Is this site full of Russian trolls?

[realFedUp]

Any American poster must wonder if this site has been used by Russian trolls. I have to say yes.
Can't believe, even with more security, it isn't.

[Anon-C]

1. I think it has been, sure. And what about that election day hack of DU? - nt

[CanonRay]

47. Is this site ready for the 2018 attack?

curious minds want to know.

[obamanut2012]

51. no

[Raster]

105. I believe the election day hacking was 4chan kiddies...

[vlyons]

2. I think we do a pretty good job of patrolling ourselves

Trolls get called out quickly

[Wounded Bear]

3. They're around...

usually get tombstoned when they show their true colors, though.

Not to mention shunned.

[JI7]

4. It use to be full of them going back even before the 2016 elections

There are still some now that show up.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

33. A lot of them around 2014 when they annexed Crimea

[Codeine]

100. The airline shoot-down over Ukraine

really brought them out of the woodwork. Purveyor and GoWestYoungMan were on that like white on rice.

[icymist]

5. If you want to see what type of trolls try and disturb this site

I would suggest doing a volunteer time on MIRT.

[Rollo]

17. Good idea

I'm thinking the rule against re-fighting the Democratic primaries probably has helped a lot to weed out the trolls.

But I'm also thinking they'll be back in force for the mid-terms and the 2020 effort... which is why MIR is vital...

[Rhiannon12866]

83. You're right about that!

It's pretty amazing how few new joins actually get through the door.

[Hortensis]

85. Unclever trolls are uncovered immediately or close to.

For sure, outright lies and attacks don't last long. They're always monitoring, and some of the experienced people on MIRT are really good at smelling out malicious intruders and waiting for them to act. But posters on threads also often send posts to jury before MIRT finds them.

But MIRT is not set up to do anything about professional trolls who come to embed, take time to establish themselves as belonging, and then set out to poison and inflame. That's for the administrators.

But with internet origin disguised, how to pick out a professional troll from the larger crowd of people who tend to agree with the doubts and dissatisfactions spread or from who always leap to quarrel over some topic always inflammatory to them? Some members do come to suspect someone here and there. But as long as the trolls, or 2 or 3 working together, are good at what they're doing and staying within the rules, they may be able to hide their various manipulations and injected negativisms in the crowd almost indefinitely.

Democracy's dead!
+1.
That's for sure.
You just noticed? It's been dead since 1988.
And nobody does anything!!!!

[Willie Pep]

6. Probably during the election.

Perhaps not now though. I think some of them might have been cranks though. It is hard to tell. There are many "Never Hillary" types on left-wing websites making comments and I don't think that all of them are Russian trolls. Some of them are actually Americans who believe that all mainstream politics is a waste and that staying home or voting for Stein or some other hopeless third party candidate is the way to stick it to the Establishment.

[BoneyardDem]

28. Yup. And many of those are the unwitting fools...errrr tools

[Botany]

7. Yes

n/t

[Generic Brad]

8. Not at this time

Definitely during 2016. We were overrun with them.

We still do not see eye to eye on everything, but that doesn't mean the people we disagree with are trolls. The current jury system gives trolls the heave ho relatively quickly.

[Sneederbunk]

9. Particularly concerned about the religion forums.

Seems to be consistent attempts to divide Party by dividing believers and non-believers.

[A HERETIC I AM]

60. ....

[Act_of_Reparation]

109. I hear one of them goes by "trotsky"

[A HERETIC I AM]

110. LOL...

Yup. A horrible person with no redeeming qualities.

I want to have his babies.

[sharedvalues]

10. Probably. Current troll point: You can't do anything about gun control, so give up

[Skittles]

25. we have always had our share of resident gun humping cowards

they're a dime a dozen in America

[GulfCoast66]

70. I am calling BS.

I support the Democratic Party Platform on Guns. That puts me out of the DU mainstream where banning entire types of guns is totally supported.

I love DU. But on this issue I stand with the Democratic Party. Which is that owning a gun is a right for self defense.

I support way more regulation than we now have but no bans as many on DU support.

I speak some French but no Russian troll lingo.

