• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

We know that Russia is using far right people for political gain but do they also use the left?

Could I be right?

  • Yes

    Votes: 534 86.4%

  • No

    Votes: 33 5.3%

  • Who cares?

    Votes: 51 8.3%
  • Total voters
    618
Arx

Arx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
431
I find it doubtful that it´s "only" the russians trying to influence western democracies.

No matter who pushes buttons specifically: the more people on the left hate Trump voters, America´s enemies win. The more Trump voters hate people on the left, America´s enemies win.
There has always been a lot of division in society throughout the ages, but it´s always interesting to look for who benefits.

Also, South Park is spot on with this.
 

Deleted member 15440

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,191
more than anything else, the success of russian troll operations lies with melting the brains of the average liberal and making them think russians are behind everything they don't like
 
borghe

borghe

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,112
it's pretty simple actually..

Russia primarily uses the far right because.... conservatism is largely based on fear of change/progress.. And fear is an emotional state... and once our brains enter into an emotional state our ability to think and act rationally becomes impaired.

any use of the left (which there obviously is) is to largely make the right more fearful, thus more susceptible to irrational reaction.

the current meme "it takes two to tango" is extremely disingenuous, BUT does have basis, however misguided. If one group is acting incredibly irrationally... the other group is automatically pulled into the fight. in the case of politics and multiple ideologies working together, we don't get the luxury of ignoring the irrational speaker. so by just pushing one side to irrational thinking and behavior, they throw the entire system into turmoil as the other side has to work within that system. "using the left" essentially comes down to putting out "left propaganda" or inciting far left action as a means of goading the far right.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,675
Russia pushes a ton of anti-Semitic shit both to the right and the left. Hell, Russians authored the Elder Protocols of Zion and they push the whole Jews behind slavery trope as well.

As someone said, their goal is division and it is very effective.
 
jay

jay

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,275
Out of fear Russia may be playing us, we should all be as centrist and moderate as possible. Opinions are for people willing to be duped by foreign powers.
 
Pancracio17

Pancracio17

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
18,817
borghe said:
it's pretty simple actually..

Russia primarily uses the far right because.... conservatism is largely based on fear of change/progress.. And fear is an emotional state... and once our brains enter into an emotional state our ability to think and act rationally becomes impaired.

any use of the left (which there obviously is) is to largely make the right more fearful, thus more susceptible to irrational reaction.

the current meme "it takes two to tango" is extremely disingenuous, BUT does have basis, however misguided. If one group is acting incredibly irrationally... the other group is automatically pulled into the fight. in the case of politics and multiple ideologies working together, we don't get the luxury of ignoring the irrational speaker. so by just pushing one side to irrational thinking and behavior, they throw the entire system into turmoil as the other side has to work within that system. "using the left" essentially comes down to putting out "left propaganda" or inciting far left action as a means of goading the far right.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I dont think its this simple, something else and other strategies are probably being used, but I agree with all of this.
 
Leonard Spiddles

Leonard Spiddles

Member
Oct 25, 2017
844
I can't say definitively but it's annoying to see the lack of criticism for the Russian state when Putin is reportedly the richest man in the world and the whole thing's propped up by criminals and fossil fuels.
 
Jerm

Jerm

The Fallen
Oct 31, 2017
5,775
Did they not already get caught using their troll farms to run accounts about BLM and police brutality?
 
Morrigan

Morrigan

Spear of the Metal Church
Member
Oct 24, 2017
34,397
Well duh. Jill Stein being the most obvious example.

Cocaloch said:
People finding Rooskies under every shadow are more of an issue for discourse on this site than people actually under Russian influence for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Fantastical said:
Hmmm... Sounds like something a Russian bot would say.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
bd42ecbc9ae3430dcf5e7ea332c954a366b611df.gif
 
SlickShoesRUCRazy

SlickShoesRUCRazy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,036
absolutely.

For that reason it doesn't matter if you are left or right on the political spectrum.

If you are colluding with Russia or any other country for their benefit and undermining the voters will, than you should be dealt with in the utmost stringent manner.
 
fick

fick

Alt-Account
Banned
Nov 24, 2018
2,261
It's been my belief for a while that most of the stuff you see on /r/Tumblrinaction and whatnot are trolls meant to make the left look insane. I used to think it was simply a 4chan thing, but once the Russian interference stuff came out, I firmly believe it's them.

