Thread by @dcpetterson

The intent of Russian psyops trolls is not to advance a particular philosophy or to support a specific political party.

It is to create division and distrust, and to end democracy by convincing you that our democratic institutions have failed and cannot be repaired.

1/8

They don't do this by necessarily spreading hate, or by being insulting and offensive (though some do that). The operation is much more sophisticated.

The pull you in, sometimes with uplifting posts that make you want to follow them.

2/8

Then they talk about their suspicions concerning other Americans, usually people or movements you might otherwise see as your allies. The wedges between "centrists" and "leftists" are one example.

When "leftists" use "liberal" as an insult, trolls smile.

3/8

People on the political left are naturally drawn to philosophies of inclusion, so trolls use inclusive language, and then criticize Democratic politicians for individual votes that can be spun to seem "racist" or insufficiently supportive of (for example) climate concerns.

4/8

Most psyops isn't about outright lies. It's about spin. Language promoting disgust at the "lesser of two evils" is another example. No politician, no program, no institution is perfect, which means accentuating failings is an effective ploy.

5/8

Politicians =must= engage in political strategies, so yes, they will compete even with allies, particularly in primary contests. Again, psyops trolls will accentuate that, even while decrying the need to play politics.

Be aware of how you get manipulated.

6/8

When you become suspicious of an entire Party with which you agree on the vast majority of issues, when you begin to feel the institutions of democracy have failed and are not worth saving, when you wonder if your vote matters--the trolls have won.

7/8

And when I say "the trolls," I'm talking about (mostly foreign) efforts to destroy America and end our quarter-millennium-long experiment with modern democracy.

The point isn't merely to instill hate. It is to create disgust and despair.

8/8

Much of the above thread is based on material in this article, which is unfortunately paywalled. The article is a result of a years-long study of the techniques of Russian trolls attacking America and other nations.
rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

Here's an example.

https://twitter.com/thefragglerocks/status/1413913963801325570

Here's another good example of how it works. The impulse to spread distrust of democracy is precisely what the Russian attack is all about.

https://twitter.com/SeattleIndpdnt/status/1413916131715215361

Inane criticisms may be "free speech", but they're still inane. Saying dumb things because you can is still dumb, and can be destructive. This is precisely how Russian psyops is intended to work--use the tools of democracies against them.

https://twitter.com/alan_wootton/status/1413918698709082118

Defending efforts to weaken democracy by saying "free speech is democratic!" is a great way to defend efforts to weaken democracy. It sounds almost like it makes sense, doesn't it?

Critical thinking is clearly a part of immunizing oneself to psyops propaganda, but it's not quite enough. Humans are influenced, for better or worse, by the people around them, and by the information (false, true, or spinning) they take in.

https://twitter.com/funkutron/status/1413921454115069958

Thank you! Yes, you give a great example of how it works. The most mundane things can be used to help spread mistrust of our governmental institutions.

https://twitter.com/mizblueprint/status/1413922792609751041

Absolutely true.

https://twitter.com/michaelmhughes/status/1413928618875625487?s=19

The overall objective of Russian psyops is to end liberal western democracy. That's what holds international criminals like Putin in check. Promoting hate and nationalism helps on the right and promoting distrust of existing institutions helps on the left.

https://twitter.com/davidle12600270/status/1413931644344471552

Here's a low-follower troll, mocking the idea of defending democracy, and trying to make it seem unsavory. There could not be a firmer confirmation of the intent as described above.

This 2-follower troll didn't read the thread it's commenting on, and so didn't see I linked an article from people who did the study.

Plus, Mueller's investigation, the US intelligence community, and a Senate committee all determined the same thing.

It was, by the way, the Senate Intelligence Committee, which published a multi-volume report on its investigation. While Trump was still president and the Committee was run by Republicans. It also concluded America had been attacked by Russian psyops.