[sharedvalues]

73. Hey, you might not have noticed, but the party platform just changed. Parkland changed it.

The Democratic party hasn't changed their platform officially yet. But they will. It's all but changed in practice.


Go to a march on March 24th. March with those kids from Florida, and let's figure out how to stop gun violence in America.

[GulfCoast66]

92. I will happily march with them

Because a 19 year old being able to buy any gun like it is a hair dryer, and most insanely, large capacity magazines, is the very definition of insanity.

The male brain is not full developed until one is in their 20s. As an older male I know that.

I took offense at the suggestion that any dissagrement from the norm on DU is a Russian Troll give. That does not mean I do not support strong firearms regulations.

And I will bet you a doughnut our next Platform agreed with the current one. Guns are a right. Restrictions are constitutional and greatly needed.

Have a nice day.

[Demsrule86]

93. Or I have friends who are decent and hardworking and they use AR-15 for target practice.

My response is...does that include using school children as targets?

[Va Lefty]

11. Full? No. Are there disruptors here to divide us? Undoubtedly.

I agree with vlyons. I think trolls have a pretty short shelf life here.

[demmiblue]

12. No, it is not full of Russian trolls.

Discussionist trolls far outweigh the existence of Russian trolls (and those are far and few between compared to the legitimate posters here).

DU is really not that big in terms of internet traffic. Daily Kos would probably be a far bigger target.

[CincyDem]

13. Nyet. n/t

[Rollo]

15. LOL

[realFedUp]

14. Getting my land legs back again.

I have to believe this site, being one of the first strong political chat rooms was infiltrated and that it hasn't thrown every Russian hack out.

[greyl]

75. done well. nt

[Freelancer]

16. It seems like anything posted is twisted -- makes you sorry for reaching out

I don't know if a computer could do that, or if people are overly touchy because bots are pushing their buttons, but it definitely feels more harsh than a couple of years ago when I first started posting here.

[meadowlander]

18. I'm sure there are some but probably less than other sites with more diverse members.

I remember reading in one of the reports where they interviewed a Russian troll and they said they spend more time on conservative or mixed sites because on liberal sites they get called out and banned quicker.

Generally someone who comes on DU and out of the blue starts posting pro-Putin Ukraine invasion crap is going to be shown the door but if they did the same thing in YouTube comments or on Facebook they would be given the benefit of the doubt.

[Sophia4]

52. Posts about Russian progress in Syria are also a giveaway.

[LAS14]

53. Remember that they supported Sanders too. They were targeting...

...Hillary and supporting Trump. Supporting Sanders, anti Cruz and <ahhh!!!!! senior moment - the other Repub who had a chance against Trump>.

This is NOT an anti-Sanders post. It's just what the Mueller indictment details.

[Beartracks]

102. Seems they supported any non-Hillary candidate.

The Russians REALLY didn't want Hillary to be our President.

========

[SWBTATTReg]

59. Makes sense what you say...nt

[Turbineguy]

19. Russian trolls would look for easier targets.

Sites that attract "conservatives". Or sites that would run their postings because of a click-bait algorithm.

[jpak]

20. Yes - there were lots of anti-Ukraine pro-Russia posters here in the past.

And I can't help but think the "Bernie-Bros" were all Russkie plants as well.

And DU was hacked Election Night 2016...

[FarCenter]

21. If they are even reasonably competent, you would never know

"Trolls" that are identifiable are most likely American idiots of various kinds.

Actual trolls would fly under the radar.

[Kilgore]

31. ты правильный товарищ

[democratisphere]

80. Hey! Where's your English translated Closed Captioning?

[DFW]

90. Translation:

"You're right, comrade."

To which you reply: Как ты знаешь? Маленькая птица тебе это рассказала, или что?

(How do you know? A little birdie told you, or what?)

[lindysalsagal]

22. Me no Russian.

[Behind the Aegis]

23. "Full of"? No.

While there have been more than a few, many have left...for now. I expect more will start rolling in as midterms draw near. But, just as they are a problem, so are those who are using them as an excuse and declaring anyone who doesn't support their position (or a favored politician) of being a "Russian troll" is as problematic as the trolls themselves.

