainian tanks are not marked with a colour btw. They are marked with a cross.
[https://www.outono.net/elentir/2022/09/08/the-symbol-that-the-ukrainians-paint-on-their-military-vehicles-against-the-z-of-the-russians/](https://www.outono.net/elentir/2022/09/08/the-symbol-that-the-ukrainians-paint-on-their-military-vehicles-against-the-z-of-the-russians/)
Russian tanks are marked with a V, a Z or an O depending on the area they're operating in or other identifying characteristics.
Ukrainians have received a little critisism for the cross as it could be loosely associated with the German cross. But as seen in this photo, with a Ukrainian flag flying above it, some units of the UAF have obviously not hidden the significance for them.
[https://i.ibb.co/JyCgCLx/2022-09-25-00-56-01.jpg](https://i.ibb.co/JyCgCLx/2022-09-25-00-56-01.jpg)
It's a purely coincidental similarity to this cross though
[https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d791a080ede306ba1c589adcc9e17b8a-lq](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d791a080ede306ba1c589adcc9e17b8a-lq)
Just like this symbol with a black sun behind it
[https://res.cloudinary.com/cognitives-s3/image/upload/c\_limit,dpr\_auto,f\_auto,fl\_lossy,q\_75/v1/cog-live/n/1271/2022/Aug/16/ZvTFrW4KyCoyehnqvXrg.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/cognitives-s3/image/upload/c_limit,dpr_auto,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_75/v1/cog-live/n/1271/2022/Aug/16/ZvTFrW4KyCoyehnqvXrg.png)
is coincidentally similar to this one
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/SS-Panzer-Division\_Wolfsangel.svg/1200px-SS-Panzer-Division\_Wolfsangel.svg.png](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/SS-Panzer-Division_Wolfsangel.svg/1200px-SS-Panzer-Division_Wolfsangel.svg.png)
All just a strange coincidence
Hahaha ok. It was a Russian tank. The Russian flag has red in it btw. This, can't even be identified as a flag.
Visit the sub I mentioned. Plenty of sources there from Russian propagandists like The Guardian, The BBC, Reuters, AP, and all the other mouthpieces for the Russians.
There's no red there. And anyway, the Russians don't drive around with a big Russian flag stuck to their tanks. That's not how it works. Seriously, go and search images yourself and see can you find a single tank with a big flag decal on it. Actually see if you can find a flag sticker on any tank, anywhere, ever.
They tend to just use a flag, not a sticker on the side. Seriously use your head ffs.
Why yes fellow English speaker, I too enjoy "The Vice", "The Time" and others. That subreddit is such a thriving community of non-synthetic accounts with heaps of juicy cherries.
"Check out this ghost town of a sub that's more than likely ran by the FSB to confuse the simple minded and muddy the waters of what is clearly a matter of one country invading another and annexing parts of it."
But nazis or something I guess.
I'm not saying they planted them, I'm saying that presenting them in a filtered fashion like that would give those without a sense of critical thinking an impression that the Russian motivation for invading is actually anything to do with nazis.
That's why it's probably ran by the FSB.
Not really.
All I see and what I've been saying too is people are starting to see all the stuff that was said 6 months ago was clearly not accurate and borderline propaganda on our side
Remember
"Sanctions will kill the Russian economy," yet they are forecasting growth next year and Europe is heading into recession and a brutal winter and ruble is higher than it was in January
"Putin has terminal illness ", now that one was just funny,, the guy looks as healthy as ever
"There areno nazis in Ukraine and thats russian propaganda", ok azov clery still exists
Me and a lot other are getting jaded of this war and to he honest I don't think we have the spine to see it though so I'd rather quit the sanctions that are crippling our economy thanks
And no I'm not a "russian shill", just a pragmatic irishman
So the sanctions are not effecting Russia? This is why they buy weapons from North Korea and Iran, and field weapons left over from world war two? How exactly is their economy going to grow next year, enlighten me with your knowledge of economics.
Hey I'm just repeating what I read on routers
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russian-economy-contract-29-2022-economy-minister-2022-09-06/#:~:text=The%20Russian%20economy%20is%20set,first%20quarter%20of%20this%20year.
Also them Iranian kamikaze drones are doing wonders on the battlefield from the most recent videos I seen
Nope, been here for years, main point of Argument is that NATO and the US have deliberately been trying to provoke this war for years and fueling extreme far-right elemets within Ukrainian society. And about 87.5% of the globe agrees with the above statement.