Cocaloch said:
People finding Rooskies under every shadow are more of an issue for discourse on this site than people actually under Russian influence for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Spend some time on reddit and it's quite obvious who the Russian "bots" are. I use that term as a catchall for actual bots, human Russian trolls, and people just regurgitating their talking points verbatim. It's not as if they have slowed down since 2016.
 
Cocaloch

Cocaloch

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
4,562
Where the Fenians Sleep
fick said:
It's been my belief for a while that most of the stuff you see on /r/Tumblrinaction and whatnot are trolls meant to make the left look insane. I used to think it was simply a 4chan thing, but once the Russian interference stuff came out, I firmly believe it's them.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I would believe that if it wasn't for this site and GAF honestly. I've just seen too many posters say things that are too absurd.

At the end of the day some people are just genuinely stupid. Probably far more people are genuinely stupid than genuinely malicious.
 
fick

fick

Alt-Account
Banned
Nov 24, 2018
2,261
Cocaloch said:
I would believe that if it wasn't for this site and GAF honestly. I've just seen too many posters say things that are too absurd.

At the end of the day some people are just genuinely stupid. Probably far more people are genuinely stupid than genuinely malicious.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Well, I think that was all part of the plan (and trust me, I know exactly what you're talking about).

I believe it was a 3 step process:

1. Find the things on the far-left that most liberals would chuckle at (but not give a second thought to).

2. Signal boost the fuck out of those ideas. Influence others to take up these ideas too.

3. Divide the left.

I will tell you it worked on me. I unironically used the term SJW. I subscribed to /r/tumblrinaction and /r/kotakuinaction.
 
Baji Boxer

Baji Boxer

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,382
Pretty sure it's been shown they've done this to an extent here in the U.S. (like with Jill Stein and the "Bernie Bro" segment of Bernie Sanders fans). Difference is that our far left wing is rather small by comparison. Also the far right is already more the spectrum of Putin's ideology/policies.
 
Cocaloch

Cocaloch

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
4,562
Where the Fenians Sleep
fick said:
Well, I think that was all part of the plan (and trust me, I know exactly what you're talking about).

I believe it was a 3 step process:

1. Find the things on the far-left that most liberals would chuckle at (but not give a second thought to).

2. Signal boost the fuck out of those ideas. Influence others to take up these ideas too.

3. Divide the left.

I will tell you it worked on me. I unironically used the term SJW. I subscribed to /r/tumblrinaction and /r/kotakuinaction.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I just think you're attributing too much to Russia here. They could have contributed, but it's not hard to see where a lot of the modern left looks absurd and up its own ass, and I think the right could play that up on its own. Not to mention that absurd things stick in normal people's minds just because they are absurd.
 
fick

fick

Alt-Account
Banned
Nov 24, 2018
2,261
Cocaloch said:
I just think you're attributing too much to Russia here. They could have contributed, but it's not hard to see where a lot of the modern left looks absurd and up its own ass, and I think the right could play that up on its own. Not to mention that absurd things stick in normal people's minds just because they are absurd.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's certainly possible that I'm seeing what I want to see. And it's not like I've done any hard research into this on my own, but given the tactics we've been shown so far, I think it certainly fits.

Like I said above, I don't think they necessarily invented any far-left talking points, but I do certainly suspect they found certain topics and amplified them in such a way as to divide the left and make them look dumb.
 
Pwnz

Pwnz

Member
Oct 28, 2017
14,279
Places
Of course.

Anyone that's a traitor should promptly be imprisoned, even if they have a platform I like.
 

Deleted member 20603

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
946
It's easier for them to consolidate power when the U.S. isolates itself from global markets and affairs. And that isolation is part of the platform on the far right and the far left perhaps.

But on the other hand, the more intertwined we are in global affairs, the easier it is for them to make propaganda (because we fuck up so much). I have no doubt that a fringe left president might withdraw troops from everywhere, making places such as Poland much more accessible to Putin.
 
Mulciber

Mulciber

Member
Aug 22, 2018
5,217
One of my friends is the kindest, most progressive people I've ever met, but he also shares 10+ far-left posts from his favorite facebook pages every single day. And when I read them, it's obvious that there is either no thought behind some of them, or they are deliberately constructed for what some of the people in this thread are saying. (And I'm just saying some of them. I agree with probably 75% of what he shares.)

