doesnt it seem a little odd that a candidate pays people to post?

[reddread]

basically chicken shit marketing, but in the broken process of
American democracy, shouldnt this be unacceptable?
or at least a red flag?
Im just a little confused about that.

[Awknid]

1. Careful, they'll kick you off of DU

[Unicorn]

91. Please explain. I'm new here.

Why would that post get someone kicked off this site?

[CentralCoaster]

2. It's some sad shit alright.

[Califonz]

6. 666 posts!

Sorry, that and the pic juxtaposed was hillaryious

[CentralCoaster]

9. There are no "accidents"!

Cool!

[Octafish]

87. Astroturf

Now with Social Media.

[JoePhilly]

3. You don't think some Bernie folks are paid to

... push his message using social media?

[reddread]

5. thats called running a campaign

nobody is pretending they arent a Bernie supporter or member of the campaign.

what a sad job some people have to do.

[grossproffit]

11. And you know this how?

"nobody is pretending they arent a Bernie supporter or member of the campaign."

[reddread]

19. locally? because I know most of them

online? none of the tells take place.
its pretty easy, theyre shooting for idiots.
at this stage, those tricks are too stale,
but THAT IS ALL BROCK CAN MUSTER.

If I were on a campaign, I would LOVE
that fool Brock for an opponent.
nothing but slime.
not even an issue.

either supreme confidence with their sights on the right
or just damn stupid and empty handed.

[hellofromreddit]

24. Nope. People assure me the meanie bernie bros do it out of pure sexism.

I hear it relentlessly.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

71. Welcome to "full ignore." n/t

[MineralMan]

75. I wonder how many DUers really care if someone puts them on "full ignore."

I doubt it very much. What do you think?

[missingthebigdog]

78. Is there "partial ignore?"

I don't seem to have that feature.....

[Amaril]

92. Well, kinda.

You can choose to either just block mail from someone or put them on full ignore (which blocks mail and posts). I guess you could call blocking mail to be a "partial" ignore.

[hellofromreddit]

106. I don't get why it's even a thing to announce it.

[MineralMan]

107. Announcing that you're putting someone on ignore

Makes some people feel more important, I guess. I would never ignore anyone that way. It's easy to simply not click on a post or scroll past it.

The ignore feature on DU is designed to help people only see what they agree with. It's a way of avoiding having to face the reality that some people disagree with you.

[hellofromreddit]

108. Agreed. I'm keeping my ignore list empty, even if a few around here are infuriating.

[PatrickforO]

103. I am a Bernie supporter and I AM mean.

My whole mission in life is to turn into a unicorn and prance through a series of completely unrealistic meadows...

[CoffeeCat]

28. We're talking about people posing as regular people--

on Reddit, messageboards, comment sections and Twitter--being bullies and acting like disruptors to anyone who doesn't write positive comments about Hillary.

This is the definition of a paid shill! No one finds this acceptable.

It's like paying people to attend rallies. It's pathetic.

If you don't have enough organic support online--to spread your positive messages or to combat negativity--then you're a flawed candidate.

[notadmblnd]

55. And that's the thing right there.

They don't spread any message about HRC let alone positive messages about her. They only attack Senator Sanders and his supporters.

If you ask them honest questions as to her positions on issues, all you get is crickets.

Or am I the only one who has seen this time after time?

[CoffeeCat]

56. Yes, because with paid shilling

it isn't about propping up the candidate. It's really about demoralizing, disrupting and bullying the supporters of the other candidate. They want them to be frustrated and go away.

That's really what this is about. It always has been.

People who are paid to post like that, don't always have a strong grasp of the issues. They're not paid to dispense knowledge. They're paid to disrupt and silence so the other side gets frustrated, gives up and goes away.

[Amaril]

94. No, you aren't the only one

I've put about 30 of them on ignore recently. Like the saying goes, obvious trolls are obvious.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

82. Why pay when you have the real deal numbering in the millions?

The answer to your question is a resounding NO.

[lagomorph777]

93. Hillary's new logo:

" "

Apparently that is all her supporters need to say. It must be some kind of secret code.

[Milestone]

4. This is nothing new.

I'm pretty sure they've been paying people to post here for years.

[reddread]

10. is it acceptable within the voting process?

were there never laws in place that protected us from media burn?
we didnt get her by accident.
that telecom deregulation worked miracles.