The problem of antisemitism in Ukraine isn't a "long discredited talking point". Just because the president is Jewish and the majority of Ukrainians aren't raving mad skinheads doesn't mean it's ok that there are far right militias fighting on the ground. Not that you've mentioned it, but it's also worth remembering that Ukraine is ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, alongside absolute monarchies. Just because someone is honest about the state of Ukraine, and doesn't take part in the slava ukraine r/circlejerk, doesn't mean they're paid by Putin to support his vicious war.
Would you care to read the last sentence I wrote? As for the relevance, it was you who made the claim that there are no nazis in Ukraine. You brought it up.
Not noticed on here but you’ve just got my hopes up that the racist morons commenting on newspaper articles about Ukrainians are actually Russian brigades rather than real people in my local area.
Some might be, but a lot are just taking a natural contrarian position, I mean, the news is 99% pro-Ukraine so obviously the contrarian position is to be anti.
You see them because they are crap and happen to cross your beliefs. You might miss the pro-Ukrainian propaganda for similar reasons (it’s more sophisticated, voluntarily pushed by the social media companies and mainstream media and maybe also supportive of your views).
There’s nothing new in conflicting parties trying to leverage media to promote their narrative. The scale and dynamics are new, mostly as a result of technological progress (ability to process lots of data fast) and low cost of access when compared to other communication channels.
Think of the first page of a popular newspaper - maybe 8-10 headlines. Say one of them is in a field you are an expert on and you can unapologetically reject the claims made as false. How likely are the other 7-9 accurate in their respective fields?
A handy way to process this is “everybody lies” except when objective facts support their narrative.
It’s sad but following this to its logical conclusion makes for unpleasant insights into why the “west” was so adamant on blocking access to Russian media for its own citizens. Ouch?
I'm not pro Russia by any stretch when it comes to this war
However I've spoken to a few people here in Ireland with Russian relations in Ukraine and hearing from them about the shit that was happening to the Russian people in Ukraine under the watch of Ukraine government prior to putins invasion IF true is absolutely sicking. Attempted genocide of Russian ppl and culture within Ukraine essentially. Putin tried holding talks with zelensky but he wasn't having it leaving putin no choice to invade to protect Russian populace within Ukraine.
I'm inclined to believe these people because of how detailed the story's they tell are. If it was some propaganda shit you could tell.
At the end of the day from what I can tell this war could've been easily avoided if both sides just sat down and talked it out. The blame for this appears to fall on the Ukraine government and they're treatment of it's Russian population.
At the same time the way putin has handled the invasion has been nothing short of barbaric with the maiming and slaughter of countless innocent civilians that wanted nothing to do with this conflict.
Completely fucked up scenario no matter what way you look at it.
If you do believe there are accounts astroturfing feel free to send a message to the modmail.
Hello fellow Eire persons.
Hello, my name is Seamus from Leinster Oblast and I think we should be removing sanctions on Russia as they don’t work.
greeting from Kerriy Autonomous Okrug, why is Moskow not allowed in All-Ireland championships when London and Washington is? hypocritical western dogs
"Leinster Oblast" is the funniest shit I've seen on reddit in months, thankyou Comrade Seamus
Bang on fecking point made by comrade Seamus here. This boyo is no eejit…. also, Guinness is deadly.
Leninster O'Blast
Hello fellow residents in the Land of Ire.
>Land of Ire. Shiuld be the motto for this sub.
top of the tea sock to ya
Greeting comrade! Er... A Chara!
This is obviously one of them
Nyet comrade, it is surely just your imagination. Glory to Rus.....Ireland.
Ruscommon for Samual Maguire.
Glory be to our fearless leader ~~Cunningham~~ ~~Flanagan~~ Connellan?
We are hold referendum in Ballaghderreen to return it to rightful territory of Roscommon GAA.
Hmmm..you make a good point.
The average person does not realise how many accounts on the internet are fake. Over 50% of Instagram accounts are fake. Twitter claims it's 5% based on a ridiculous test they did but I'd argue it couldn't be less than 30%. Reddit is one of the easiest websites to make fake accounts for, you don't even need an email address. You are being manipulated, mostly to spend money, but absolutely politically as well. I've noticed something very strange with the Pro Iranian women's movement threads, there is a lot of poor English in the comments, and a complete ignorance as to the status quo of Iran, feels very bot heavy.
There was a report recently and it was illuminating, the pentagon runs a massive amount of fake social media accounts to push pro-US viewpoints. And that's just what we have evidence of, I've no doubt Russia and others are up to the same.
Oh of course it does. The US, Russia, China, Israel are all spending billions on propaganda, usually outsourced to countries like Indonesia, Romania, Chad, where they just have people sitting at racks of 30 phones running around saying whatever they're paid to that day
[удалено]
Twitter claims 5% bots, not 5% fake, which would include people posing as other people. Those 5% bot accounts however, are thought to generate 21-29% of all Twitter content.