[samnsara]

24. if there are they wont be able to contain themselves and will be spotted...

[Kilgore]

30. нет, ты не будешь

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. Thread here where a Russian troll talks about how they operate, once you find that and read

it you will realize they are very much here and they are at all forms of social media.

They work in teams, one pretends to be on one side and the other on the other, etc.

And they are NOT easily exposed, they are very clever to keep low profiles but to always manage to be involved when certain issues are discussed. Which is their JOB

[nocalflea]

86. They often amplify as well.

They will support each other , especially if the post has a somewhat dubious premise and/or is receiving pushback.

[Kilgore]

27. Zdravstvuj

[EarlG]

29. If there are

they're probably going to be attempting to sow division and discord by starting threads to make posters paranoid and suspicious of one another's motives.

[GusBob]

39. The door is wide open ain't it?

I do believe it was Skinner himself who proclaimed that after he started this forum.....

(paraphrase) 'I could not believe how much Democrats could hate each other'

It's a slippery slope

[EarlG]

41. Well, look, my response was snarky

But the fact is that the Russians didn't invent the divisions between liberal factions out of whole cloth -- those divisions already existed. The Russian troll operation simply exploited and magnified those divisions. That's what makes it so insidious and difficult to counteract. You can't actually tell the difference between a passionate "true believer" and someone impersonating a passionate true believer in order to drive a wedge.

Really the only way to counteract this problem is for legitimate posters to do their best to avoid the wedge-driving. I understand that people get carried away, but those who aren't able to take a step back and treat their fellow posters in a civil and respectful manner are simply helping the real trolls (if they are here, which we unfortunately can't possibly know) to achieve their goals. So threads like this one, for example, which posit that the site is "full" of Russian trolls, are not very helpful because all they really do is sow more discord and paranoia and suspicion. Same goes for threads dredging up old fights from the primaries.

To be honest this is why the "ruleless" jury system experiment ended up not working (at least here on DU). At least with a rule-based jury system we all have a guide to best practices, which attempts to steer people towards more civil behavior and away from the kind of posts which trolls most love to exploit.

The best way to counteract trolls who are here to drive wedges is to refuse to engage in wedge-driving behavior. But again, this is a discussion forum, and people are passionate, so it's not always an easy thing to do.

[GusBob]

42. Very good reply. Thank you

Going forward, a simple operating rule should be

Don't do the Russians work for them

and don't post anything that would embarrass your mother

[Jim Lane]

76. Unfortunately, your "simple operating rule" is TOO simple.

You write:

Going forward, a simple operating rule should be

Don't do the Russians work for them

and don't post anything that would embarrass your mother

An example of the Russians' work during the Cold War was that, when criticized for their human rights abuses, they would respond, "And you are lynching Negroes."

In that context, revealing and denouncing the lynchings (which were all too common) could be seen as doing the Russians' work for them. We can't shy away from speaking the truth just because, in a particular instance, it serves the interests of the Russians or of any other designated villain.

I do agree with not posting anything that would embarrass your mother -- or, for those of us whose parents have passed, don't post anything that would embarrass you if quoted back at you during a job interview. That's one reason I prefer to post under my real name. I realize that many people have legitimate concerns about privacy, so I'm not suggesting that DU make it a requirement, but I'm hardly the first to conclude that internet anonymity is one factor in the poor quality of some online discussions.

Even if you choose to use a screen name, pretend that your post will be widely available, e.g. to family, friends, and prospective employers.

[rzemanfl]

43. One can, however, tell someone who is a passionate true believer from someone with a limited

command of English, a low post count or a low post count considering when they joined DU, who is invariably not a star member, doesn't understand the American political system and is here to stir things up. One just cannot mention it. That is a lesson I have learned the hard way.

[Sophia4]

57. So true. Thank you.

Sometimes I come to DU these days and I wonder if our country is still a democracy in which people respect each other's right to a different opinion.

I don't want to be in lockstep with everyone around me.

And I believe that there are many, at least two, sides on many issues. It is often a matter of balancing pros and cons and not of adopting a bi-color view of the world. There are more colors than black and white especially in politics.

