I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate
_Featured_, Corporate Controlled Media Tuesday, January 8th, 2013Update 1/12/2013: CLN has received a takedown notice asking us to remove this article on the basis that “It is libelous and utterly false” from someone claiming to be a legal agent of Above Top Secret’s parent company. We are currently investigating and will post status updates as they become available. The original thread now appears to have vanished from Above Top Secret’s website.
Update 1/17/2013: We have requested clarification regarding the takedown request and have not received a response. We will provide updates on any new developments.
Update 4/3/2012: Above Top Secret’s legal agent never responded to our request for clarification of their takedown request. The original thread has now been moved to the “Hoax” category of the website, as ATS claims the author admitted it was a hoax in a private exchange. To the best of our knowledge, this private exchange or the details thereof have not been posted publicly to substantiate this claim. Regardless, we believe that covert operations to manipulate online opinion and debate do exist (and indeed have been publicly acknowledged in many of the supporting links below). Whether this specific case is true or not, it remains a valuable and provocative dialogue still worthy of consideration.
____________________
CLN Editor’s Note: The type of propaganda strategy described in the article below occurs across a wide range of topics and is employed by various corporate, political, and governmental groups to promote a variety of agendas. It is called astroturfing, and it is far more common than most would imagine.
This post is not about Israel, and it is not partisan. It is simply an illustration of the mechanics of how online debate can be manipulated. As this is an anonymous post, we have no way of verifying the information contained herein, and it is presented only for your consideration.
Our intent in posting this is not to spread paranoia or incite shill witch hunts, but merely to encourage readers to view what they read and engage with online with a more discerning eye.
This alleged confession is presented verbatim from its original thread to preserve its integrity. As such, you may notice some minor typographical errors.
For more information on this important topic, see:
- Revealed: US Spy Operation That Manipulates Social Media
- Astroturfing: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
- Corporate-Funded Online ‘Astroturfing’ Is More Advanced and More Automated Than You Might Think
- DON’T TRUST THE WEB
- Online Astroturfing Gets Sophisticated
- US Military Says Metal Gear Sock Puppets Are Real
- Millions Spent to Confuse Public About Geoengineering (Not specifically about online “astroturfing,” but alludes to the same core propaganda strategy)
- Alcyone @CLN
I Was a Paid Internet Shill
By Ex-Shill, Above Top Secret
I am writing here to come out of the closet as a paid shill. For a little over six months, I was paid to spread disinformation and argue political points on the Internet. This site, ATS, was NOT one that I was assigned to post on, although other people in the same organization were paid to be here, and I assume they still walk among you. But more on this later.
I quit this job in the latter part of 2011, because I became disgusted with it, and with myself. I realized I couldn’t look myself in the mirror anymore. If this confession triggers some kind of retribution against me, so be it. Part of being a real man in this world is having real values that you stand up for, no matter what the consequences.
My story begins in early 2011. I had been out of work for almost a year after losing my last job in tech support. Increasingly desperate and despondent, I jumped at the chance when a former co-worker called me up and said she had a possible lead for me. “It is an unusual job, and one that requires secrecy. But the pay is good. And I know you are a good writer, so its something you are suited for.” (Writing has always been a hobby for me).
She gave me only a phone-number and an address, in one of the seedier parts of San Francisco, where I live. intrigued, I asked her for the company’s URL and some more info. She laughed. “They don’t have a website. Or even a name. You’ll see. Just tell them I referred you.” Yes, it sounded suspicious, but long-term joblessness breeds desperation, and desperation has a funny way of overlooking the suspicious when it comes to putting food on the table.
The next day, I arrived at the address – the third floor in a crumbling building. The appearance of the place did not inspire confidence. After walking down a long, filthy linoleum-covered corridor lit by dimly-flickering halogen, I came to the entrance of the office itself: a crudely battered metal door with a sign that said “United Amalgamated Industries, Inc.”
I later learned that this “company” changed its name almost monthly, always using bland names like that which gave no strong impression of what the company actually does. Not too hopeful, I went inside. The interior was equally shabby. There were a few long tables with folding chairs, at which about a dozen people were tapping away on old, beat-up computers. There were no decorations or ornaments of any type: not even the standard-issue office fica trees or plastic ferns. What a dump. Well, beggars can’t be choosers.
The manager, a balding man in his late forties, rose from the only stand-alone desk in the room and came forward with an easy smile. “You must be Chris. Yvette [my ex-co-worker] told me you’d be coming.” [Not our real names]. “Welcome. Let me tell you a little about what we do.” No interview, nothing. I later learned they took people based solely on referral, and that the people making the referrals, like my ex-colleague Yvette, were trained to pick out candidates based on several factors including ability to keep one’s mouth shut, basic writing skills, and desperation for work.
