General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

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dyqik
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General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by dyqik » Wed Nov 13, 2019 3:28 pm

I think we might need a thread for the disinformation campaigns attempting to manipulate the UK GE.

I've just seen my MP retweet a fake poll result tweeted by the @Br1tainElects fake twitter account, suggesting the the Lib Dems can win in Mogg's constituency.

I blocked and reported the tweet.

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Iron Magpie
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by Iron Magpie » Thu Nov 21, 2019 2:18 pm

Is this the kind of disinformation campaign of which you speak?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ckuk-brand

Or is this?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... festo-site

Colour me unsurprised they have resorted to this. The tory party could literally* slide beneath a snakes belly with a top hat on...

*Of course not literally but the meaning of the L word seems to have been largely forgotten in modern conversation...

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Tessa K
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by Tessa K » Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:43 pm

The job interview for this would have been interesting. 'We want you to create a website full of lies. Do you have any issues with misleading the public? Are you comfortable with having your pants on fire on a daily basis? Is your name Pinocchio?'

Iron Magpie - yes, 'literally' does seem to have become an all-purpose intensifier, meaning 'very' or something similar. (I should put this in the What Hill Would You Die On? thread as it does annoy me)

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dyqik
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by dyqik » Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:49 pm

Iron Magpie wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 2:18 pm
Is this the kind of disinformation campaign of which you speak?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ckuk-brand

Or is this?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... festo-site

Colour me unsurprised they have resorted to this. The tory party could literally* slide beneath a snakes belly with a top hat on...

*Of course not literally but the meaning of the L word seems to have been largely forgotten in modern conversation...
Those, definitely, but also the subtler ones that it's not obvious who is directly behind.

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Woodchopper
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by Woodchopper » Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:53 pm

Tessa K wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:43 pm

Iron Magpie - yes, 'literally' does seem to have become an all-purpose intensifier, meaning 'very' or something similar.
It has been annoying people for hundreds of years though.

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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by geejaytee » Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:58 pm

Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:53 pm
Tessa K wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:43 pm

Iron Magpie - yes, 'literally' does seem to have become an all-purpose intensifier, meaning 'very' or something similar.
It has been annoying people for hundreds of years though.
Hunting around on OED, it is listed as "colloquial", but the first citation for this use is 1769:
OED wrote:...
c. colloquial. Used to indicate that some (frequently conventional) metaphorical or hyperbolical expression is to be taken in the strongest admissible sense: ‘virtually, as good as’; (also) ‘completely, utterly, absolutely’.
Now one of the most common uses, although often considered irregular in standard English since it reverses the original sense of literally (‘not figuratively or metaphorically’).
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague IV. ccxvii. 83 He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies.
...
So 350 years ago.

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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by dyqik » Tue Nov 26, 2019 8:57 pm

Here's one from a Mail journalist, with screenshots purporting to be messages from Labour leadership.

Except there's no identifying information on the messages, they are right aligned and so written by the person who took the screenshots. And there's a mouse cursor on one of the supposed phone screenshots.

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username
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by username » Tue Nov 26, 2019 9:09 pm

geejaytee wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:58 pm
Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:53 pm
Tessa K wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 3:43 pm

Iron Magpie - yes, 'literally' does seem to have become an all-purpose intensifier, meaning 'very' or something similar.
It has been annoying people for hundreds of years though.
Hunting around on OED, it is listed as "colloquial", but the first citation for this use is 1769:
OED wrote:...
c. colloquial. Used to indicate that some (frequently conventional) metaphorical or hyperbolical expression is to be taken in the strongest admissible sense: ‘virtually, as good as’; (also) ‘completely, utterly, absolutely’.
Now one of the most common uses, although often considered irregular in standard English since it reverses the original sense of literally (‘not figuratively or metaphorically’).
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague IV. ccxvii. 83 He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies.
...
So 350 years ago.
350 years of literal annoyances.
The half-truths, repeated, authenticated themselves.

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snoozeofreason
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by snoozeofreason » Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:43 pm

It seems that it's not just fake news we need to worry about, but entire fake newspapers.
Jo Swinson’s party has produced publications in more than a dozen seats with titles such as Cheltenham Courier, North West Leeds News and York News to promote their candidates. Each “newspaper” has a similar look to a traditional news outlet but is accompanied by a small line of text saying it is a party publication.
And for balance, from the same source
The tactic of masquerading political pamphlets as newspapers has been used by all major British political parties for many years, with local Labour and Conservative candidates also taking the same approach during this election. The Tories have produced a similar publication called Pudsey Future, while voters in Tooting, south London, have received a publication called Daily Press, which presents itself as a newspaper that is “free, paid for by local residents”, but does not state on its front page that it is a Labour campaign leaflet.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. The human body was knocked up pretty late on the Friday afternoon, with a deadline looming. How well do you expect it to work?

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Gentleman Jim
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by Gentleman Jim » Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:57 pm

username wrote:
Tue Nov 26, 2019 9:09 pm
350 years of literal annoyances.
I know - bl..dy sand gets everywhere ;)
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

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snoozeofreason
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by snoozeofreason » Tue Dec 03, 2019 7:03 pm

Just bringing the thread literally back on track.

Someone has distributed a faked Guardian article claiming that leaked Liberal Democrat emails show Chuka Umunna plotting a coup against Jo Swinson.

And the Liberal Democrats have faked emails from themselves as part of a long running argument over their alleged sale of voter data to the remain campaign. A senior member of their campaign team has been suspended for ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ forgery.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. The human body was knocked up pretty late on the Friday afternoon, with a deadline looming. How well do you expect it to work?

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jimbob
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by jimbob » Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:24 pm

snoozeofreason wrote:
Tue Dec 03, 2019 7:03 pm
Just bringing the thread literally back on track.

Someone has distributed a faked Guardian article claiming that leaked Liberal Democrat emails show Chuka Umunna plotting a coup against Jo Swinson.

And the Liberal Democrats have faked emails from themselves as part of a long running argument over their alleged sale of voter data to the remain campaign. A senior member of their campaign team has been suspended for ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ forgery.
This is an interesting tweeter to follow: https://twitter.com/r0zetta
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This points out the Guardian headline "meme generator"

https://twitter.com/r0zetta/status/1201879893077843968

https://twitter.com/r0zetta/status/1201881708351672321
I was going to post screenshots of this tool having already been successfully used to troll verified accounts, including UK politicians, but the account that was doing this -"shaniquaotoole" - is already suspended.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
and this thread about bot accounts boosting brexit torys:
https://twitter.com/r0zetta/status/1201639065784897538
A zoom-in on the pro-brexit camp shows the same 4 nobody accounts that are apparently cranking out the hits, and getting all the retweets...
next tweet:
...again from a great deal of fake-looking, and freshly created accounts. This time, the volume represents 19% of all interactions. They seem to be stepping up their game as the election draws closer.
Have you considered stupidity as an explanation

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GeenDienst
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Re: General Election 2019 Disinformation Campaigns

Post by GeenDienst » Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:34 pm

*sigh*

Time was all you had to do was shoehorn in a reference to polenta and everybody would believe it was the Guardian.
Just tell 'em I'm broke and don't come round here no more.

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