As a life-long Democrat and an activist I sometimes despair at the anger and frustration of so many Democrats. They are good people, wonderful people, but in despair themselves.

We have to be the party that invites and accepts and encourages new ideas and even disagreement. We have to be the party of flexibility. That's part of what being liberal is about. Sure. Each of us has one or two issues on which we don't want to compromise. But hating people because they disagree with us on the candidates or the issues will defeat our movement. That will defeat the Democratic Party and all the good we stand for.

So vive la tolerance. Vive la diversite. (French for diversity.)

Vive les differences. (Long live our differences.)

That is democracy. Imagine what our country would be if Jefferson, Adams and Madison to name a few had not dared to disagree with some of their American compatriots. Horrors!

We don't live in a one-size-fits-all-world.

There probably are Russian bots on DU from time to time but not for long. They would not be able to handle the level of language and the intelligence that abounds here.

[SWBTATTReg]

61. Great post! nt

[R B Garr]

77. Jill Stein was not in our party. A vote for her was a vote

for Trump.

[Sophia4]

99. Not in California which voted overwhelmingly for Hillary.

Please review the election outcome.

Trump won in less populated states that make up the majority in the electoral college.

The electoral college makes a liberal candidate's victory in a presidential election very difficult.

Please focus your anger on the electoral college, not on savvy voters in California who know a lot about California politics.

[R B Garr]

106. Dont blame your decisions on California.

It is not savvy to vote third party or encourage others to throw their votes away. That is why we have Trump.

Speaking of reviewing, you should read and review the recent Mueller criminal indictments. They outline clearly how all the efforts to undermine Hillary resulted in only 75,000 people nationally being gullible. If anyone was a part of that, then that is why we have Trump, not the reasons given by the JPRers.

Trying to perpetuate a false reality and ascribing false anger to people is not wise or sustainable considering the facts contained in the Mueller indictments. Please review them.

[cyclonefence]

107. I second this emotion

An unpopular opinion is not necessarily an anti-DU opinion. I want to read posts that make me think of things in different ways, from a different point of view, always (it should go without saying) within progressive/Democratic principles.

[SixString]

62. ...

[demmiblue]

65. +1

I have a lot of the wedge-drivers on ignore (view any thread with a high number of responses, low recs and pointless sub-threads... that is where they dwell).

Drama llamas/passive-aggressive junkies make DU suck.

[Behind the Aegis]

72. Since you opened the door...

Perhaps, the admins should revisit the idea of allowing comments in an alert. While I have mixed feelings about comments from the jury, and I like the idea of categories for alerts, there are some alerts which need further clarification and since we cannot "ask the judge", it would be helpful if the option to explain were reinstated. An example, off the top of my head, was a comment which was anti-Semitic and not hidden, but it is likely posters didn't know it was anti-Semitic or didn't see it (it was a long post). Being able to briefly say: "Alert: Bigotry/Insensitivity: The following, "calling a Jew a Shylock is an anti-Semitic slur", and falls under "anti-Semitism"."

As for your other comments, I agree and mirrored it upthread. More than a few, more so than actual trolls, will use the "they must be a Russian Bot" to attack posters whose ideas don't jive with their own, and it should be seen as a personal attack.

[DFW]

91. Check the grammar, too

They have gotten better at it (if other sites are any indication), but Russians (and Ukrainians and anyone whose native language is a Slavic language) have a problem with articles and some prepositions. Missing articles (omission of "the" and "a" ) are the most obvious signs. These do not exist in Slavic languages, and native Russian speakers don't when to use them correctly until they have had a LOT of experience with English.

Also: Russian is declined, which means that in some instances for which English-speakers need a preposition, Russian does not. Henry Morgan's classic pseudo-Russian version of Little Red Riding Hood noted this perfectly when he noted that "Red" was supposed to take to her grandmother a "basket full goodies." In English, that would have been a "basket full of goodies." In many cases, where English uses a preposition, Russian just adds something on to the end of the word (i.e. "city" = Górod, "of the city" = Góroda, "of the cities" = Górodov" etc etc), and native speakers often forget to use the proper prepositions in English.

