U.K. government accused of setting up fake social media accounts to give the impression health key workers support it.
The Propaganda Thread
The Propaganda Thread
This is crazy: https://twitter.com/jdpoc/status/125226 ... 30848?s=21
Last edited by Stephanie on Thu May 14, 2020 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Oh goodie, the official DHSC twitter account has now turned up in the comments and, with a complete lack of self-awareness, is accusing the OP of spreading disinformation and undermining the fight against COVID19.headshot wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:32 amThis is crazy: https://twitter.com/jdpoc/status/125226 ... 30848?s=21
U.K. government accused of setting up fake social media accounts to give the impression health key workers support it.
The Tl;DR version being the DHSC has apparently been caught out creating false (and now deleted) twitter accounts using the photos and identities of real medical staff, WITHOUT their permission, to push the following narratives:-
1. We should go for herd immunity
2. The lockdown should end immediately
3. The NHS has loads of PPE
4. Only weirdo sexual-deviant communists oppose the way the government has handled the pandemic.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Is this a Cummings-style Dead Cat strategy?
Astroturfing and gaslighting aplenty.
Astroturfing and gaslighting aplenty.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Well here is another perspective: https://mobile.twitter.com/forwardnotba ... 4928230406
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Can I introduce "NHS Susan"
And her twin sister Mia:-
https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2019/12/ ... -increase/
And her twin sister Mia:-
https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2019/12/ ... -increase/
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
This can't possibly be true?
Some amateur troll factory?
Some amateur troll factory?
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Remember the time CCHQ renamed their Twitter handle “FactCheckUK” and spun anti-Labour news?
Re: The Propaganda Thread
Given that NHS staff are being expressly forbidden from talking/social media-ing/anything about Covid-19, which is over and above the blanket thing in most contracts about not saying or writing anything publicly which might reflect on your employment unless it has been cleared by trust corporate affairs, I would be very, very, very suspicious of supposed Twitter accounts of "NHS staff" being all glowing and positive: fakes or useful idiots (I knew a few of those - do anything to ingratiate themselves with the power clique).
It's so much more attractive inside the moral kiosk
Re: The Propaganda Thread
But that says nothing about whether this is the government being stupid.
Surely it's some bored troll with too much time and not enough skill?
Or, if you want to be full-on conspiracy theory, this is a deliberate throwaway by masters of propaganda, designed to lure attention for the real and highly sophisticated propaganda program hidden in the shadows.
Surely it's some bored troll with too much time and not enough skill?
Or, if you want to be full-on conspiracy theory, this is a deliberate throwaway by masters of propaganda, designed to lure attention for the real and highly sophisticated propaganda program hidden in the shadows.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
People seem to be confusing “these are dodgy accounts” (agreed) with “these are dodgy accounts set up at the highest levels of gubmint (I’d like to see more evidence please). Many of them seem to be sub Titania McGrath piss take accounts.lpm wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:12 amBut that says nothing about whether this is the government being stupid.
Surely it's some bored troll with too much time and not enough skill?
Or, if you want to be full-on conspiracy theory, this is a deliberate throwaway by masters of propaganda, designed to lure attention for the real and highly sophisticated propaganda program hidden in the shadows.
Nothing would surprise me though
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
A caller on Any Answers either last Saturday or the one before claimed to be a member of nursing staff from a London hospital (didn't want to say which) and was very insistent that there was no shortage of PPE. Unfortunately, as a listener, we have no means of knowing whether a good faith report.murmur wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:56 amGiven that NHS staff are being expressly forbidden from talking/social media-ing/anything about Covid-19, which is over and above the blanket thing in most contracts about not saying or writing anything publicly which might reflect on your employment unless it has been cleared by trust corporate affairs, I would be very, very, very suspicious of supposed Twitter accounts of "NHS staff" being all glowing and positive: fakes or useful idiots (I knew a few of those - do anything to ingratiate themselves with the power clique).
I'd be interested to know what evidence there is that the 'fake nurse' tweets were linked to DHSC.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
I don’t find this tweet terribly reassuring with regard to the quality of the “journalism”
https://twitter.com/jdpoc/status/125254 ... 01571?s=20
https://twitter.com/jdpoc/status/125254 ... 01571?s=20
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Transitioning from "Mia" to "Susan" perhaps. There's bound to be a rational explanation.