[Snotcicles]

7. It's what keeps some of these boats afloat. nt

[nc4bo]

12. Big red flag. In fact, YUUUUUUUGE! nt

[Nye Bevan]

13. You mean I'm doing this for free when someone could be *paying* me?

Well thanks for ruining my night.

[grossproffit]

16. Twitter pays the big bucks. I'm clocking mad Tubman's!

[Ed Suspicious]

21. That's what they offered? Nothing?

[PatrickforO]

105. No doubt! I want my nickel a post!

Funny, I keep hearing this, and truly some people seem pretty one-track, but I've never figured out how to sign up to get paid anything...

[FourScore]

14. must read bloomberg article - "I was a political hacker"

http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-to-hack-an-election/

[winter is coming]

15. GIven some of the crap they peddle, I'd expect to be paid, too. n/t

[LuvLoogie]

17. Not at all.

https://revolutionmessaging.com/in-the-press/

[Doctor_J]

18. Nothing Hillary does surprises me any more

She is really revolting

[CorporatistNation]

60. There Is NEVER A SURPRISE With Hillary... Same SOP for 30 years!

[Fairgo]

97. Surprise requires imagination

That's in short supply in the world of "No we can't"

[sadoldgirl]

20. Sorry, people, you misunderestimate her:

This is HRC's new effort to create jobs.

Of course, we don't know whether they
are well paying ones or not.


(sarc)

[Art_from_Ark]

33. I heard it's a penny a word

Not sure if articles, abbreviations and prepositions are counted, though.

[lostnfound]

22. No. Authenticity doesn't matter; whatever it takes to win. Meaningful public discourse is quaint and

Naiive. The public is best kept deluded and manipulated.

[PowerToThePeople]

23. It is chickenshit.

But, they can't win honestly.

[Dont call me Shirley]

25. It's the invisible hand of the Free Market typing.

[reddread]

26. they should use both hands

[grasswire]

27. It's like what Jeb Bush had to beg for:

"Please Clap"?

[reddread]

29. that was the response she got at the NY debate.

they were not clapping it up.

[LisaM]

30. Hasn't the Sanders camp paid $16 million

to Revolution Messaging?

[reddread]

34. did they?

see what happens when you hire Americans instead of an offshore call center?

no wonder we need those H1B visas bumped up.
American citizens are simply too greedy.

[riderinthestorm]

43. Link?

[BreakfastClub]

49. This doesn't say how much Bernie paid them, but

talks about what they do for him.

"But there’s more to it than that. Sanders has relied on Revolution Messaging and his own digital staff to help build a giant email list of supporters through online ads, videos, shareable graphics and social media posts at key moments in the campaign."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/03/18/revolution-messaging-helps-drive-sanders-political-revolution/81977160/

[riderinthestorm]

63. Link to Bernie paying staff to troll like Brock's minions

or STFU

[HooptieWagon]

31. Part of astroturfing.

[fun n serious]

32. Bernie campaign has been doing it from the jump

Busing people to caucuses to vote from other states too. Yes I do have proof

:large

Here is his FB. He admits it and talks about it

https://www.facebook.com/LakerGreg

[reddread]

36. they really didnt have a choice

those people were going to fight for Bernie one way or another.
California is a Bernie bulwark.

[Downwinder]

35. Not really. It is a Corporate thing to do.

[brooklynite]

37. Nobody here is being paid to post; with all due respect, DU isn't important to the national election

[reddread]

41. I didnt say anything about DU

did I?
Check Brock's PR releases why dontcha?

[riderinthestorm]

45. Reddit is and other mega forums nt

[HDSam]

38. So they're paying people

to push pro-Clinton posts and counter anti-Clinton statements. I'd like to say it's surprising, but I've known other people who relied on tossing money around to make friends

What I'd really like to know is if the Clinton campaign is paying any number of website owners to push a pro-Clinton agenda.

[Barack_America]

39. Well, she's hopelessly corrupt...

...so, no.

[nolawarlock]

40. I don't buy that, at least not here.

I put up a poll earlier here in GDP. 82% said they were with Bernie. This site is WAY in favor of Bernie. If Hillary were paying even a handful of people to post, you'd have dozens of sock accounts and Bernie's people would be vastly outnumbered.

[reddread]

42. I didnt say DU

and I didnt make it up.

[nolawarlock]

44. Well if it's somewhere else, then who knows?

I just don't think it's happening here.

I also am skeptical of Facebook since I've seen a lot of viciousness that never gets answered.