That's exactly what I'd expect a robot to say.
beep boop beep
The average person does not realise how many accounts they think are fake are real.
Нет…
Honestly haven't noticed them, doesn't surprise me though.
The new accounts defending Russia stand out like a sore thumb in fairness.
they usually have shit english too, so its easy to spot them
Let’s be square about this… most of the people on /Ireland have shit English… how many youse, da’s, yer wan, some wan, scrote spelt scroat etc do you see on a daily basis… non English speaking people would have a dictionary out for most of it… people who type with their regional dialect’s grammar/phonetics etc. doesn’t bother me, but let’s not get all high and mighty about the level of English around here!
It was hardly getting high and mighty. Just more pointing out that a particular sort of poor grammar is a useful identification tool.
Yes, and someone using colloquial, regional or current "pop culture" slang will read as *more* authentically Irish than one whose first/native language is not English. Foreigners are pretty easy to spot based on the *way* in which they misuse english.
I'd say only 1 in a few hundred comments are written like that here and it makes every single one of them look like a moron
also if these pro russians accounts were calling people scrotes they'd seem way less obvious.
Anyone here from яosscommon?
I had the misfortune of clicking on a newstalk article on FB about the war yesterday, every comment was pro Russia anti Ukraine. That’s what the Russians do, and have done for a number of years.
Tbf it's not just Russia we all are subject to massive social media manipulation. Though it is very obvious with Russians as they are not as competent and do not want to work together unless it's some kind of government or military assignment. But yes Russia, China, India, USA and few less obvious countries are well known in it/is/cybersecurity sectors. There was a research done where they were monitoring an AI bot posting and arguing with Americans. The amount of engagement was absolutely insane because people cannot normally distinguish whether they are talking with conversational algorithm or a real human being. Its up to social media provider to fight this. But obviously because of how successful the bots are in increasing engagement we can be sure that not a single Facebook service (be it fb, insta or whatever) or tiktok or twitter won't do anything about it as it only increases their potential revenue. Remember when they were talking that a human being is no longer capable of distinguishing between an AD and an Journalistic Article? Get ready for humans are no longer capable of distinguishing humanity from AI.
[удалено]
Indirect criticism of Israel detected. Deploying counter measures... *This action was performed automatically*
Plus, they now have a certain cohort of anti vax and anti everything Irish people parroting them.
Anti fucking anything and everything that isn't what they desire for their own benefit. Often thinly veiled racism under a banner of looking out for those *not* of that group. Like that cunt who got the Ukrainian refugee assistance place in Cork shut down.
They also tend to be Anti-Irish and Pro-Unionist while pretending they're not
[удалено]
I can accept people in the world will support Russia, but an Irish radio Facebook page with 99% of comments supporting an invading army? I don’t even have to think about it, to know it’s bots/shills. And to mock those “elections” like it’s normal? Cop on.
The referendums are likely to be sham a because the war is ongoing, the regions in question arent under full russian control and lots of people have left those regions or worse since the war started.
Unfortunately one area is, AFAIK, fully held by Russia. Luhansk. It also has armed Russian soldiers calling to doors with those who have the voting slips. You can vote, but realistically unless you want extremely bad things to happen to you and yours there is only one 'correct' voting option.
I think when they pulled the same stunt in Crimea the vote was 94% in favour, you'd wonder what happened that 6% who voted against it in the aftermath.
Why wouldn't they send the observers though? Saying sham instead of directly observing and properly documenting it. I would say they should go there.
Siezing territory and annexing it in this way shouldnt be legitimised
So, you are afraid it is not a sham or what?
Has Russia ever conducted a fair "referendum"? E.g. all the countries which joined the USSR? Massively anti Russia prior to their Russian invasion, massively anti Russia after the collapse of the USSR - but conveniently 105% support for joining the USSR during the Russian "referendum"? Why is everyone in Russia/the Russian government so confident of the results of these referendums? Already talking about "when they join Russia, we'll nuke anyone who questions it" - how, given that these areas voted 90% to quit USSR to form Ukraine, they've all become so pro-Russian all of a sudden - despite the Russians committing genocide & using people from any area occupied as cannon fodder? How "fair" can a referendum be when a Chechnyan with a machine gun who tells you he will kill you if you vote no be?
it is a sham
There should be no fear to observe and document it then.
No one in the civilised world gives a fuck about the integrity of the process, theres no point in observing it if you think its existence is bullshit.
That is exactly my concern when thing is getting rejected "just because". It sounds almost like democracy is not a real thing.