[Hekate]

79. Thanks for dropping in, EarlG

You make some good points downthread

[BoneyardDem]

32. I'm suspect of those posters who have a pattern of beating up on Dems

....particularly those Dems that just made a statement or action that should and could only be viewed as liberal. I'm suspect of those that have ample opportunity to slam Reps, but don't seem to be able to do so, instead will manufacture some flimsy excuse to denigrate a Dem.

[Sophia4]

58. Do you mean, "I'm suspicious"?

[Demsrule86]

94. Funny that you immediately thought it was meant for you.

[Sophia4]

96. I am not a troll. I have been an active Democrat for many years right here in the US.

Born in the US, in the Midwest for that matter. Educated mostly in the US.

I am not a troll.

In case you were wondering.

I realize that many here think that anyone with a slightly, ever so slightly, different opinion, is a troll. But that thinking is mistaken.

[Demsrule86]

97. I didn't say you were...but maybe you have been hard on Democrats. We really must win this year.

[Sophia4]

98. I have not been hard on Democrats.

But people who criticize the way others voted in 2016 for not being loyal enough Democrats have ostracized a lot of good Democrats.

The amount of bashing of Democrats who did not vote for Hillary on this site does not encourage unity in the Democratic Party.

I recall how the Democratic Party split (not as much as this year) when people who had been FDR Democrats balked at voting for Catholic John F. Kennedy.

That seems absurd now. Young people would not even believe it. But there was a small split in the party.

After the assassination of Kennedy, people voted for Johnson --- once.

But because of the disaffected Southern voters (over race and the aftermath of Kennedy's Catholicism -- which seems impossible now) and the Viet Nam War which was an extremely divisive topic, Nixon won.

History can be determined by a few angry people. It often is. We have Trump because of the failure to unite after the 2016 primary. In retrospect, had Hillary changed her mind and picked Bernie as her vice presidential candidate, she would have won.

We have to be much more ready to compromise and work with people we do not agree with. That is what politics is really about.

Sorry if my post offends anyone. But it needs to be said.

People voted for Nixon because of racism. Good Democrats sat the election out because they were angry about the Viet Nam War. People also voted for Nixon because they had left the Democratic Party because Kennedy was a Catholic.

Seems incredibly stupid today, but that is how it was.

And here we are making a similar mistake today, excluding, emotionally and in other ways, good Democrats, liberals, who voted what we think was the wrong way in 2016.

We need to focus on the future, not on the past, no matter how much the past hurts.

Bernie and Stein voters are potential Democrats. We need them in the 2018 election. Here on this website the anger and hate have to end. I know it is hard but that is what has to happen if we are to win and get stay-at-home-voters to the polls this year.

Reach out to someone who is liberal and might not vote this year. Spend your energy getting people involved in Democratic campaigns this year and stop mourning 2016. I understand the sorrow, but it will not get Democrats elected this year.

[GusBob]

34. "piece of shit used-car salesman"

The Russians dont need to troll DU. We do their work for them.

It has already started for 2020

[Farmer-Rick]

35. From what I've seen from lurking at other liberal sites not many Russian trolls here.

I've been at liberal sites where if a poster said the slightest negative thing about Putin, they were mercilessly swarmed. People would call them names and claim they were starting WWIII because they disparaged Putin. Now, if they said the usual anti Trump stuff there was some pushback. But not as much if Putin was called out for his totalitarian actions.

You could try it here and see what you get. I've criticized that little dicktater here and haven't goten any complaints. So, I'm thinking we are Russian Troll free ...for now.

[trof]

36. Yes, I believe it is.

The tone and content of posts and replies has changed drastically since I first came here in 2002.

I would say more, but I'd get 'disappeared'.

[lordsummerisle]

37. Why is it that the trolls are just Russians?

Wouldn't trolls from China, Afghanistan and North Korea, just to name a few, also have an interest in disrupting us...?

[SWBTATTReg]

63. Wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these so called hackers/trolls are Trumpettes located right ...

here in the USA.

Can't abide anyone restricting their freedom of speech, but don't hesitate to prevent our free speech rights.

Simply seeking to dispute our website, from hatred, because we are not blind and see the truth, in plain sight, of tRUMP's base ignorance.

