this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2025
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Fediverse vs Disinformation

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Pointing out, debunking, and spreading awareness about state- and company-sponsored astroturfing on Lemmy and elsewhere. This includes social media manipulation, propaganda, and disinformation campaigns, among others.

Propaganda and disinformation are a big problem on the internet, and the Fediverse is no exception.

What's the difference between misinformation and disinformation? The inadvertent spread of false information is misinformation. Disinformation is the intentional spread of falsehoods.

By equipping yourself with knowledge of current disinformation campaigns by state actors, corporations and their cheerleaders, you will be better able to identify, report and (hopefully) remove content matching known disinformation campaigns.


Community rules

Same as instance rules, plus:

  1. No disinformation
  2. Posts must be relevant to the topic of astroturfing, propaganda and/or disinformation

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[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

If you want less immigration then stop foreign policies that help fuck up other countries. Not saying that is the only cause but in the long run probably more effective than rounding up random people from the street.

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 90 points 1 week ago (2 children)

“Talking Points Memo” isn’t just a website. The term comes from a Republican strategy to send out a memo to the party explaining what the message is that party leadership wants hammered on public media this week. It includes a list of “talking points” with premade example quotes.

[–] sundray@lemmus.org 62 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Way back when the Daily Show used to cut together clips of GOP talking heads pivoting to their talking points in interviews, regardless of the question being asked. It was surreal. And the Left never found a way to counter it, which is why they still do it today.

[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I remember that as far back as early aughts. Why isn't there a counter? Granted, we've known about Fox News being propaganda but nobody seems to do anything about that, either.

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[–] VeryVito@lemmy.ml 44 points 1 week ago
[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 40 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Like, obviously they all get their marching orders from one place.

But damn. How have they kept a seal on it?

Its obviously refried bullshit, but their ability to stay in lockstep smacks of a state level actor.

[–] sudo@programming.dev 41 points 1 week ago (2 children)

but their ability to stay in lockstep smacks of a state level actor.

I guarantee you its a national group like the Heritage Foundation or TPUSA issuing these talking points. Just because the opposition is organized doesn't mean their foreign backed. That's just conspiratorial thinking.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I guarantee you its a national group like the Heritage Foundation or TPUSA issuing these talking points.

Thats the right answer. I just don't get how they've kept it from leaking.

That’s just conspiratorial thinking.

It can be both conspiratorial and true.

I think rightwing movements have become victims to a kind of "ideological spear fishing" coming out of Russia for decades.

NRA: Russian funded.

Rightwing astroturfed podcasters: Russian funded.

European rightwing movements: Russian funded.

Its obvious that right wing movements were coopted decades ago to weaken and collapse western Democracies. So when it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and smears shit all over the walls like a duck, maybe its a fucking duck*?

*[ apologies to any ducks whom I might have besmirched comparing them to rw'ers ]

[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

So in the world where spooky Russians didn't interfere with our politicians, the parties representing the capitalist class would... not do that? This isn't new. We've seen how capitalism led to the rise of fascism as a direct consequence of the needs of the system wayyyyy before Russia got involved in anything.

If you have a good analysis of how systems work, you don't need to imagine or uncover conspiracy theories to explain that which can already be explained simply through incentives. Whether or not Russia has been meddling is missing the point.

EDIT: Just to explain my frustration a bit better: When people focus on this over the core class issue, at best it's running cover for capitalists, but at worst it's playing into the kind of fearmongering that the government uses to manufacture consent for the military industrial complex. The more they can convince us that there are scary enemies out there who want to destroy us, the easier it is for them to justify giving even more money to defense contractors and expanding the scope and authority of the military, intelligence agencies, etc. It's giving more and more power to the people actually responsible for oppressing us.

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[–] AccountMaker@lemmy.dbzer0.com 29 points 1 week ago

It's jarringly obvious that they are just told what to say.