For example, he recently shared this post where one of the points they made was how unlike the capitalist United States, nobody living in a Soviet country ever had to wonder where their next meal was coming from. Everyone was always well fed. I just sort of stared and blinked at that post.

Lately, there seems to be a push towards "facts, data, and science are evil misogynistic, sexist ideas." In particular, I've seen: "there's no such thing as objective facts, men are lying." "Logic is fake; men invented it to hide their lack of empathy." I couldn't possibly be more on board with us all being more empathetic and kind to each other, but that's not the right approach to getting there. "My feelings about my child is better than your studies and so-called science" is how we have anti-vaxxers.
 
danm999

danm999

Member
Oct 29, 2017
17,145
Sydney
marrec said:
This is extremely naive and fundamentally incorrect as shown by multiple reports in the media. This kind of thinking is likely one of the key reasons outside political actors like Russia so easily influence American politics.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I've no doubt they attempt influence I'm just skeptical how well it works.

Like they tried astroturfing BLM but it didn't really go anywhere because it's not the sort of movement that's easy to manipulate top down.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744
danm999 said:
I've no doubt they attempt influence I'm just skeptical how well it works.

Like they tried astroturfing BLM but it didn't really go anywhere because it's not the sort of movement that's easy to manipulate top down.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It doesn't work as well because there's more fact checking and self-policing, but it still works on a subset.
 
Strike

Strike

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,371
Hell yeah. It was never about left or right with them, it was just about creating chaos. It's just that the right was easier to manipulate. Having the alliance of superpowers in the west destabilize and retreat from the world's stage works to their advantage. As you see with what's currently going on in Syria, the UK with Brexit, and right here.
thefro said:
Jill Stein's a good example.

zn2DZ8Y.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yup. Her and RT were very popular among most of my die-hard Bernie supporting friends who couldn't vote for Hillary in the general. I still have one occasionally posting anti-Hillary articles and anti-fluoride conspiracy theories.
 
Ichthyosaurus

Ichthyosaurus

Banned
Dec 26, 2018
9,375
Cocaloch said:
Well you're absolutely ignoring what we were speaking about before you quoted me then. You're free to talk about whatever you want, I just don't get why you got involved in that specific conversation to beging with.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The discussion you were having was about socialists being seen as tankies, I was explaining why socialists of all stripes get confused with tankies and why it is important to address that perception.

As for the rest of your post, that seems to be about your specific gripes with socialism as a discursive topic, which is distinct from the more general politics of it. Socialism is viewed negatively because of broad social and historical context, not because policians have been sayibg the wrong words. A change in discursive strategy may help those politicians that draw on it, but I don't think it would have much actual impact on socialism in general.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

How socialism is viewed affects how vulnerable they are to manipulation by malicious groups like the Russians, and being seen as being pro-Russian by outsiders who mistake general socialist culture for being pro-Russia since it is an obvious outcome due to the Soviet styled culture socialism attached to as an ideology. Socialism is viewed badly for many different reasons, some due to government interference, their inclination to isolate themselves from mainstream culture and how they present themselves to the general public. Words have significant influence and is vital in how we communicate to prevent misunderstanding, and socialists are too driven to stay in a status quo which hasn't changed in decades because they don't want to assimilate, and you wonder why socialism isn't popular. This is not simply about politicians, which are a tiny group of people in the socialist movement. It's about the movement as a whole, the organisations, online forums, you tube channel, general culture and tone. Doubling down on keeping socialism the same is feeding into keeping socialism irrelevant while capitalism goes unchallenged with their disorganisation. Those are the reasons socialism has been irrelevant in American politics for decades and it won't be relevant until the entire movement adjusts to the modern world properly, otherwise it may as well have died in the 1920's with Eugene Debs.

aeolist said:
more than anything else, the success of russian troll operations lies with melting the brains of the average liberal and making them think russians are behind everything they don't like
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You see this as an attack, when it's not. It's true that sometimes people can over react to Russia but they're doing so because Russia is a real danger to all of us, and left groups aren't immune from being turned by them. Do you think Russia has been interfering with the left wing groups?