We sat down at his desk and he began by asking me a few questions about myself and my background, including my political views (which were basically non-existent). Then he began to explain the job. “We work on influencing people’s opinions here,” is how he described it. The company’s clients paid them to post on Internet message boards and popular chartrooms, as well as in gaming forums and social networks like Facebook and MySpace. Who were these clients? “Oh, various people,” he said vaguely. “Sometimes private companies, sometimes political groups.”
Satisfied that my political views were not strong, he said I would be assigned to political work. “The best people for this type of job are people like you, without strong views,” he said with a laugh. “It might seem counterintuitive, but actually we’ve found that to be the case.” Well, OK. Fine. As long as it comes with a steady paycheck, I’d believe whatever they wanted me to believe, as the guy in Ghostbusters said.
After discussing pay (which was much better than I’d hoped) and a few other details, he then went over the need for absolute privacy and secrecy. “You can’t tell anyone what we do here. Not your wife, not your dog.” (I have neither, as it happens.) “We’ll give you a cover story and even a phone number and a fake website you can use. You will have to tell people you are a consultant. Since your background is in tech support, that will be your cover job. Is this going to be a problem for you?” I assured him it would not. “Well, OK. Shall we get started?”
“Right now?” I asked, a bit taken aback.
“No time like the present!” he said with a hearty laugh.
The rest of the day was taken up with training. Another staff member, a no-nonsense woman in her thirties, was to be my trainer, and training would only last two days. “You seem like a bright guy, you’ll get the hang of it pretty fast, I think,” she said. And indeed, the job was easier than I’d imagined. My task was simple: I would be assigned to four different websites, with the goal of entering certain discussions and promoting a certain view. I learned later that some of the personnel were assigned to internet message boards (like me), while others worked on Facebook or chatrooms. It seems these three types of media each have different strategy for shilling, and each shill concentrates on one of the three in particular.
My task? “To support Israel and counter anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic posters.” Fine with me. I had no opinions one way or another about Israel, and who likes anti-Semites and Nazis? Not me, anyway. But I didn’t know too much about the topic. “That’s OK,” she said. “You’ll pick it up as you go along. For the most part, at first, you will be doing what we call “meme-patrol.” This is pretty easy. Later if you show promise, we’ll train you for more complex arguments, where more in-depth knowledge is necessary.”
She handed me two binders with sheets enclosed in limp plastic. The first was labeled simply “Israel” in magic-marker on the cover, and it had two sections .The first section contained basic background info on the topic. I would have to read and memorize some of this, as time went on. It had internet links for further reading, essays and talking points, and excerpts from some history books. The second, and larger, section was called “Strat” (short for “strategy”) with long lists of “dialogue pairs.” These were specific responses to specific postings.
If a poster wrote something close to “X,” we were supposed to respond with something close to “Y.” “You have to mix it up a bit, though,” said my trainer. “Otherwise it gets too obvious. Learn to use a thesaurus.” This section also contained a number of hints for de-railing conversations that went too far away from what we were attempting. These strategies included various forms of personal attacks, complaining to the forum moderators, smearing the characters of our opponents, using images and icons effectively, and even dragging the tone of the conversation down with sexual innuendo, links to pornography, or other such things. “Sometimes we have to fight dirty,” or trainer told us. “Our opponents don’t hesitate to, so we can’t either.”
The second binder was smaller, and it contained information specific to the web sites I would be assigned to. The sites I would work were: Godlike Productions, Lunatic Outpost, CNN news, Yahoo News, and a handful of smaller sites that rotated depending on need. As stated, I was NOT assigned to work ATS (although others in my group were), which is part of the reason I am posting this here, rather than elsewhere. I wanted to post this on Godlike Productions at first, but they have banned me from even viewing that site for some reason (perhaps they are onto me?). But if somebody connected with this site can get the message to them, I think they should know about it, because that was the site I spent a good 70% of my time working on.
The site-specific info in the second binder included a brief history each site, including recent flame-wars, as well as info on what to avoid on each site so as not to get banned. It also had quite detailed info on the moderators and the most popular regged posters on each site: location (if known), personality type, topics of interest, background sketch, and even some notes on how to “push the psychological buttons” of different posters. Although I didn’t work for ATS, I did see they had a lot of info on your so-called “WATS” posters here (the ones with gold borders around their edges). “Focus on the popular posters,” my trainer told me. “These are the influential ones. Each of these is worth 50 to 100 of the lesser known names.”
Each popular poster was classified as “hostile,” “friendly,” or “indifferent” to my goal. We were supposed to cultivate friendship with the friendly posters as well as the mods (basically, by brownnosing and sucking up), and there were even notes on strategies for dealing with specific hostile posters. The info was pretty detailed, but not perfect in every case. “If you can convert one of the hostile posters from the enemy side to our side, you get a nice bonus. But this doesn’t happen too often, sadly. So mostly you’ll be attacking them and trying to smear them.”
