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Comment by dmix | Hacker News Reader

Regarding your [5] the slides from "Art of Deception" https://firstlook.org/theintercept/document/2014/02/24/art-d... slides show that GCHQ was training 500+ analysts in convert manipulation, specifically around internet conversations and relationships. That is just one year alone.

So there are hundreds of highly-trained Western agents on the internet swaying conversation, many who have this as their full time job. Combine that with agents from every semi-sophisticated country in the world...east or west, including thousands from China's "50 cent army" alone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party

If you didn't believe things you read on the internet previously, now might be a good time.

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What I find interesting is the mainstream denial or outright rejection of the concept that the West is engaged in psyops online, on sites and services we ourselves actively use.

If you go on Reddit, for example, you'll find plenty of highly upvoted articles discussing Chinese or Russian "propaganda", and an outright rejection of any suggestion that the US or its allies engage in the same behaviours themselves, despite there being overwhelming evidence supporting it.

It must be nice to be so efficient at propaganda that the very people you're targeting with it digest it so well that they'll promote the same agenda without second thought wherever they possibly can.

People on reddit call anyone with a different opinion a shill -- does it really matter if someone is being paid to have an opinion? There is no way to confirm someone is or isn't a "psyops" agent so at the end of the day does it even matter. If your only argument is that someone is paid to have that opinion and you cant actually address their point maybe you should reexamine your point of view regardless of who you assume they work for. I think its a pretty narcissistic and ridiculous worldview to feel the only way someone can have a different pov from you is if they are paid.

I dont question their existence - I just don't think it matters because I don't assume the people who disagree with me are dumb or malicious or paid and I could never confirm their employment status anyway so I choose not to smugly write people off as shills.

A book on the subject was recently released by a german journalist. It is on the bestseller list and is ignored by media outlets altogether. Translated versions are in the works.

http://www.gekaufte-journalisten.de/ (german)

https://ersjdamoo.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/bought-journalism... (english blog article about it)

http://theagendadaily.com/gekaufte-journalisten-german-book-... (english news article)

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