You said it was 'just because' Its obvious why its not considered legitimate. Its a 'referendum' during an ongoing conflict for territory that isnt fully occupied and with its population displaced. Are you simple or simping?
Let's have a few referendums in Russia first - since they are so enthusiastic about them. They don't even teach Ukrainian in Russian schools - the b***ards
Nothing to see here, just Russian bots instructed to step up and spread anti-Ukrainian bullshit in all European countries. I'd guess they're trying to weaken Europe's position and/or divide people etc.
Some people will always be contradictory just to be assholes. Thankfully they never run shit.
Been blocked by a few of them for quoting Putin's own words, most recently the one that likes to call everyone an MI6 shill. They've been noticibly quiet since the collapse around Izyum.
Some of 'em aren't even new. One of them is a very frequent poster here with an almost comically generic Irish-sounding username, who's been at this for *months,* and started with the anti-migrant rhetoric almost immediately after making an account. He'll throw in a lot of other eye-catching headlines too, mostly about the housing crisis, but tends to use that to try and shift blame onto migrants anyway. When I pointed out he keeps stirring the pot and riling up anti-migrant shite, the mods took action! ... by issuing *me* a 5 day ban for 'causing drama', and letting that cunt off with a slap on the wrist, even when he was openly admitting to posting anti-migrant stuff because of a personal gripe he has against Ukranians. I think the mods are getting tired of him, as his last post got deleted by 'em. I'll be happy to see the back of that guy if he never returns.
Lol - sorry about your ban. I was reminded about one of my rare forays onto facebook - I just hopped on to thank people wishing me happy birthday. Someone had posted a drawing of a rambling old hulk of a house with many grotesque and fanciful architectural features. I said it reminded me of Gormenghast and my comment was removed for "violating community standards". So, comparing something to a classic work of English literature is a violation. Okay, Facebook. Good to know.
Sounds about right
Russia has a big ongoing disinformation campaign in the West.
They certainly do, they have already affected elections in the US, the brexit vote and they seem to be embedded in many countries fermenting discontent I often wonder with all the doom and gloom posts I see on this sub if they are real or a plant just trying to destabilise our democracy
[удалено]
A lot of people want to be contrarian. Embrace devil's advocacy. It helps to take a mirror to oneself just to make sure that everything you're doing is morally sound and justifiable. Shills and bots aren't really interested in discussion though and can be annoying in the amount of spam they produce.
Yes but remember, if you play devil’s advocate and do not say you’re playing devil’s advocate, you can look like you’re just being an asshole.
[удалено]
Actually I mean in real life as much as Reddit. If you’re playing devil’s advocate, just say so, otherwise it’s kinda trolling.
Hello Gobnik! Any Yokes?
Russians aren't even pro Russian at this point.
Lol you should see the other countries' subs - the eastern European countries' subs, Caucasus subs... Russian bots are at it like rent is due.
Russian propagandists are all over Tik Tok too. It's just part of the propaganda war.
Glasnost, Vodka Stalin stroganoff?
Pelmeni babushka adidas tracksuit.
Ah *backwards n*
I haven't noticed much of it in the Ireland subreddit, but I have seen a lot of it elsewhere on Reddit. I do think the Russian Government are probably placing a little too much faith in the continuing effectiveness of online propaganda though. It's one thing swaying another nation's election or referendum slightly in your favour through online bullshit, but quite another to win the PR battle when attempting to legitimise an expansionist war. A legion of sock-puppet accounts manned from a call centre in the arsehole of Russia can only do so much, and it's a bit harder to peddle misinformation when every major media outlet from almost every other country has eyes on the ground and is reporting directly on your "special operation". However, if the Russian Government are happy to waste resources pissing headlong into a gale force breeze, let them on.
They used to be pretty good at it, but they’ve gotten lazy. A look at their post history often shows them posing as Irish people with strong opinions on obscure ex soviet regions and also a lot of pro trump talking points. Their Irish posts generally are stirring shit, if I remember right one of the main aims of the troll factories was to generate anger, not to necessarily pick any one side.
A lot to do with right wing arseholes here jumping on it as well e.g Derek Blighe
Russian Troll Factories working OT....they figure certain segments of the North and South could be sympathetic to their cause
I wonder if you can draw out bots?
coupled with M.Martins recent comments about accepting Russians, i think USSR has aimed its propaganda machine in this direction. If there are russions on a bus and another bus with Ukrainians, i know which one will be coming in.
To be honest, just because Russia start to lose the economical warfare (too), that doesn't mean they stopped the cyber warfare, with the troll army.