At first, like I said, my job was “meme-patrol.” This was pretty simple and repetitive; it involved countering memes and introducing new memes, and didn’t demand much in-depth knowledge of the subject. Mostly just repetitive posting based on the dialogue pairs in the “Strat” section of the first binder. A lot of my job was de-railing and spamming threads that didn’t go our way, or making accusations of racism and anti-Semitism. Sometimes I had to simply lie and claim a poster said something or did something “in another thread” they really hadn’t said or done I felt bad about this…but in the end I felt worse about the possibility of losing the first job I’d been able to get since losing my “real” job.
The funny thing was, although I started the job with no strong opinions or political views, after a few weeks of this I became very emotionally wedded to the pro-Israel ideas I was pushing. There must be some psychological factor at work…a good salesman learns to honestly love the products he’s selling, I guess. It wasn’t long before my responses became fiery and passionate, and I began to learn more about the topic on my own. “This is a good sign,” my trainer told me. “It means you are ready for the next step: complex debate.”
The “complex debate” part of the job involved a fair amount of additional training, including memorizing more specific information about the specific posters (friendly and hostile) I’d be sparring with. Here, too, there were scripts and suggested lines of argument, but we were given more freedom. There were a lot of details to this more advanced stage of the job – everything from how to select the right avatar to how to use “demotivationals” (humorous images with black borders that one finds floating around the web). Even the proper use of images of cats was discussed. Sometimes we used faked or photo-shopped images or doctored news reports (something else that bothered me).
I was also given the job of tying to find new recruits, people “like me” who had the personality type, ability to keep a secret, basic writing/thinking skills, and desperation necessary to sign on a shill. I was less successful at this part of the job, though, and I couldn’t find another in the time I was there.
After a while of doing this, I started to feel bad. Not because of the views I was pushing (as I said, I was first apolitical, then pro-Israel), but because of the dishonesty involved. If my arguments were so correct, I wondered, why did we have to do this in the first place? Shouldn’t truth propagate itself naturally, rather than through, well…propaganda? And who was behind this whole operation, anyway? Who was signing my paychecks? The stress of lying to my parents and friends about being a “consultant” was also getting to me. Finally, I said enough was enough. I quit in September 2011. Since then I’ve been working a series of unglamorous temp office jobs for lower pay. But at least I’m not making my living lying and heckling people who come online to express their views and exercise freedom of speech.
A few days ago I happened to be in the same neighborhood and on a whim thought I’d check out the old office. It turns out the operation is gone, having moved on. This, too, I understood, is part of their strategy: Don’t stay in the same place for too long, don’t keep the same name too long, move on after half a year or so. Keeping a low profile, finding new employees through word of mouth: All this is part of the shill way of life. But it is a deceptive way of life, and no matter how noble the goals (I remain pro-Israel, by the way), these sleazy means cannot be justified by the end.
This is my confession. I haven’t made up my mind yet about whether I want to talk more about this, so if I don’t respond to this thread, don’t be angry. But I think you should know: Shills exist. They are real. They walk among you, and they pay special attention to your popular gold-bordered WATS posters. You should be aware of this. What you choose to do with this awareness is up to you.
Yours,
ExShill
Conscious Life News does not implicitly agree with or endorse the views of the individuals expressed in this article, but we do believe that they have something valuable to add to the conversation.
As with all things, apply your own discernment. Fact check and verify where you feel it is appropriate. And most importantly, take the information that resonates with you, and leave the rest behind.
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[...] http://consciouslifenews.com/paid-in…ebate/1147073/ Excerpt: At first, like I said, my job was “meme-patrol.” This was pretty simple and repetitive; it involved countering memes and introducing new memes, and didn’t demand much in-depth knowledge of the subject. Mostly just repetitive posting based on the dialogue pairs in the “Strat” section of the first binder. A lot of my job was de-railing and spamming threads that didn’t go our way, or making accusations of racism and anti-Semitism. Sometimes I had to simply lie and claim a poster said something or did something “in another thread” they really hadn’t said or done I felt bad about this…but in the end I felt worse about the possibility of losing the first job I’d been able to get since losing my “real” job. The funny thing was, although I started the job with no strong opinions or political views, after a few weeks of this I became very emotionally wedded to the pro-Israel ideas I was pushing. There must be some psychological factor at work…a good salesman learns to honestly love the products he’s selling, I guess. It wasn’t long before my responses became fiery and passionate, and I began to learn more about the topic on my own. “This is a good sign,” my trainer told me. “It means you are ready for the next step: complex debate.” [...]
If any of what you say is true….you are well and truly fooked. They won’t trust you anymore…..we never did trust you. You shills really aren’t as smart as you think you are. You’re future appears to be quite short at this point. My advice to you is suicide.