But srsly, yes, it looks like trolling. Did I miss it or is there no indication that it's trolling by anyone significant?
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
According to the tweets:lpm wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:12 amBut that says nothing about whether this is the government being stupid.
Surely it's some bored troll with too much time and not enough skill?
Or, if you want to be full-on conspiracy theory, this is a deliberate throwaway by masters of propaganda, designed to lure attention for the real and highly sophisticated propaganda program hidden in the shadows.
jdpoc wrote:Regarding those 128 fake #NHS Staff accounts posting for 'Herd Mentality' and support of the Govt that were set up by @DHSCgovuk
or their marketing agency ...
Posts were sent using Hootsuite, a mass-posting tool. Account registered to 1 person with 4 assigned contributors.
The one person has been identified.
Despite the @DHSCgovuk
reply to my queries of 'no comment' (and that's all she wrote), that person is a contracted Government employee temporarily assigned to this department.
If true, it's beyond "some bored troll" - though it will be very hard to find out if they were acting on official orders or not.I offered to provide all data to the @DHSCgovuk
for purposes of internal investigation.
They declined.
I asked to deal directly with their Soc Med and Comms team to work through the data.
They declined.
Our digging continues.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
I think this thread on Twitter is a pretty good takedown and a darn sight more forensic than the original claims
https://twitter.com/imbadatlife/status/ ... 56480?s=20
https://twitter.com/imbadatlife/status/ ... 56480?s=20
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:29 pmAccording to the tweets:lpm wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:12 amBut that says nothing about whether this is the government being stupid.
Surely it's some bored troll with too much time and not enough skill?
Or, if you want to be full-on conspiracy theory, this is a deliberate throwaway by masters of propaganda, designed to lure attention for the real and highly sophisticated propaganda program hidden in the shadows.
jdpoc wrote:Regarding those 128 fake #NHS Staff accounts posting for 'Herd Mentality' and support of the Govt that were set up by @DHSCgovuk
or their marketing agency ...
Posts were sent using Hootsuite, a mass-posting tool. Account registered to 1 person with 4 assigned contributors.The one person has been identified.
Despite the @DHSCgovuk
reply to my queries of 'no comment' (and that's all she wrote), that person is a contracted Government employee temporarily assigned to this department.If true, it's beyond "some bored troll" - though it will be very hard to find out if they were acting on official orders or not.I offered to provide all data to the @DHSCgovuk
for purposes of internal investigation.
They declined.
I asked to deal directly with their Soc Med and Comms team to work through the data.
They declined.
Our digging continues.
I think the digging went on a bit further to supposedly show it was the work of "a marketing agency set up three months ago by three ex @DHSCgovuk staff”.
It doesn't show that it was directed by the government but does beg the question* why 3 former DHSC staffers working for a marketing agency would apparently spend their free time organising (and then deleting) a large number of fake twitter accounts for the sole purpose kite-fly some controversial government policies and push a pro-government line in regards to its handling of the pandemic, rather than, I don't know, using their knowledge of social media to promote the desired messages of their paying customers.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
And another one:discovolante wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:35 amWell here is another perspective: https://mobile.twitter.com/forwardnotba ... 4928230406
https://mobile.twitter.com/imbadatlife/ ... 6849556480
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Lol. That’s the one I intended to post. I screwed up the link. Cheers Discodiscovolante wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:57 pmAnd another one:discovolante wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:35 amWell here is another perspective: https://mobile.twitter.com/forwardnotba ... 4928230406
https://mobile.twitter.com/imbadatlife/ ... 6849556480
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
I’ve decided I should be on the pardon list if that’s still in the works
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Full Fact totally pwn the guy. Not his first offence apparently
https://twitter.com/fullfact/status/125 ... 75905?s=21
https://twitter.com/fullfact/status/125 ... 75905?s=21
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
"mass-posting tool". Hootsuite is a scheduler. I've used it, amongst others.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
I know you post a lot, Stephanie, but I wouldn't call you a tool.
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Re: The Propaganda Thread
Stranger Mouse wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:22 pmFull Fact totally pwn the guy. Not his first offence apparently
https://twitter.com/fullfact/status/125 ... 75905?s=21
Yea right. Believable for analysis of 128 000 accounts, not for 128.He told us that currently that data was “not in a presentable form as yet”, and that it was “way too data-heavy for non-geeks”, but that he would keep us updated.