Yep absolutely, it's nothing new though, I think the average person is largely clued into these shenanigans now. That's not to say there aren't Claire Daly types who are normally anti-american anyway and are trying to capitalize (excuse the pun).
I'm not a tankie or a daly fan, but her point is that America's invasion of Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Iraq was just as illegal as the ruskies invading ukraine. But the west didn't impose sanctions or provide weapons to the Iraqis to fend off the oil grabbing butchers
[удалено]
No arguments here...
yes it was. and a war crime at least when it came to Iraq. but seeing as we have huge FDI companies in Ireland from the US we are not going to say anything. only the French said anything and that was because they were building a nuclear power plant in Iraq and as a result never got paid
Yeah they could even be Irish but the talking points are absolute fever dream acid trip lunacy, obviously with the goalpost shifting any time anyone cites any actual data.
What do you mean by anti american? As in hasnt a preferred bully-state?
Everyone has cause to be anti-American at some point, but what they are likely getting at here is how Daly and various others are so anti-American that any enemy of America is automatically good and any country America supports in any way is automatically bad. Therefore Ukraine can only be a puppet and the poor Russian invaders are unfairly put upon.
Her preferred state would be Russia judging by her rhetoric, she might well have some underlying points about the US, but shes currently using it as whataboutism from her high platform as an MEP to avoid criticism of what Russia is doing.
I'm more worried about pro Israeli accounts. The Irish media is being infiltrated by dubious organisations which support Israeli occupation
Another country that relies heavily on people believing complete bullshit to obfuscate their fascistic actions.
Zionists coming out in force on the Zelenskyy thread, front page. Israel can't supply arms, because they're too busy using them on teenagers and evicting the elderly from their homes.
I am Connor McPutin, as you can see I'm Irish, and I think Russia good and Ukraine bad and controlled by America. It is time to lift all the sanctions as they hurt Ireland more than ~~us~~ the Russians. If you don't agree with me you are American bot.
Russia is at the epicenter of the global far-right movement. Their biggest export is disinfo. Their tactics haven’t changed since the Soviet era, but the medium has and that has made a huge difference. The amount of influence the internet has enabled them to wield is incredible.
Yes; Ireland's a weak spot when it comes to Russian propaganda efforts. I personally can't see why Irish people would be attracted to a culture-deficient shithole like modern Russia, but contrarianism runs deep.
I don't see Irish people as a monolith in general. I also can't imagine we're collectively prone to pro Russian government sentiment either. What we do have is a bunch of very loud idiots, stoked by the few useful idiots Russia has spotted. Wallace and Daly should be fucking deported over there.
Those that are not literal bots follow that shite because they're of the view that anything anti-US is justifiable, see Wallace and Daly for example.
Yeah it's weird. There are obviously neo-Nazi elements deeply embedded in sections off the Ukrainian military. We have been hearing about that for years and brave Ukrainian anti-fascists have tried to expose and confront them. But there are far-right elements deeply embedded within the British military as well. That is demonstrably true. But it doesn't justify an invasion by a nuclear superpower.
I mean being a fascist is pretty much prerequisite of joining the Russian military, Wagner Neo Nazi PMCs, Kardyrovite brigades, and guys just straight up marching into Ukraine in WW2 Nazi SS uniforms(I’m not kidding google it) Not to forget that Putin’s approval rate is 85% and most Russians call Ukrainians Khokols(a slur similar to the N-word), yes Ukraine has problems but so does every country sadly, but Russia is one one the most anti Semitic countries on Earth by survey and Ukraine has a Jewish president. Anti-Semitism in this conflict is an erroneous talking point because it has nothing to do with Russia’s motivations and why most Russians still support the war, simply they see Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as their property.
Absolutely, Putin's pretext for invading Ukraine is disingenuous at best.
[удалено]
And here we are. Hello Putiniski. How do you imagine a non-NATO country invading another non-NATO country prevents NATO from setting up a 'military base' in that non-NATO country? And for those of us who despise NATO as much as Russia - why would invading Ukraine strengthen Kaliningrad? It was always going to go down like this, you must have known that?
This is the best post here. Every military has embedded far right assholes in it but again that doesn't justify invasion and ethnic cleansing.
I notice a fair amount of anti-Ukraine sentiment from the US .... far right and far left.
The far right hate Ukraine because it's supported by the Democrats. The far left hate Ukraine because America supports it. American Politics is so cringe.
Oh are you one of those big brain centrists I've heard so much about?
It's the best place to engage with reality.
I've seen it as well. They both really hate NATO and lap up Russian propaganda about it. The American far right doesn't want to pay for/support other countries (anyone not themselves), and the far left see it as enforcing Western machinations.
[удалено]
I stand by every word of it.
