Thursday, May 08, 2008

Those Pesky Trolls Infesting The Obama Listserv

As a political rabble-rouser who has broadcast far and wide my personal discomfort with the influence AIPAC and the Council on Foreign Relations has on our national political discourse, i have come across a tool used by those who share the agenda set forth by these organizations.
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Megaphone_a_high_tech_exercise_in_ballot_stuffing
This taken from the Wikipedia description:
The Megaphone desktop tool is a Microsoft Windows application distributed by the World Union of Jewish Students and other pro-Israel organizations, through the Giyus.org website. Released on July 19, 2006, it delivers real-time alerts about key articles, videos, blogs, and surveys to subscribers so that they can voice their opinions and work together to support Israel on the public opinion front.
According the Jerusalem Post, Amir Gissin, head of the Public Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry of Israel, has expressed support for the tool's use. "The Foreign Ministry itself is now pushing the idea, urging supporters of Israel everywhere to become cyberspace soldiers in the new battleground for Israel's image." it reports.[1] Computing website The Register has described use of the software as "highly organised mass manipulation of technologies which are supposed to be democratising" and claimed Megaphone is "effectively a high-tech exercise in ballot-stuffing"[2]. In another poll, the BBC History magazine website "noticed an upsurge in voting on whether holocaust denial should be a criminal offence in Britain. But the closing date had already passed and the result had already been published, so the votes were invalid anyway." Stewart Purvis, former editor-in-chief of ITN, has noted that an independent panel reviewing the BBC's Israeli-Palestinian coverage received a large number of letters from North America which accused the BBC of being anti-Israeli. He states there was evidence of "pressure group involvement".[3]

How is this relevant to the Obama campaign, which the CFR has been trying furiously to dismantle? Well, as i am a furiously busy poster on many Obama listserv's as the campaign has progressed everytime i start or post to a thread it is immediately jumped on, on several different listserv's, very often by the same people, which seemed to me reminiscent of the tactic employed by the "Megaphone Mob"
I do not suggest that Megaphone is being used against Obama, i only note the similar perception management techniques being employed...
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/actioncenter

2 comments:

  1. I have heard about your posts Cliff.
    Frankly most of us just choose to ignore you.
    We are so much smarter than you think.

    We have use our skills to create fundraisers, events and poll watching parties as well as GOTV events. We help in other states if nothing else than by making phone calls.

    This article will not get you a job in the real media market. So crawl back under that rock you slithered out of.

    Old Lisa

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  2. Oy Gevalt, such a momser you are, boychik !!!!

    I know now what happens to the foreskins we cut off.....they grow up to be pricks like you.

    ReplyDelete