What a horrible statement Toggle!
haha was a great comment
I’ll second that!
Wonder if Toggle is one of the shills?
Please remove violent posts
Mariane, as distasteful and cruel as it may be, suggesting that someone commit suicide is not violent. Suggesting that others should do physical harm to them would be.
Our respect for free speech compels us to post even comments that we vehemently disagree with or find offense. We do have some minimum standards however.
I only read the first few comments but I bet they’re all stupid.
Actually there’s some really cogent discussions further down.
It’s hard to keep up with all the shills on here.
This sounds like an awesome job. Call me scum if you want, but I got kids to feed.
Three. Three kids to feed, using a specific number sounds more authentic.
Hath the Goob taught you nothing?
How much is the pay? Im desperate.
how do we know you werent paid to write this?
Penny stocks are typically promoted by shills in the comment section.
i was actually a paid “shill” for a penny stocks guy, as well as seo, and other work he did for online clients. i would never do such a thing for political issues, or anything having to do with people’s opinions or the way they think, but for retail and e-commerce and things like that, i figured it wasn’t as bad to do, since i hadnt had a job for a long while beforehand as well like the OP… thats the only reason i did it, was because i thought it hung on okay side of the line of morality, since i wasnt influencing public opinion on anything, and just trying to get them to buy stuff, just like any tv commercial or online advertisement would be doing anyways….
[...] about a guy claiming to have been paid to express opinions on forums, like this one, at any cost. I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate | Conscious L… I would not be at all surprised if some of our more rabid posters on any side of an argument were [...]
Truthy Alert: Criticism of Israel’s apartheid crimes is ^NOT Anti-Semitism.
Why is Canada’s right-wing Bush-lite Prime Minister Stephen Harper *SO* fanatical about supporting Israel bombing innocent Palestinian civilians? What’s the secret agenda at work here?
Surprise! It’s money: Canada does ONE BILLION DOLLARS of trade with Israel annually. Most of it military. It’s always about the money eh?
At the 5:30 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ2MY58RunM
☻
You’re right Nadine. We do all that business with Israel and we also invest our Canada Pension plan dollars in Israeli armaments for example.
This is… possibly evil. I do not believe the author. All I know, as a serious and thoughtful agnostic, is anytime someone presents antisemitic views, we are looking at evil. This sound dramatic and it is and the only proof I have is history. Of course the person here is creating propaganda for Israel. The purpose? To throw into question pro-Israel facts, thoughts, ideas. The point? To make people question the only democracy in a region surrounded by theocratic totalitarian regimes, ones that supply the USA with its life blood oil. My suggestion?
Just shut up already.
Give me a break. Syria is NOT a theocracy. The Baath party was started by a Christian to keep radical Islam out of government. You call Israel a Democracy? What about the Palistinians…do they get much say? You’re probably a paid shill operating out of a dumpy office building, trying to earn converts!
Jennifer, angry that you got exposed?
Horsman is repeating the Israeli big LIE! LEBANON IS the FIRST and ONLY REAL democracy in the region. Unlike Israel, it wasn’t built on the theaft, murder and exile of it’s initial inhabitants the Palestinians and doesn’t have an apartheid system governing it. In addition, Lebanon houses some half a million Palestinian refugees who lost their homeland after the Israeli hordes violently attacked them. On the other hand, when a theocracy works well, such as in Jordan and the UAE, there is no need for this “democracy” bullshit!“Lebanon houses some half a million Palestinian refugees”
Yes they do. In squalid camps where they have no rights and no hope of anything. Meanwhile, in Gaza and the West Bank, while not ideal, Palestinians have pretty good rights, can have jobs, move around. You have no idea what you are talking about. Stop using my people for your political needs.
A clever fib sir, if you have no idea what’s going on over there. “Palestinians can move around”. Like when Israel flattens their villages and builds new settlements while illegally changing the borders? At least they can move around. Cuz not being able to move would be a human rights travesty.
My suggestion? Watch this video, or get the book from your local library.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOaxAckFCuQ
“The General’s Son” by Miko Peled
Complaints about Israel illegally occupying Palestinian territory with US backing is not anti-semitism. Palestinians are people too.
Palestinians (remember, they used to be Christians, Muslims and a few Jews living in peace in the pre-ww2 world) are Semitic people. Most Israelites come from AshkeNAZIm descent : they are not Semites but they persecute the Semites.
One of the most wide-spread methods for discrediting people and giving unwarranted weight to your arguments is to call the other party exactly what you are and accuse him of doing exactly what you’re doing.
“Hate” and “Evil” are their two favorite words (besides “antisemite”); one has to wonder why
Jennifer Horsman is likely a shill.
Why can’t i get paid to troll? I am a great troll, some one pay me damnit!!!!
anti-semitism=Evil…what a joke! anyone who questions the apartheid government of Israel is “evil”….oh me, that’s a Howler!