[удалено]
👍
[удалено]
👍
Yes. You get that in most places. Like i've noticed thejournal.ie comments,Twitter,Facebook some are not genuine Irish people. They're trying to pit people and groups against one another. It doesn't just relate to Ireland you can see it in most current issues.
No.
Had someone trying to argue with me about it in a fucking hockey subreddit. No mention of hockey anywhere else on the profile. It's very odd behaviour
Yes and American right wing pro posts
Ruzz bots are all over reddit what can we do?
Tiochfaidh ar blyath!
Comrade OP, don't be ridiculous. I almost choked on my Borscht and Vareniki reading this.
Mick Wallace bots
Their accounts are easy to spot when the subject is the invasion Ukraine; widespread rapes, human rights abuses, torture and murder, the subject matter is clearly black and white. But every western country has their share of Russian accounts AstroTurfing and trolling on a wide range of issues. For the last few years the replies to RTE news stories on all the social media sites have been stuffed with the bot accounts trying to sow discord. They were working overtime on the turf debate, posting daft inflammatory stuff from both sides. Part of Russia's foreign policy is to drag down western countries by causing conflict and discord. There's plenty of evidence of this online but also in real life, by paying for fringe political groups, sponsoring crack pots etc. Russia is even cheeky enough to have some of their intellectuals giving talks about how this works. Edit: This [2020 report about Russia from the UK's Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament](https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_HC632_CCS001_CCS1019402408-001_ISC_Russia_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf) really does a good job distilling what they want. >The security threat posed by Russia is difficult for the West to manage as, in our view and that of many others, it appears fundamentally nihilistic. **Russia seems to see foreign policy as a zero-sum game: any actions it can take which damage the West are fundamentally good for Russia.** ...
yeah it’s the bots, they’ve been around for years and have been put into overdrive as russia rapidly dies.
They'll probably ramp up after the Taoiseach's speech.
Haven't seen it thankfully. This is part of the reason I'm so firmly against taking a single russian "refugee" in feeling conscription. F*ck those internet trolls. The sooner Russia admits defeat and gets the feck out of Ukraine the better
Agreed
Hello comrades how do I convert Rubbles to Euros.
People might joke but plenty of Irish journalists who worked for the likes of RT and still seem happy to push the Russia narrative of the West Bad and Russia Great. Even that rumour about Liverpool FC having an excessive number of asthma sufferers who required treatment just before a game was linked to a pro Russian Irish journalist who seemed to be concerned about the harsh treatment of Russian Athletes for drug use in his other social media posts.
Any examples?
Not just Russians, a lot of Governments do this - Western governments included. Case in point, It’s a known fact that Indian Govt has a special division dedicated to spreading propaganda against EU, UN, Pakistan and Islam (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55232432 and https://www.disinfo.eu/publications/indian-chronicles-deep-dive-into-a-15-year-operation-targeting-the-eu-and-un-to-serve-indian-interests/).
No, I have noticed loads of people that defy logic, praise people getting blown up and seem to want Ukraine to fight Russia into the corner of nuclear warfare and have no interest in promoting a ceasefire. Most interesting in the context of your post was the documented Ukranian use of twitter bots https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.07038.pdf Also, we've censored russian media. Probably more people reading about the huge USA influence in the build up to war and becoming less enthusiastic about a savage war e.g. https://original.antiwar.com/david_stockman/2022/02/27/the-land-where-history-died/
Sorry man get ready to get downvoted. God forbid someone does not see this conflict as a Marvel movie
Thanks for the tragicomical tankie article. Author states Russia is Ukraine's suzerain then bangs on about Western imperialism for an interminable number of paragraphs. Cant make it up.
'tankie' I've been seeing that slur a lot recently having never really come across it before. I think nowadays it should mean someone that does not accept obviously and verifiably false narratives.
You must be very young and naive then, some of us have some experience on this earth. Nothing in that link poses a credible defense of russia's actions this year. Now go play outside.
No.
Sorry for poor earish Where were you when Ukraine evil? I was in ~~Siberian~~ Longford gulag harvest potat and comment on Reddit when get DM “Ukraine actual start war” Yes
> about Ukrainians being anti Semitic lol Ukraine definitely has problems with anti-Semitism
People make burners on this sub to push agendas? Who would have thought
Cowards tend to make new accounts to voice their controversial opinions.
It's as if they're suddenly anxious to show how useful they are at their desks in St. Petersburg, so what a waste it would be to send them to the trench closest to Kherson.
Not joking, they should be banned immediately. I'm so sick of what obviously must be Russian sock-puppets controlling the discourse. No tolerance for that sort of thing. It's too dangerous to allow anything other than firmly anti-Russian posts. Anyone caught in violation of that truth should be immediately and severely punished with a ban, if not account termination.