Reminds me of propaganda workers in Serbia that sometimes copy their messages along with additional instructions, so you'd see something like "LONG LIVE THE PRESIDENT but change it a bit so that it's not all the same" in the comments of news platforms.

[–] Buske@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They are all paid by the same people, Its not that hard to see which side they are on.

[–] TargaryenTKE@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Usually given the exact same script too

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[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 23 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It seems to work. People, all of us, are kind of stupid and when we hear things repeated we remember them. None of us are immune to propaganda.

Repeating something simple, and false, that appeals to emotions is going to have a bigger impact than something longer and complicated.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's just you. There's been a distinct lack of subtlety in right wing propaganda for a long time, going back at least to "this is extremely dangerous to our democracy."

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[–] KuroiKaze@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Counter point. Those countries are sending us hot chicks.

[–] stebo02@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 week ago (2 children)

so immigrants are only welcome when they're hot?

[–] okwhateverdude@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

And somehow, this is still a more sane immigration policy

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[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 19 points 1 week ago

The nice thing about being a Russian asset? Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V all day.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 week ago

ban illegal immigration

It is banned, that’s why it’s illegal

[–] Generic_Idiot@lemm.ee 17 points 1 week ago (3 children)

lol America may as well be a “third world country”

Why would anyone from a developed country come to the rapidly deteriorating US?

Idiocracy.

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[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 15 points 1 week ago

If they were intellectually capable of subtlety, they wouldn't be right-wingers.

[–] kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Subtlety is for the 2010s. We in the propaganda finger paint by numbers era now (and none of the numbers will be brown!).

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[–] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 week ago (3 children)

What the fuck is this outdated "third world" term?

Switzerland was neutral during the Cold War so are y'all banning the Swiss from immigrating?

Russia is technically 2nd world, so they're fine?

What is this dumb terminology lmfao.

Okay I think they meant "developing countries".

But why would someone from a developed region such as the EU immigrate to the US? The only reason why someone would want to come is because their country is already terrible and they want to take a risk, but if you ban them from coming, then you have zero immigration and your country collapses due to insufficient workers. Lol, dumbass politicians.

[–] Jikiya@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

The term has been hijacked from it's original meaning, much like irony.

That said, it's so dumb. The folks from developing countries are much more likely to be on "their side". People from developing countries tend to be a great deal more religious. While folks from the EU tend to be less religious, and want more "socialist" programs from the government.

But of course they can't get over their racism to even make any good decisions.

[–] shawn1122@lemm.ee 6 points 1 week ago

Its the way they refer to poor nonwhite countries.

Developing works too, kind of.

Low income / high income is the most neutral way to frame it.

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[–] SoupBrick@pawb.social 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I mean, they don't need to convince their base when it is comprised of loyal cultists.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

They are loyal cultists because of the repetition. The GOP are really damn good at getting their message across in a unified manner.

[–] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

i say they havent need to do it for a while, like 15 years ago they ran with Obama being an islamic communist that wanted to destroy america, and their base was ok with it even tho they had no evidence, since trump they definetly are more Blatant but its been a trend for a while

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[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

its because they are getting thier talking points from putin, who is paying all of thier income.

[–] VHS@hexbear.net 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

🥴 The GOP? The fossil fuel think tanks? The Heritage Foundation?

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 8 points 1 week ago (5 children)

it was well known the 3 right wing grifters in that screenshot was backed by putin thats why they all have the same POst. especially jack prosbiec who is married to a russian honeypot.

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[–] SpicyColdFartChamber@lemm.ee 8 points 1 week ago

Like the white South Africans right? Right?!

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Post this message at least nine times or you will have bad luck!

[–] Almacca@aussie.zone 7 points 1 week ago

All those problems are the result of corporate greed.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Turns out chatbots are just "intelligent" enough to copy/paste shit and change it a little so it doesn't get automatically removed.

Also the DOJ told us these people take money from the Kremlin.

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