Article sounds like fiction.
Still, if you believe Israel doesn’t really do this; you are, aha, a schmuck.
Of course they do it they have a billion dollar propaganda operation and even have a Propaganda Minister (a Ukrainian by the name of Yuli Edelstein)
It’s not just Israel. It’s every PR company in the world, this is business as usual. It’s pretty scary to think average citizens might engage in thoughtful, constructive dialogue without interference, that could lead to real social change. If you’re profitting off the current state of affairs, the last thing you want is the proles to unite and advance together in harmony. No one makes money off that, and money is all that matters.
Seriously, dude… You actually adopted the position they were asking you to sell? While your victims can, indeed – ought to be forgiven for buying into your posts, you, for being suckered by your own propaganda, can only be described as a complete and utter fucking moron. I’m sorry to have to say it like that but anything less would just not be appropriate for the degree of stupidity you have displayed here. I am really, very sorry but there is no way around this one.
Actually, psychological research shows that his reaction is actually what the majority would do in that situation. It’s based on the theory of cognitive dissonance.
Some studies proving it:
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/29/5/703/
http://lime.weeg.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp.6.4.htm
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1980-05443-001
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1972-31414-001
So if he’s a moron, then most people are.
Thanks for that. Hard empirical data makes for more reliable predictions. There is a deliberate and conscious “willing suspension of disbelief” by the performers on the theater stage or in the video “fiction” as much as on the part of the audience. That’s what makes for a believable performance: denial and rationalization. Hence the legal meaning of “actor”.
I don’t know if that’s a legal term, but in theater it’s called method acting.
[...] on his work as an internet shill, his shadowy employer, and ethically dubious tactics. Original post on consciouslifenews.com → Comments on reddit.com [...]
[...] I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate http://consciouslifenews.com/paid-internet-shill-shadowy-groups-manipulate-internet-opinion-debate/1… [...]
I suspect there is a lot of truth to this story. I remember one time I posted factual comments on a news / magazine’s website bout a certain country based on personal experience and I was shocked by the reactions (almost violent) that I received. I never expressed anger just calm facts and personal experience. Their arguments were illogical and nonsensical and did devolve to personal attacks – I refrained from stooping to that level. Even at that time I had the feeling that it was a job for them. Who has the wish to act so stupidly in their personal time? About a week later, I found that my profile was no longer able to make comments on that site any longer. I thought it was really strange. I only spoke based on facts and personal experience. (equivalent experience, I am sure the commentors did not have)
I always wondered how was it that I got banned and not them for their behavior.
This post will be probably deleted but if you want to know about how to use propaganda and how it works look here:
http://cryptome.org/2012/07/gent-forum-spies.htm
The narrative of this post is much, much too convenient for me to believe in it. I can believe in the existence of internet shills, but I find it hard to believe that this particular person is anything but someone who likes writing stories. The office environment is much too stereotypical, and statements like “I wanted to post this on Godlike Productions at first, but they have banned me from even viewing that site for some reason (perhaps they are onto me?)” (Godlike Productions can keep you from using a different IP address/deleting your cookies/posting under a different username? What magic is this?) give me pause. This isn’t interesting until CLN can provide some form of basic fact-checking without fobbing off all the journalistic work with a disclaimer at the bottom of its articles.
Seriously?!
Who cares if his actual story is 100% accurate? What matters is that Internet shilling is a very real phenomenon no one really discusses.
Hell, in 2009 one such shill who had been making my life hell since I started developing an encrypted P2P communication app said that “he” was really a “she” who worked in a “group of 5 to 7 people” from around Europe, who were paid to harass me by, she thought, the U.S.
Now, I don’t even know if I believe that, but it sure meshes w/ how I knew they always had different IPs from many different countries, knew when I’d posted anywhere on the net at any time, and seemed to make it their full time job to attack every word I said online.
How much does it pay? I got no raise HD insurance, and do not want -7 dollars in my account anymor
I need work more than I need self respect. How can I sign up for this?
[...] via I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate | Conscious L…. [...]
[...] this post titled “I Was a Paid Internet Shill“, one man describes his encounter with this kind of operation, and how he was hired on to [...]
i think a lot of these negative and confusing comments are from shills. if you are ignorant enough to think that our world doesn’t use privatized companies who pay big bucks to manipulate the media, then i can’t help you. even the cia is involved in hollywood productions, and that is the truth.
[...] CONTINUE READING… [...]
[...] consciouslifenews.com [...]
I’ve always theorized about this kind of “shill” occupation, given the nature of some of the people I encounter online that don’t seem real. I mean its one thing to have a different opinion, and another to be a complete douche-bag in how you present your argument.
If this story is true, I wonder how many of these shills are employed for various special-interest groups, and how effective they are at controlling public opinion on the internet.