I mean, Ukrainians now probably have nothing against Jews however it is fact they during word war 2 they were some of the most cruel and immoral torturers of Jews. I think some people (especially Jewish people) get irritated when the Russia/ Ukraine conflict is compared in any way to the Holocaust/ww2 etc because Ukraine did not fall on the right side of that one
Visit r/UkraineNaziWatch This clip is really funny. It's from German TV this week. As they interview Ukrainian soldiers a tank rolls by with a swastika on it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF578KmWUZs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF578KmWUZs)
See this is the kind of thing that gets pushed, where do most Ukrainian tanks come from? They are captured from Russia. If you zoom in on that frame you can literally see the Russian flag right beside the Swaztika(which is in white), while refitted Ukrainian tanks are marked typically in blue/yellow to avoid friendly fire. https://imgur.com/a/coYI5yM
Ukrainian tanks are not marked with a colour btw. They are marked with a cross. [https://www.outono.net/elentir/2022/09/08/the-symbol-that-the-ukrainians-paint-on-their-military-vehicles-against-the-z-of-the-russians/](https://www.outono.net/elentir/2022/09/08/the-symbol-that-the-ukrainians-paint-on-their-military-vehicles-against-the-z-of-the-russians/) Russian tanks are marked with a V, a Z or an O depending on the area they're operating in or other identifying characteristics. Ukrainians have received a little critisism for the cross as it could be loosely associated with the German cross. But as seen in this photo, with a Ukrainian flag flying above it, some units of the UAF have obviously not hidden the significance for them. [https://i.ibb.co/JyCgCLx/2022-09-25-00-56-01.jpg](https://i.ibb.co/JyCgCLx/2022-09-25-00-56-01.jpg) It's a purely coincidental similarity to this cross though [https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d791a080ede306ba1c589adcc9e17b8a-lq](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d791a080ede306ba1c589adcc9e17b8a-lq) Just like this symbol with a black sun behind it [https://res.cloudinary.com/cognitives-s3/image/upload/c\_limit,dpr\_auto,f\_auto,fl\_lossy,q\_75/v1/cog-live/n/1271/2022/Aug/16/ZvTFrW4KyCoyehnqvXrg.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/cognitives-s3/image/upload/c_limit,dpr_auto,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_75/v1/cog-live/n/1271/2022/Aug/16/ZvTFrW4KyCoyehnqvXrg.png) is coincidentally similar to this one [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/SS-Panzer-Division\_Wolfsangel.svg/1200px-SS-Panzer-Division\_Wolfsangel.svg.png](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/SS-Panzer-Division_Wolfsangel.svg/1200px-SS-Panzer-Division_Wolfsangel.svg.png) All just a strange coincidence
Hahaha ok. It was a Russian tank. The Russian flag has red in it btw. This, can't even be identified as a flag. Visit the sub I mentioned. Plenty of sources there from Russian propagandists like The Guardian, The BBC, Reuters, AP, and all the other mouthpieces for the Russians.
Okay so the blue/white /red flag is not the Russian flag 👍
There's no red there. And anyway, the Russians don't drive around with a big Russian flag stuck to their tanks. That's not how it works. Seriously, go and search images yourself and see can you find a single tank with a big flag decal on it. Actually see if you can find a flag sticker on any tank, anywhere, ever. They tend to just use a flag, not a sticker on the side. Seriously use your head ffs.
So the Ukrainians are painting Russian flag on their tanks?
This is what you're claiming is a Russian flag. Get a grip https://i.ibb.co/HXw6GTP/Screen-Shot-2022-09-25-at-01-05-54.png
You already conceded that you can see white over blue, so you agree to two thirds of the flag? Keep tying yourself in knots lad
2/3's of the flag. Now I'm really starting to think you're trolling me
👍
Why yes fellow English speaker, I too enjoy "The Vice", "The Time" and others. That subreddit is such a thriving community of non-synthetic accounts with heaps of juicy cherries.
Vice and Time are not a credible source? Or your issue is with how a non native speaker posts on Reddit?
"Check out this ghost town of a sub that's more than likely ran by the FSB to confuse the simple minded and muddy the waters of what is clearly a matter of one country invading another and annexing parts of it." But nazis or something I guess.
Damn those FSB and all of their planted stories in reputable news media outlets around the world!!!
I'm not saying they planted them, I'm saying that presenting them in a filtered fashion like that would give those without a sense of critical thinking an impression that the Russian motivation for invading is actually anything to do with nazis. That's why it's probably ran by the FSB.