Remember how snarky tRUMP supporters are...

[Major Nikon]

38. FWIW, The RT defenders don't seem to be nearly as prevalent

[kydo]

40. That depends on what the meaning of "full" is.

During the election? Oh yeah. We was jam packed like a line up for new i-phone full. Our run-th over with trolls.

Right now? There are a lot of trolls. Seems more then normal. It will get worse as the election draws near.

So what's normal? There are always trolls. But each year it feels like there are more and more.

I say we have been full of trolls since the baggers happened.

This whole russian thing is one hot mess that feels like it's an eternal nightmare of being stuck in some macabre twilight zone episode. No commercials even!

[Red Mountain]

44. Just curious

but in the spirit of defending this website and our Democracy from outside influence how many here would be willing to have their identities verified in person?

Would it be possible to create a system to do that? Is it worth it or should we just continue to weed out the trolls as best we can here?

Twitter verifies identities. I would think DU could do the same with a grassroots network of local folks. Might even build a little physical community in an otherwise online world.

We're all over the place. Maybe we should talk more face to face?

[LAS14]

50. If twitter verifies identities, how did the trolls do their thing on Twitter? nt

[Red Mountain]

55. Not all identities

But the high profile ones, yes.

I'm sure they wouldn't consider contemplating trying to verify all of them.

But DU might.

[Gabi Hayes]

45. Trolling 101

Take your pick

Take some time

https://www.google.com/search?q=rich+macedonian+trolls&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

[roamer65]

46. If it is...then fuck Russia and fuck Putin.

Fuck all you goddamn Putin loving Russian sons a bitches.


God that felt good.

[edbermac]

48. Здра́вствуйте!

Моё судно на воздушной подушке полно угрей!

[ornotna]

54. Such a good movie

[Kilgore]

66. отлично

заставляет меня хотеть, чтобы я вернулся на родину

[LAS14]

49. It would make me happy to discover that the primary vitriol was created...

.... in some measure (large part????) by Russian trolls.

[McCamy Taylor]

56. Yes, but they are not very good at their job, and it is easy to spot them.

Every message board--including Free Republic and probably even Stormfront has people who are not what they claim to be. Many represent corporate interests--these are the slickest and most professional since money is a Very Important Matter. Since Russia's financial interests are tied to the financial interests of some of the usual trolls--NRA and the forces that want to keep drugs illegal and Big Oil are three that come to mind---they have some "Russian" trolls that are better at it than others. There are enough of a new type---people who just do not gronk U.S. culture--that I think that Russia may be recruiting some people who are English fluent but who do not live here and who will work cheap. They remind me of the trolls who used to show up to complain when the US tried to stop anti-Muslim genocide in Bosnia back in the 1990s. They always claimed to be Americans, but they acted like they were from another country, and I suspected they were Serbian or Russian. The corporate folks who happened to be aligned with Russia who are trying to sell us something have a much better grasp on American culture, because cultural competency is marketing 101 when you do business in the US.

Here is a real example of a troll that did not realize he/she was giving himself away at DU recently. Did not grasp the liberal concept of hate the action not the actor that every true-blue "We Will Overcome" crooning leftist has been taught since birth. Has a list of all the people he/she is supposed to trash talk, but does not understand the lingo.

Re-read your Roland Barthes. Now, more than ever it is important to understand that everything you read online is propaganda. You know this in your gut. Once your mind understands what your gut is trying to tell you, it will be easy to work against the trolls.

A couple of decades ago, when I first started doing this, I found myself getting in these absolutely infuriating stupid endless virtual arguments with assholes. And then I realized what was going on. It's just a kind of street theater, like we used to have in the 1960s, except with words. Do not participate in anyone else's Internet Word Play. Write your own. Have them dance on your strings. It's fun. And you don't even need to have a degree in English lit (though it helps).

[AtheistCrusader]

69. "grok", comrade...

[Jim Lane]

74. Instead of refighting the primary, someone is refighting the Super Bowl. (n/t)

[VOX]

64. I've been an active DU member for 15 years. I *never* put anyone on ignore prior to 2016.

But starting with the 2016 primaries, I put 300+ users on ignore. When I recently looked at the flat list of user names I blocked, nearly all of them have not posted since the 2016 election.