[mhatrw]

74. You may not buy that, but Hillary does. nt

Last edited Fri Apr 22, 2016, 11:39 PM - Edit history (1)

[nolawarlock]

83. Well then why are Bernie folks in such a majority here.

Surely she can afford to buy the means necessary to have dozens of sock accounts.

[mhatrw]

110. She just needs enough to jam discussion up a little.

Why waste a lot of money on this internet backwater?

[msongs]

46. bernie pays people to post his ads all over the place. and he is still losing nt

[BreakfastClub]

47. All campaigns do it, including Obama's and

Bernie's.

https://revolutionmessaging.com/2015/05/06/revolution-messaging-to-lead-digital-efforts-for-bernie-sanders-presidential-campaign/

[trudyco]

50. Where does it say that they pay people to pose is regular folks?

This just looks like digital advertising, getting the word out on social media, organizing people, and figuring out how to raise money. Doesn't say anything about posing as a regular citizen and then manipulating peoples' opinions. Quite a different kettle of fish.

[JonathanRackham]

48. See. Skills in addition to email.

[mindwalker_i]

51. Kind of like a laugh track

In this case, it's like saying, "C'mon guys, I'm cool! Really!"

[bkkyosemite]

52. Desperation

[jwirr]

53. Didn't she pay a bunch of people from India to rec her

on some social media site?

[Thinkingabout]

54. From some of the post I have wondered if there were paid posters, especially with many

Post in a short time period. Do they get the post fed to them in a file and then dumped here on DU?

[Warren DeMontague]

57. When a good chunk of your base needs their grandchildren to reset the router

Whaddaya gonna do?

[Baobab]

58. Read this:

This is why they do it and you can also get an idea from this what they do and how they do it.

(if you are smart)

https://www.clear.rice.edu/comp551/papers/HalloyEtAl-RobotsAndRoaches-Science2007.pdf

Seriously.

[reddread]

61. thank you

[DookDook]

95. I know that my wife and I are looking forward to our robot overlords.

I think it's the only way we'll ever have a free and fair society is to let machines make all the decisions for us. I used to listen to a podcast about trans-humanism and one of the speakers used to talk about how we keep dumping information into the world wide web and we have to wonder what happens if it ever 'wakes-up.'

[Baobab]

96. Have you ever seen Kubrick (and Spielberg's) film "AI" ?

nt

[DookDook]

104. We saw it in the theater, when we used to go out to the movies.

We were some of the few people in the theater that seemed to enjoy it. Some people weren't too happy with the 'disney' like ending, but I had no problem with it.

Have you seen the movie, Robot and Frank? It was some great hard robot sci-fi. I really loved how they portrayed the near future. It was one of the few robot movies I've seen that didn't invoke Asimov's laws of robotics.

And just so I know that I'll be reimbursed for this, #feelthebern. Almost forgot to add that and then I wouldn't get any of my Bernie Bucks.

(I'm posting this from my Obama-phone)

Half this post is sarcastic.

[oasis]

59. No, campaigns would be stupid to allow zealots to go unchecked

playing fast and loose with the facts.

wouldn't be prudent.

[reddread]

64. disappearing Sanders from photos fast and loose?

was that?

[glinda]

62. Used to be illegal but no longer is if you skirt the edges.

[lmbradford]

65. Who else would?

I don't think her supporters have been able to articulate any issues that they stand with her on. They say "woman President" or I like the Clintons as if Bill would still govern. I am a woman who proudly stands with Bernie. I'm also old so I don't fit any of the identity politics that has been their only true issue. I enjoy truth, education, working toward the good of mankind and ethics in the people that I support and I will NOT vote for her ever.

She couldn't pay me enough to blog for her much less vote for her. I make plenty of money and pay a lot of taxes, but I have children who need a future. Just because I am ok doesn't mean that it is ok for me to not care about my friends, family, and fellow human beings. I was raised right. Doing the right thing isn't easy but it's necessary.

[Buns_of_Fire]

66. I Made $$$Millions$$$ Bring an A$$hole on the Internet! You Can Too!

Hi, my name is Bob. I'm typing this from my palatial mansion in the Hamptons, waiting for my wife, Morgan Fairchild, to return so that we can jet to Aspen for the annual Broken Leg Festival. People ask me, "Bob, how did you get so rich? You're an asshole and never did anything worthwhile in your life. What gives?"

I tell them that I've found THE SECRET TO SUCCE$$ ON THE INTERNET BY BEING AN A$$HOLE.

And now, YOU TOO can ca$h in on this new trend! Why be an asshole for free when you can get paid BIG BUCKS for it?