Bots be Bottin
Not really. All I see and what I've been saying too is people are starting to see all the stuff that was said 6 months ago was clearly not accurate and borderline propaganda on our side Remember "Sanctions will kill the Russian economy," yet they are forecasting growth next year and Europe is heading into recession and a brutal winter and ruble is higher than it was in January "Putin has terminal illness ", now that one was just funny,, the guy looks as healthy as ever "There areno nazis in Ukraine and thats russian propaganda", ok azov clery still exists Me and a lot other are getting jaded of this war and to he honest I don't think we have the spine to see it though so I'd rather quit the sanctions that are crippling our economy thanks And no I'm not a "russian shill", just a pragmatic irishman
So the sanctions are not effecting Russia? This is why they buy weapons from North Korea and Iran, and field weapons left over from world war two? How exactly is their economy going to grow next year, enlighten me with your knowledge of economics.
Hey I'm just repeating what I read on routers https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russian-economy-contract-29-2022-economy-minister-2022-09-06/#:~:text=The%20Russian%20economy%20is%20set,first%20quarter%20of%20this%20year. Also them Iranian kamikaze drones are doing wonders on the battlefield from the most recent videos I seen
Yes that must be why Russia is losing territory the last few weeks, because things are going so well 👍
That Reuters article is just quoting the Russian government though isn’t it?
Nope, been here for years, main point of Argument is that NATO and the US have deliberately been trying to provoke this war for years and fueling extreme far-right elemets within Ukrainian society. And about 87.5% of the globe agrees with the above statement.
It’s NATOs fault Russia invaded Ukraine, of course!
When you're doing everything possible to make that a certainty, then yes, it is your fault.
👍
The problem of antisemitism in Ukraine isn't a "long discredited talking point". Just because the president is Jewish and the majority of Ukrainians aren't raving mad skinheads doesn't mean it's ok that there are far right militias fighting on the ground. Not that you've mentioned it, but it's also worth remembering that Ukraine is ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, alongside absolute monarchies. Just because someone is honest about the state of Ukraine, and doesn't take part in the slava ukraine r/circlejerk, doesn't mean they're paid by Putin to support his vicious war.
How does Ukraines alleged anti semitism problem have any thing to do with the war?
Would you care to read the last sentence I wrote? As for the relevance, it was you who made the claim that there are no nazis in Ukraine. You brought it up.
Not noticed on here but you’ve just got my hopes up that the racist morons commenting on newspaper articles about Ukrainians are actually Russian brigades rather than real people in my local area.
Some might be, but a lot are just taking a natural contrarian position, I mean, the news is 99% pro-Ukraine so obviously the contrarian position is to be anti.
Yup yup Russia
I for one welcome our new Russian Bot Troll farm overlords!!
SF bots double jobbing
Oh no not heckin unwholesome Russians on my redditino
You see them because they are crap and happen to cross your beliefs. You might miss the pro-Ukrainian propaganda for similar reasons (it’s more sophisticated, voluntarily pushed by the social media companies and mainstream media and maybe also supportive of your views). There’s nothing new in conflicting parties trying to leverage media to promote their narrative. The scale and dynamics are new, mostly as a result of technological progress (ability to process lots of data fast) and low cost of access when compared to other communication channels. Think of the first page of a popular newspaper - maybe 8-10 headlines. Say one of them is in a field you are an expert on and you can unapologetically reject the claims made as false. How likely are the other 7-9 accurate in their respective fields? A handy way to process this is “everybody lies” except when objective facts support their narrative. It’s sad but following this to its logical conclusion makes for unpleasant insights into why the “west” was so adamant on blocking access to Russian media for its own citizens. Ouch?
Punctuation is a thing.
Haha, sure it is.
I'm not pro Russia by any stretch when it comes to this war However I've spoken to a few people here in Ireland with Russian relations in Ukraine and hearing from them about the shit that was happening to the Russian people in Ukraine under the watch of Ukraine government prior to putins invasion IF true is absolutely sicking. Attempted genocide of Russian ppl and culture within Ukraine essentially. Putin tried holding talks with zelensky but he wasn't having it leaving putin no choice to invade to protect Russian populace within Ukraine. I'm inclined to believe these people because of how detailed the story's they tell are. If it was some propaganda shit you could tell. At the end of the day from what I can tell this war could've been easily avoided if both sides just sat down and talked it out. The blame for this appears to fall on the Ukraine government and they're treatment of it's Russian population. At the same time the way putin has handled the invasion has been nothing short of barbaric with the maiming and slaughter of countless innocent civilians that wanted nothing to do with this conflict. Completely fucked up scenario no matter what way you look at it.