[...] http://consciouslifenews.com/paid-internet-shill-shadowy-groups-manipulate-internet-opinion-debate/1…Matt’s thoughts:The CC definitely has experience with engaging Internet shills, and can vouch that this does indeed take place. Some individuals simply have no morals. [...]
Yet, he remains “pro-Israel”. Who do you think is spreading this propaganda? Idiot
I’m sadly, not very shocked at seeing so many willing to lie, deceive, harass, mislead, scam and attack another for money. The blatant lack of any integrity, principles and honor is appallingly all too common. The fact that I’ve has children and would set that kind of example is inexcusable. You may think you’re too good for menial work, even if it takes two or three jobs but at least it’s honest work.
Hello.Amazing,the lack of ethics in our culture.The worst example is our own government.
I’m of two minds on this piece… On one hand, we all know that these people MUST exist somewhere. If you’ve ever been attacked by a group of trolls like the Digg Patriots, you know that they are real. On the other hand, this piece is a little too perfect and tidy to strike me as truthful. Also, some more information would really clear things up – What was the address of the office you went to? What was the real name of your so-called friend who basically sold you into the online version of human trafficking? See – something doesn’t quite add up here. I would not be shy at all about exposing people who made such an ass out of me and ruined my prospects of ever being trusted again… You see where I’m going with this?
Oh look!!! **Identical talking points* to the poster above, Aaron.
Trying to dismiss the meat of the story by giving the opinion (without referencing it as such) that the story is too “ideal”.
FLSqueezed even tries to get him to give even more identifying information, by making it so he has to defend himself. Classic move. Then he points him out as a coward, only covertly, saying, “**I** would not be shy”…
“You see where I’m going with this?”
Yes, I see that you are either completely missing the forest for the trees, or you’re a shill.
I think the story is being dismissed as it makes a lot of assertions, without any hard proof. Why not supply the address of where the office was? There’s nothing there now, so why the omission? At least then people could do a little of their own fact-checking.
[...] topics are extremely important to each and every one of us. Even if you are a low paid Internet shill, because we know you hate your job and want something more worthwhile to do than troll Bitcoin articles all day long, please leave [...]
If you are still pro-Israel, yet other pro-Israelis indulge in this deplorable act, this presents an interesting syllogism, wouldn’t you agree?
Maybe he just wanted to avoid the easy and usual ” BEWARE ! ANTISEMITE ! HATEFUL PERSON SPOTTED ! ” answer from the shills/zionists… Or he never really researched the subject (or cared to do so… after all, it is a depressing subject when we understand the extent of the problem) or he’s just a victim of his own propaganda… ideas stick in your head whether you agree with them or not (and he did say that he didn’t have a particular opinion initially). Look at Derren Brown’s methods of you want an example of that.
yea the fact that he said he’s still pro Israel really threw me off,i mean i can see the point in being brain washed by the propaganda he’s memorized ,but if the conditioning was that strong- then he wouldnt have made this post going against it.dont get me wrong I deffenitly believe this type of thing goes on & it was a good read …just the fact that you bite the hand & then still ask for seconds -throws me off
Eric Holder,our fine upstanding attorney General,had discussed doing the very same thing.Great stuff getting your mind boggled by the same creature that gave us ( And Mexico ), Fast and Furious.Along with hundreds of murdered folks.
Government and private entities have always tried to control what people think or want,the WWW has just made their job easier.
Validate your 2nd Amendment Rights.Carry.
There is nothing wrong with this! I am one of four paid staff at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin who work on social media. Meme patrol, posting on multiple sites, trolling news sites under multiple names, these are all critical to advancing our cause. You may call it “shilling”, it is actually heroic. It is also can be fun, especially when you redefine opponents on Wikipedia. Technology allows us to defeat Big-money.
But there **Is** something wrong with being paid for being a propaganda arm for any organization, no matter how small or large. The more powerful the organization, the worst it is, but it’s all unethical.
You may whitewash it in your head that you’re “only undoing the propaganda of the other side”, but what would be far more effective for your cause (if it is truthful and ethical in the first place) would be to expose the astroturfing efforts of your opponents, and let the truth bubble up unhindered.
“Trolling news sites under multiple names” You do realize that the only people who need multiple aliases are spies and con artists, and you are clearly not a spy.
“Technology allows us to defeat big money” No, big money signs your paycheques. You work for the ruling party as a pawn in the struggle for power you wingnut, therefore you are in the pocket of the pharmaceutical lobby, the banking lobby, the big agribusiness lobby, the military industrial lobby, big media, the Trilateral Commision and the Bilderbergs. You are no hero. You are the silver tongue of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Don’t kid yourself.