Political candidates are always looking for new talent to write internet content for blogs, ads, message boards, and email campaigns. Ever hear of "SEND ME A DOLLAR, MADDI! RIGHT NOW! I'M NOT KIDDING, MADDI!"??? Yep, that was me.

And now, I've decided to share my secrets for success. For only $29.95 I'll send you my new course "THE SECRET TO SUCCE$$ ON THE INTERNET BY BEING AN A$$HOLE" by return email. For a limited time, I'll include a list of all current presidential candidates so you can start CASHING IN immediately!

Operators are standing by! This is a limited-time offer and may end at any time! Don't miss out!

[Octafish]

99. Now THAT is funny!!!

I sent you two checks. Will I receive two lists?

[Starry Messenger]

67. No. Bernie's campaign has paid social media.

It's not an environment you want to neglect if you are serious.

[Aerows]

68. Unfortunately

it seems a little odd that they don't. It's disgusting, deceitful and crass.

It pays the bills I guess. If you have kids at home and need the cash you will sell your soul to protect and provide for your children.

I have the luxury of having no children.

[reddread]

69. same here

I have understood that distinction for a long time

[Admiral Loinpresser]

70. It's like the old joke

about the father who tied a pork chop around a his kid's neck to get the dog to play with him.

[One_Life_To_Give]

72. Can think of a couple countries that do it.

If it is good enough for the people that brought us Tiananmen square and put an end to the Prague Spring.

[nc4bo]

73. Signs of a fearfully weak candidate. Red flags should be waving!

Hillary, as a candidate is so effing terrible that people have to paid to defend her LMFAO 

No one in Camp Clinton, Inc. realizes just how completely jacked up that mess actually is.  

A candidate so flawed that the ONLY way to make her palatable to the masses is to buy supporters' services. PATHETIC!  

[apcalc]

76. This entire thread is

Ridiculous.

[Hiraeth]

80. and post #76 took it to new heights. Thanks for the contribution.

[MineralMan]

77. Not really. Most national campaigns have paid staff doing that.

Not unusual at all. Even Bernie probably has people who are paid to write things that are positive about him.

[silvershadow]

79. very odd

[DisgustipatedinCA]

81. The reddit youths aren't buying it.

Bunch of damned marijuana addicts.

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/4fv43z/hillary_pac_spends_1_million_to_correct/

[pdsimdars]

88. Or astroturf.

[B Calm]

85. That explains why all the posts that Hillary has won the nomination,

they are being paid to lie.

[pdsimdars]

86. Same kind of candidate that says they have been "endorsed" by some organization

when it is only the LEADERSHIP who endorsed them, the few top establishment who have.
Whereas another candidate gets every endorsement by a poll of the MEMBERS of the organization.
EVERY TIME, that is the case.

[azurnoir]

89. No more than a SoS who paid for FaceBook and Twitter 'likes"

[Unicorn]

90. Corrupt. But then I expected it from someone funded by the 1%.

[Sky Masterson]

98. Did any of you guys get your Bernie Bucks yet?

I can't believe he is paying me 27$ a word!
Ka-ching!!!!!

[SwampG8r]

100. It takes a lot of distracting when your record sucks.

Few care to defend her positions and those already distracting reach a smaller and smaller audience as posters realize no substance will be offered and disengage.
It takes a lot of screaming to hide a record that bad or that deep.
If not for " new " posters anything attempting to.defend her indefensible record would be delivered to a shrugging unresponsive majority and a rapid deploying to the huge ignore lists being filled.

[Romulox]

101. What's the point of being obscenely wealthy, if you can buy people's support? nt

[PatrickforO]

102. Gosh darn it. I really missed the train on this one.

I've been trying to figure out how to get that fabled nickel a post since 2008.

I could be RICH now!

Dammit!

[lumberjack_jeff]

109. Not odd at all.

If I were a candidate with a terrible record, poor likability and even worse trust, I'd spend my campaign cash hiring people to say nice things about me.

Oh, I forgot amoral.

[reddread]

113. such kindness

you should mention

https://www.google.com/#q=removing+blood+stains

[seabeyond]

111. Sanders paid people in SC to knock on doors. What is the difference?

[reddread]

112. Im thinking they didnt introduce themselves as Hillary supporters BUT

whats the difference?
come on.

heres the difference!
I wont have my time wasted by complicit and
necessarily unresponsive souls.
please dont mistake this for rudeness.