Article: "I Was a Paid Internet Shill: How Shadowy Groups Manipulate Internet Opinion and Debate"

It is an interesting but not so difficult of a problem to resolve. This reads like someone who lives in an alternate universe.

They make entirely convincing stories of alternate realities in which dark forces are driving their lives and the lives of others. I've run into two severe examples, a grandfather and a young marine, and when you realize what is going on . . . it is not fun. Worse, the change can happen literally overnight. This is beyond the usual . . . marginal mentalities or those with some particular mental 'tic'.

I am neither trained nor have any interest in training on how to deal with these people. I know my Grandfather never really recovered and his last years were in a 'nursing home' medicated . . . a body with little else. The young marine went to a mental ward at Bethesda and a medical discharge (he had hid his previous mental state from the recruiter but his parents knew.) Yet a year later, he called me out of the blue asking "What do you want me to do next?" . . . he was no better.

The change can be literally overnight, frighteningly fast. There may be signs before the change but I've never seen them, not that I'm particularly adept at such things.

Yes there are advocates for political position and some of them are paid. Others are amoral and we've seen both kinds in action. Sure, the last election saw unprecedented abused of 501(c) 'charity' contributions to evade tax and campaign law. But the characteristics of this posting, well it is a little beyond the pale.

If anyone thinks the images of these notes can change anything . . . if they think coming to a forum and using 'cut-and-paste' nonsense works. Well it worked so well for Mitt Romney, didn't it. As Lincoln once said:

• You can fool all of the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people all of the time. But you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

Bob Wilson

 

More practically, there are craploads of companies that hire fake people to "review" products. There really are thousands of them. Failbook has thousands of fake people paid to "like" or comment on items and organizations.

 

Of course it should come as no surprise that propaganda/entertainment outlets like Hearst media (for instance) are a major clusterfark of shill malfeasance. But at least with the likes of media, you can't honestly call harm or foul.

 

I would think the diversity of public opinion and the open access of the internet would immunize most websites from being unduly influenced by a "paid shill".

I mean, We are The People. We make up the opinions and viewpoints and debates within the internet. I would think it almost a waste of time and money to try to influence discussion or viewpoint by planting paid shills.

The double edged sword of this immunizing truth, is that often if you ask a question or seek an opinon on the internet you are likely to find EVERY answer and EVERY opinion.

That being said, if Volkswagen or Honda would like to send me a check for trashing Toyota's recent commercials? Sure, I would of done it for free, but if they'ed like to pay me? I'll take the money.

 

Someone with enough (not even that much) money can easily hire 10 people, each making 10 "individual" accounts and histories, to post on 10 forums. Boom, instant fake credibility.