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Deep Politics
January 27, 2016 | Presented by Milicent Cranor
Disinformation Part 1: How Trolls Control an Internet Forum
An Insiders Guide to Online Disinformation

You have probably met these people online. Photo credit: Tristan Schmurr /
Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
You may well wonder about the material we have chosen to present below. For one
thing, it has been around for a while, though mostly on obscure websites. For
another, its authors are unknown. More important, we cannot say how accurate,
overall, is the analysis offered in it.
Nonetheless, it is tantalizing and raises some important issues, no matter its
provenance.
The document claims to reveal the techniques dirty tricks, really that are
practiced by trolls, saboteurs, provocateurs, disinformants, spies and other
government operatives, as well as their fellow practitioners of the dark arts.
One thing is certain: weve all experienced the frustration of dealing with this
phenomenon. We just dont always recognize it for what it is.
Without even knowing it, you
Perhaps in a political forum
facts and points of view. Or
controversial article. Or in

may have witnessed these techniques in action.

that feels somehow manipulated to suppress certain
in the deceptive comments that often follow a
the disruptive behavior at a town hall meeting that

seems oddly choreographed. Or at a meeting of activists where the wrong people

seem to be taking over.
Like toxic mushrooms, the words and actions of these operatives can look
harmless. That is why they can so easily poison the well of information.
You may be tempted to write off trolls as harmless nuts, but that may not be the
case at all. We know from experience that some of the less harmful techniques
described here are a cousin of a PR tactic called astroturfing, a tried and
true method of some of the most powerful corporations and private interests in
America. It is a classic control technique, wielded by those on top to prevent in
convenient
facts from reaching the public, and to neutralize any action the public may want
to take should they learn of these facts.
You are most likely to see these techniques at work where discussion centers on
such high-stakes issues as political assassinations, the destruction of land and
lives by oil companies and other corporations, the man-made causes of climate
change, and so on.
Before we get to the tricks themselves, we should take a quick look at their
origins.
Origins
.
Treachery is as old as mankind, but lets start with the late J. Edgar Hoover,
the old trickster behind the FBIs Counterintelligence Program, also known as
COINTELPRO.
According to www.publiceye.org, Cointelpro was designed to increase
factionalism, cause disruption and win defections inside the Communist Party U.S.
A.

disruption of the Socialist Workers Party (1961), the Ku Klux Klan (1964), Black
nationalist groups such as the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam (1967
),
and the entire New Left, including community and religious groups (1968).
The US Senates so-called Church Committee (chaired by Sen. Frank Church of
Idaho), which investigated Cointelpro, reported, Bureau witnesses admit that
many of the targets were nonviolent and most had no connections with a foreign
power. Such targets included nonviolent citizens against the war in Vietnam,
the nonviolent Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and prominent civil
rights workers.
The FBI claims Cointelpro operations ended in 1971.
Did they? The Internet did not exist during the period the FBI admits Cointelpro
was active, but the author
Techniques. Wherever they
our readers probably know,
have greatly expanded upon

labels the methods described below as Cointelpro

came from, they are still clearly in use. (As many of
other alphabet agencies use these techniques, and
them.)

Part 1 is about methods for taking control of a news group. These instructions
were presumably written by a Cointelpro operative to be used by other operatives
and not the general public, so they are not always clear. We have therefore
rewritten some of these passages, and we offer explanations parenthetically when
we think they are needed. Wherever possible, we try to preserve the style of the
original document.
If you have a better explanation for any of the actions described below, or if
you want to add your own observations to this ongoing collection, please let us
know. We would love to hear from you.
The bottom line: Our purpose here is to inform you about some of the dirty
tricks that may be shaping and distorting what you read online. Far from
endorsing these attempts to hijack free and open discourse, we believe that
exposing them can help blunt their power to confuse and control. Forewarned is
forearmed.
********************************************************************
Note to readers: The following is the text found on the Internet, as discussed
above. The source and background are unknown.
********************************************************************
Cointelpro Techniques for Control of an Internet Forum
.
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of an internet
forum. Most involve dilution and misdirection. We will go over each technique
and demonstrate that even a minimal number of operatives can eventually gain
control of an uncontrolled forum.
Forum Sliding