Based on my experience alone, something very strange occurred on DU two years ago. I cannot say for sure that it was Russian trolls; but, as the stories come out on the hows-and-whys of interference, something very unusual was fueling an unprecedented lack of civility on DU.

I have my suspicions.

[Stinky The Clown]

67. The site is not "full" of them . . . . .

. . . . but otherwise . . . . . . . yeah.

[gammie97]

68. I think the Russians supported Sanders to further divide the Democrat vote

I don't think Sanders would have been a puppet for the Russians and they knew that, but they wanted to further divide the Democratic vote. Supported Stein for the same reason.

[Hekate]

78. Democratic, not "Democrat". Welcome to DU, gammie97...

Just a word to the wise: that usage was invented by Gingrich to be annoying and demeaning, and went viral among the RW. So it's kind of a "tell."

Other than that, good point. I don't think Bernie himself was a tool, but I think Jill Stein certainly was and is.

[gopiscrap]

111. welcome to DU

[IluvPitties]

71. Hopefully not.

[Hekate]

81. No, not "full of"

[airmid]

82. I usually just watch how people react. i have known folks not crazy about Hillary but these are

people who at least live in the realm of realty. They may have had policy issue difference or something of that nature. But if they start throwing out the nonsense like Uranium One, pizzagate, body count bs, they are either delusion, Russian trolls, or deplorable. BTW...deplorable must equal gullible because these people simultaneously proclaim the government as incompetent boobs or a bunch of geniuses at every level for running the most complex cover-ups and conspiracies in history. I'm not sure who's worse.

[DetlefK]

84. I do remember a DU-member I now in hindsight suspect of being a russian troll.

He regularly posted about Russia and tried to make them look good and we had long, long discussions about Syria and Ukraine.

Then, four days after the 2016 election, he disappeared.

And Yes, I do remember his username.

[nocalflea]

87. Russian trolls, American trolls, Americans ,working for russians, Trolls.

DU isn't immune.

[MBS]

88. They were really noticeable after the Russians invaded Crimea

and the mysterious "little green men" began messing around in eastern Ukraine. They peaked after about 6 months, and the most notorious of those trolls seem finally to have been banished, but they were around here for at least a year, maybe even longer.

And a surprising number of people on this site seemed, at least initially, to be fooled.

I would not be surprised at all if these guys also "visited" this site during the Democratic primaries and general election, too, stirring up intra-party animosities.

I smelled something funny about the post-Crimea trolls from the beginning, but learning now that both campaigns (propaganda on Russian invasion of Ukraine and meddling in American domestic politics) started about the same time, and took place in the same office building, now makes horrifying sense.

[nolabels]

89. Now that you bring that up, they are kind of easy to spot

It sounds pretty weak of their freaking country though. They have to come over here and try to make ours worse because they are too feeble minded to make theirs better.

Maybe they get an education here, anythings possible

[Oneironaut]

95. No offense to anyone, but DU isnt important enough.

Russian trolls only go on Facebook and Twitter, where their stories can be shared millions of times. They wouldn’t waste their time on this site.

[Lithos]

101. My 2 cents

Yes - they have been here

It is not the same though as Twitter and Facebook. The big reason is that the discussion format and the software do not lend itself to the bot type automation.

TL;DR - Yes, but the interactive nature makes it expensive in terms of time for more than a handful to visit.

[Iggo]

103. Why wouldn't it be?

Of course it is.

[MadDAsHell]

104. Yes there are Russian trolls, although the FEAR of trolls is far more disruptive.

I believe the anti-troll paranoia that results in every opposing viewpoint being labeled a “troll” is far more disruptive to healthy DU discussion than any trolls themselves are. People just plain aren’t very nice to each other.

i.e There doesn’t even really need to be trolls, because we’re happy to do the damage to ourselves. We’d be far better served if we just accepted that they exist, and ignore them. They stay because they’re fed.

[LAS14]

108. If we engage opposing opinions in a civilized way, with logic and facts....

... they become an occasion for good messaging. If they trigger hate, then they win.