And it’s transparent, anyone who understands new media knows you guys exist and that you’re out there trying to warp honest dialogue and clutter our message boards. Legally, your tactics constitute libel, misrepresentation and slander, but this is “critical to advancing your cause”. The ends do not justify the means. At least a girl at the bunny ranch for example does an honest days work and when she goes home, she knows who she is. You are an unfortunately deluded sycophant.
WAKE UP!
Thank you for sharing your story and making people aware of this. Very Interesting. Essentially they are paying people to lobby for them. This goes on at the White House and it considered “respectable” politics there so do not beat yourself up. There are people, as you can see, who get on the net and become abusive for no pay, only because they like to dabble in sadism.
[...] I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate: Now I don’t know if this article is for real or not, but I do believe there is some truth to the fact that this sort of thing happens. [...]
[...] I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate: Now I don’t know if this article is for real or not, but I do believe there is some truth to the fact that this sort of thing happens. [...]
[...] You sure are good a dancing! You're wrong each and every time but I give you credit for your perseverance! Are you a member of this group by chance? I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate | Conscious L… [...]
If only you had permamarked the ATS page!!
I have permamarked this page, especially since it may be taken down. The PermaMark server is way outside of U.S. jurisdiction (unlike this server) and is not subject to the DMCA or most other copyright claims, as it is a historical mirror.
See http://www.permamarks.net/grabbed_urls/OQhBYg/consciouslifenews.com_228.htmlz
Tried posting a link to this on GLP my account was terminated with a threat to contact my ISP and have my service terminated tried having them lift the ban only to be denied
I dont know if the details of this article were changed, but if they were, this was a poor choice. However, this accusation has been made on many occasions and may be true. Being someone who is genuinely pro-Israel and doesnt need a paycheck, I dont understand this strategy at all. There are thousands of Jews and Israelis out there willing to defend Israel free of charge, and they do. Why do the powers that be feel the need to pay for advocacy? Ive even been told I should see if I can get paid for what I do because I am really good at it. But I always say that it would hurt my honor and reputation. If I do it for free, on my own, that means it truly is my view, unmanipulated. There are many people like me so I just dont get why AIPAC and stuff want to pay people.
I will repeat this point because many people seemed to have missed it:
CLN Editor’s Note: The type of propaganda strategy described in the article below occurs across a wide range of topics and is employed by various corporate, political, and governmental groups to promote a variety of agendas. It is called astroturfing, and it is far more common than most would imagine.
This post is not about Israel, and it is not partisan. It is simply an illustration of the mechanics of how online debate can be manipulated. As this is an anonymous post, we have no way of verifying the information contained herein, and it is presented only for your consideration.
Our intent in posting this is not to spread paranoia or incite shill witch hunts, but merely to encourage readers to view what they read and engage with online with a more discerning eye.
This confession is presented verbatim from its original thread to preserve its integrity. As such, you may notice some minor typographical errors.
Following this is a list of multiple sources you can check out for yourself to see that internet shilling is by no means an exclusive club. Governments, corporations, and political groups employ it to. The specific example in this article just happened to be about Israel, and at no point even suggested that the coordinated shill operation was commissioned or paid for by the Israeli government.
I didnt miss it and it is about Israel, as well as every other topic that uses this tactic. This is like saying “Its not about chocolate. Im hungry.” while munching on a chocolate bar.
How can anyone who has a conscience support “Israel” ? Where are the thoughts for those languishing in refugee camps because of this sinister entitlement to their land by outsiders?
The question should be “How can anyone with a conscience support the Arabs?” The Arabs have been racistly and xenophobically opposing Jewish residence in Israel for decades and centuries before Israel was refounded. The Arabs are the ones who keep their own in squalid refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Gaza, WB, etc. When the refugees try to build homes, the Arab governments destroy them. They need to have the refugees to bash Israel around with so they can hope one day to send them to Israel and eliminate it demographically. This is the only group of refugees in the world which are not permitted by their host countries to resettle. This is the only group of refugees that is inherited. Do some research, bud. There was a palestinian on reddit awhile ago who said you have no idea what youre talking about. Also, look up Khaled Abu Toameh. Arabs have a better deal in Israel, Gaza, and WB, than anywhere in the Arab world. All thanks to Israel.
Oh and lets not forget that Israel just saved hundreds of palestinian lives from floodwaters due to recent storms. The latter thanked the Jews by pelting snowballs at them.
It has nothing to do with who or what they are , it’s about basic human rights. A simple case of RIGHT OVER WRONG to anyone with morals and ethics. On May 14, 1948, a European Zionist Jewish state was SELF proclaimed in PALESTINE. It’s on stolen land. It’s on 78% of historic Palestine. International law affirms the universal right of return. It’s not negotiable.
I will repeat this point because many people seemed to have missed it:
CLN Editor’s Note: The type of propaganda strategy described in the article below occurs across a wide range of topics and is employed by various corporate, political, and governmental groups to promote a variety of agendas. It is called astroturfing, and it is far more common than most would imagine.