.
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum, it
can be quickly removed from public view by forum sliding. This maneuver brings
unrelated postings to the top of the forum, and the critical posting slides
down the front page out of public view. [Ed.: Bysensitive posting of a
critical nature, the author refers to comments that include facts that
interfere with the false narrative being promoted.]
In this technique a number of harmless posts are quietly pre-positioned on the
forum and allowed to age. This is done in anticipation of troublesome postings.
Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon to trigger a
forum slide.
Several fake accounts should be ready when called upon. To trigger a forum
slide and flush the critical post out of public view, it is simply a matter
of logging into each account, both real and fake, and then replying to pre-positio
ned
postings with a simple one- or two-line comment.
Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the unwanted posting, it is now
lost in a sea of unrelated and useless postings. This effectively focuses the
attention of forum readers on non-issue items.
Inoculating the Public Against the Truth
.
A second highly effective technique is what we call consensus cracking.
Heres how we develop a consensus crack: Under the guise of a fake account, a
posting is made which looks legitimate but the critical point is that it has
very weak back-up. [Ed.: We assume this counterfeit posting contains some of the
same points being made by those attempting to reveal the truth, but in a weaker
form. Think of it as an inoculation. ]
Once this is done, then, under alternative fake accounts, a very strong position
in your favor [Ed.:your meaning the disinformants favor] is slowly introduced
over the life of the posting.
It is imperative that both sides are initially presented, so that uninformed
readers cannot determine which side is the truth but assume they have seen all
the relevant facts on both sides of the issue.
As postings and replies are made, the stronger evidence or disinformation in
your favor is slowly seeded in.
Thus, uninformed readers will most likely accept the disinformation. But even if
they dont, they will probably drop their opposition to your posting.
However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can
counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then abo
rt
the consensus cracking by initiating a forum slide.

Turning a News Group into a Gossip Corner

.
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in
keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a
critical and useful technique to cause a resource burn.
By implementing continuous irrelevant postings that distract and disrupt the
forum readers, they are effectively prevented from being productive. If the
intensity of gradual dilution is great enough, the readers will stop researching
and simply slip into a gossip mode.
In this state, they can be more easily misdirected away from facts. The less
informed they are, the easier it is to control the entire group in the direction
you desire.
It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological
characteristics and levels of education of the group are first determined. You
dont want to drive in the wedge too soon. By being too far off topic too
quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Collecting Information on Forum Members
.
This is about determining the psychological level of the forum members, and to
gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique, a light
and positive environment is created, leading to Ill show you mine, you show me
yours postings. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided,
much information can be gathered.
For example, posing as one of the forum members, post your favorite weapon and
then encourage others to showcase theirs. It can then be determined what
percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and/or illegal weapon.
Or, post your favorite technique of operation. From the replies, methods used
by the group can be studied, and effective methods developed to stop them from
their activities.
Identifying Violent Forum Members
.
Statistically, there is always a percentage of forum posters who are inclined to
violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, you present an image
that will incite a strong psychological reaction.
For example, post a link to a video depicting a local police officer grossly
abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically, of the
million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught
abusing their powers, and the taping of the activity can be then used for
intelligence gathering purposes without having to stage a fake abuse video. [Ed.
:
Interesting choices of word in this paragraph. One or two being caught? We
know these instructions were written before so many instances of abuse were

recorded. Maybe the emphasis was on being caught.]

