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Thread: People getting paid to post disinformation

  1. #11
    Jim Jones's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    Posted reviews are one source I consider when researching restaurants and other businesses in unfamiliar towns. The extremes of such reviews on some businesses suggests that the problem also exists outside of forums.

  2. #12
    8x10, 5x7, 4x5, et al Leigh's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    Quote Originally Posted by ic-racer View Post
    The concept does not seem any more dishonest than the usual forms of advertising seen on TV or on the rest of the internet.
    I beg to differ...

    Ads are plainly identified as such, and accepted as such by the reader.

    What the article is talking about is people who post under the guise of normal members, usually negative comments about goods, services, or companies, to the detriment of same.

    This is lying at best, but more probably outright fraud.

    We've seen it here, rather recently, with a no-name zero-count newbie posting "Don't buy from this guy because he's a crook.".
    We would all be better served if the mods would just delete such threads before they attract the Google searchlight.


    - Leigh
    If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.

  3. #13

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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    Quote Originally Posted by ic-racer View Post
    The concept does not seem any more dishonest than the usual forms of advertising seen on TV or on the rest of the internet.
    Indeed?

    Would it be ok for me to post that you are an escaped mass murderer and thief and an outlaw, i.e., fair game for any vigilante who wanted to kill someone?

    Would it be ok for me to post that you molest children of both sexes and practice incest?

    I don't think so, but if I could find a way to earn my living posting such vile accusations I might reconsider.

    Moderators, I don't intend to accuse ic-racer of any of these things, posted the harsh words to make the point that his position is weak as forcefully as I could.

  4. #14
    Unwitting Thread Killer Ari's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    Must be a slow news day around here, too.

  5. #15
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    I think ic–racer’s claim reads best as an exaggerated truth – which if toned down might go something like this:

    Both advertisers & dis-informants are paid to get away w/ as much as they can to generate desired perceptions.

    Advertisers, of course, have more hurdles to jump.

    -----
    I’m feeling rather cynical today, which is why ic-racer wins some sympathy from me.

  6. #16
    multiplex
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    this has been going on for decades, in real-life too

  7. #17
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    (Even longer: this has been going on since Gutenberg, since coinage, since the Giza Pyramids...)

  8. #18
    8x10, 5x7, 4x5, et al Leigh's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    Quote Originally Posted by Heroique View Post
    Both advertisers & dis-informants are paid to get away w/ as much as they can to generate desired perceptions.
    I take it as a matter of ethics. If I make a post claiming to be a disgruntled customer, criticizing a business, when in fact I'm nothing but a paid liar who's never even dealt with the company, that's unethical.

    Back in the good ole days of the internet, people accepted the posts of others as being honest statements of their opinions or experiences.

    Unfortunately, that's no longer the case.

    - Leigh
    If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.

  9. #19
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    Actors in TV ads are paid misrepresent themselves. The advertising industry would not keep spending millions doing this if the deception was not successful.

    An advertisement after every few posts is already a common feature of many internet forums.

  10. #20

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    Re: People getting paid to post disinformation

    "Fake forum comments are 'eroding' trust in the web"
    When did any thinking person ever "trust in the web"?

    Lies and manipulations and corruptions have existed since the get-go, so why should any of this be a shock? The New York Times manipulates me just as much the Drudge Report, I filter them both and read everything with a large dose of skepticism.

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