Cocaloch said:
It's easier now to forget, see the uh interesting stuff that crops up here from time to time on the IRA. Reading ERA sometimes you'd swear that Corbyn was just Gerry Adams affecting an accent.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Corbyn is the right kind of stupid politician who doesn't have to be an asset to be helping their agenda. He's pro-Brexit, wants to end NATO, supports left wing dictators like Castro and Chavez etc. The first two would assist Russia immensely on the world stage.
 
Last edited:
Jersey_Tom

Jersey_Tom

Banned
Dec 2, 2017
4,764
The point of Russian interference is chaos. Not just to help out one party or the other. To do that, yeah, they tend to try and play up both sides against each other.

But as has been made mention, one side tends to do much more self-policing than the other. Doesn't mean certain things don't slip through the cracks, but we also don't have members of BLM actively meeting with foreign agents or having them be large parts of their organizational structure.
 
SatelliteOfLove

SatelliteOfLove

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,970
South Carolina
Chopchop said:
Probably. Their aim is to stir the pot and pit people against each other. Ideology doesn't matter as long as they can make them go at the throats of others.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yup. Its the fight they want, not a winner (unless that "winner" is owned by them...)

And they'll try anything anywhere nonstop. It's the typical chekist gameplan but its never worked like they wanted it to till lately cuz they went all out after sanctions and the exposure of their dirty money conduits and the fact we got stupid and hateful enough to be susceptible.
 
Ichthyosaurus

Ichthyosaurus

Banned
Dec 26, 2018
9,375
kambaybolongo said:
I voted for Bernie because of this. Little did I know I was just a Russian pawn.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This dismissal of taking Russia seriously is why the left has problems being manipulated by Putin. Russia wanted to maintain Bernie's support after March to weaken Hillary for the general and divide the Dems, which hasn't fully recovered from Bernie's radicalisation of the left because he hated that he couldn't win.

There are elements on the left who need to do introspection on being taken in by bad actors like Russia so they won't do it again when it comes to '20.
 
Woylie

Woylie

Member
May 9, 2018
1,849
russian operatives had far left disinformation/propaganda sites during the election as well as far right ones, so yes
 
kambaybolongo

kambaybolongo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,079
Ichthyosaurus said:
This dismissal of taking Russia seriously is why the left has problems being manipulated by Putin. Russia wanted to maintain Bernie's support after March to weaken Hillary for the general and divide the Dems, which hasn't fully recovered from Bernie's radicalisation of the left because he hated that he couldn't win.

There are elements on the left who need to do introspection on being taken in by bad actors like Russia so they won't do it again when it comes to '20.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
How do you not realize how absolutely deranged this sounds?

It's like a Tom Clancy novel for wine moms.
 
Last edited:
killerrin

killerrin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,238
Toronto
Yes they are. These rapid swings between left and right cause massive amounts of destabilization. It's in their best interest to get someone from the right elected, only to follow it up with getting someone from the left elected.

That back and forth swing is what causes cracks to form on stable countries
 

Deleted member 22490

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
9,237
Ichthyosaurus said:
This dismissal of taking Russia seriously is why the left has problems being manipulated by Putin. Russia wanted to maintain Bernie's support after March to weaken Hillary for the general and divide the Dems, which hasn't fully recovered from Bernie's radicalisation of the left because he hated that he couldn't win.

There are elements on the left who need to do introspection on being taken in by bad actors like Russia so they won't do it again when it comes to '20.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
image0.jpg
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744
Left-half activists tricked into working for Russian prop-ups: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/articl...ans-were-tricked-into-working-for-russia-they

Troll accounts getting into media: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2...weets-cited-in-more-than-100-uk-news-articles

And just today (can't read Cyrillic, haven't seen analysis on it yet so can't really tell the political composition) Facebook announced they removed 364 accounts/pages targeting Asia and Eastern Europe, and 107 accounts/pages targeting Ukraine specifically that were labeled as "Independent" but were actually puppet accounts of Sputnik: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/01/removing-cib-from-russia/

Despite their misrepresentations of their identities, we found that these Pages and accounts were linked to employees of Sputnik, a news agency based in Moscow, and that some of the Pages frequently posted about topics like anti-NATO sentiment, protest movements, and anti-corruption.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The anti-NATO stuff is specifically an overlap with the populist left and right due to their shared isolationism.
 
Jeff6851

Jeff6851

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
753
No, Democrats just can't except that they aren't the left and that their party needs to be left behind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.