This method is extremely effective, and more so if the police officer can be
made to look even more abusive, by the way the video is introduced, and by
selective editing.
Sometimes it is useful to lead the forum by replying to your own posting with
your own statement of violent intent that you do not care what the
authorities think!
Showing no fear may get those forum members who are more silent and self-discipl
ined
to slip and post their real intentions. From this, the most violent in the
group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local
law enforcement tracking. And his or her posting can be used later in a court of
law during prosecution.
Gaining Full Control
.
It is important to continuously maneuver for a forum moderator position. Once
this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly
controlled by deleting unfavorable postings and one can eventually steer the
forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public.This is
the ultimate victory.
Depending on the level of control you obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum
into defeat by
censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, or accidentally taking the
forum offline. By this method the forum can be killed.
However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted
into a honey pot gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and, from
this point, be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
Conclusion
.
Remember: these techniques are only effective if the forum participants do not
know about them
Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and
the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be
considered such as initiating a false legal precedence to simply have the forum
shut down and taken offline.
This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track
the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control
against them.
Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you
develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share

them with HQ.

Part 1 is available here.
Part 2 is available here.
Part 3 is available here.
Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Fremont Troll (Sue / Flickr CC BY 2.0)
Selective List of Related WhoWhatWhy stories:
.
Why We Should be Thankful for the Cold (Not related to Cointelpro, but listed
because of the disinformation deposited in the Comments following the article.
Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev a Double Agent Recruited by the FBI?
FBI Sat Back While Snitch Directed Cyber Attacks and potentially Entrapped
Others
The Mystery of the Constant Flow of JFK Disinformation
FBI Uses Counterterrorism Authority to Infiltrate and Surveil Peaceful Protests
Again
WHYTV -The FBI, Blacks,and Cointelpro,
William Turner: From G-Man to Newsman
Tribute to the Man Who Exposed the Pentagon Papers
Jeb Bush Family Values: Meth and Dirty Tricks
The US Left: A Short Introduction
The Deaths of JFK, RFK and the Silence of the Lambs
TVWHY: Russ Baker in St. Paul, Excerpt 1- Troublemakers
Related frontpage panorama photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Fremont
Troll (Sue / Flickr CC BY 2.0)
Related
Speak Truth to Power
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johnpotash
Ive seen trolls act in groups of three in an activist group in which i was
involved. Each took a role, one comic, one extreme in opposite view of leftist
members of group and one pretending to be moderate, but all supporting each
other. In other forums Ive seen this play out too, without the particular
political spectrum slant, but just in opposition to someone putting an
alternative view out there with a lot of evidence to back it up.

planckbrandt
The other place these techniques emerge is discussions about the money system
and the nature of money itself.
MrE23
Cant believe you didnt call out and highlight this: and the taping of the
activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes without having
to stage a fake abuse video
Which implies that there are cases when the production of fake videos is seen as
a legitimate and useful tactic.
Mr Worthington
Wow. Bravo WWW. One of my favorite articles that you guys have done yet! looking
forward to parts 2+3.
One thing sticks out in my mind: the Reddit politics section. It is so terrible
and impossible to post anything there, I havent looked at it in years.
stevor
I saw a regular group of trolls on McClatchy news and when I posted the TRUTH,
they (probably using multiple log-ins) would click on the button to have my
comments deleted. Then there is the common attack of saying you need to take
your meds or something about wearing a tinfoil hat. If that doesnt work,
they frequently call names and/or use profanity to intimidate anybody.
On some sites, I called a person out as being a troll and then a regular to
the site confirmed it.
joe mcivor
These instructions were presumably written by a Cointelpro operative to be used
by other operatives They could also have been posted to the obscure websites
mentioned by a troll to establish his/her anti-state credentials .
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JdL
The author lost all credibility with me when she referred to the man-made
causes of climate change, as if it were an established fact rather than the
fantasy of half-wits.
Jay_Sherman
Most forums these days dont even need a government disinformant to effectively
control and silence anyone who posits a non-mainstream idea or kernel of truth,
because most forums practice censorship- and the standards used to determine who
and what gets censored, are the tenets of the religion of political-correctness.
Since the majority of people have been indoctrinated into this religion via the

media and government education, it is a given that most forum owners practice it
,
and have no problem finding moderators who share the faith- so now the
government can just sit back and relax, as the peons do what they were
programmed to do- and you virtually never even hear so much as a grumble about
free-speech, because such values have been eradicated from modern (un)consciousn
ess
by the purveyors of the PC cult.
Those who do not love and strive for freedom, will lose it.
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