This post is not about Israel, and it is not partisan. It is simply an illustration of the mechanics of how online debate can be manipulated. As this is an anonymous post, we have no way of verifying the information contained herein, and it is presented only for your consideration.
Our intent in posting this is not to spread paranoia or incite shill witch hunts, but merely to encourage readers to view what they read and engage with online with a more discerning eye.
This confession is presented verbatim from its original thread to preserve its integrity. As such, you may notice some minor typographical errors.
Following this is a list of multiple sources you can check out for yourself to see that internet shilling is by no means an exclusive club. Governments, corporations, and political groups employ it to. The specific example in this article just happened to be about Israel, and at no point even suggested that the coordinated shill operation was commissioned or paid for by the Israeli government.
After following this thread for one day, in my humble opinion, that takedown notice should be ignored.
Israel is a contentious issue that many powerful people have a lot riding on, but it is simply an EXAMPLE. Environment, contraception, the economy, and politics generally are ALL equally contentious issues with equal amounts of astroturfing in play. We even have a comment claiming to be an employee of the democratic party who does the same job, and the republicans have them too. It is a method of moulding public opinion. There is a monopoly on the news media, which discourages public discourse, so these conversations move online. Naturally that is where the battle for legitimate free speech moves to.
The point is not what we individually think about these issues, there are bound to be differences of opinion. However, I think we can mostly agree that people should be able to freely engage in open dialogue on public forums without paid representatives of special interest groups skewing the discussion, sabotaging dialogue by stooping to ad hominem attacks and misrepresenting facts in the hopes that the average citizen will not take the time to research every ‘casual’ statement.
Those of you who engage in this are disgraceful. You are feeding your children by poisoning the well. The well your children will also drink from. You are traitors to humanity, every one of you.
Seems the post by the guy/gal who claimed to be one of 4 head office shills for the democratic party was removed within hours of my responding to him/her. Too bad. It was an honest post written by someone who believed in what they were doing, but I called them on their methods. So if it seems like earlier I quote something that doesn’t exist.. well, I do. But it was here, swear to god. o.O
I am one of the moderators and recall that comment. It was not removed. Did you check back in the comments thread?
[...] http://consciouslifenews.com/paid-internet-shill-shadowy-groups-manipulate-internet-opinion-debate/1… [...]
I have a screenshot of a shill who admits to get paid $3.50 per post of a minute.(takes a minute to type) If he “wins” the debate – i.e. if the other person stops dealing with the moron – he gets a bonus of $7. Many give up soon and others not so soon. The guy makes a good 3 grand a week.
This explains why there are always several “thumbs down” ratings on every Youtube video…
theres an even deeper conspiracy, where the ppl paying the shills to shill, are actually manipulated by higher end shills.
Exactly, that’s what makes it a “conspiracy”. But my guess is you will never see the names or real identity of the top shills… but Carl Rove does I bet and one would think AIPAC does. They have people to manage people to manage people to keep their lists of people that post.
Where do all those campain donations get spent??? The above “job” would explain a lot.
I wonder if this shill “employment” is considered in the GDP and employment statistics, since these organizations most likely pay payroll taxes and give w2 or 1099 forms (many would be “independant contractors”).
I support the American Anti-Corruption Act as a starting point to bring integrity back into government.
Toby, I have never been much into conspiracies. However, there is so much information on supposed conspiracies that I felt it was my civic duty to educate myself so that I can make an informed decision about government and business. It took several months but I have had to conclude that there is vast conspiracy that reaches far back into history.
As such, a large part of manipulating events has involved manipulating opinion. These manipulations originate from the tops of corporations, banks, governments. I have no doubt that the origin of many of these chat rooms, news providers, etc are put in place by those who manipulate opinion in order to control us. This opinion manipulation is the very bedrock by which they accomplish their goals. There is truly a huge information war raging as we speak and the very soul of our country and our planet is at stake.
So I encourage you to keep up the good fight and don’t let it bother you too much, these lost relationships. In a war there are casualties and this is no exception. There are people who are dying, as we speak, because of their opinions. The forces behind the disinformation are murderous and care little for human life. The work of defending the truth is a noble one. So hang in there brother.
The funny thing is religious groups have way more funds to do this then any other group and they have millions of indoctrinated followers to do their biding.
The top government shill is Cass Sunstein. Just google “Sunstein + Cognitive Infiltration”
All of this is based upon the premise that these forums, chat rooms and all other ‘postings’ have any effect, whatsoever, on readers, or other ‘posters’:
they do not. No one is ever ‘persuaded’. They hold onto their thin beliefs in
spite of any, and all, proof or arguments to the contrary. These posting are
for the posters. They mean nothing; they sway no one. But, have your fun.