At this point it’s a given that any nation state with an interest in PR has their online troll teams.
Comment on Meta deletes Al Jazeera presenter’s profile after show criticising Israel
dsemy@lemm.ee 1 year agoAny sources on any of that?
I often saw this parroted on Reddit, though without sources. What I didn’t see, is what you described as “very well noticeable” - and I used Reddit a lot.
Anytime I look up this stuff I can only find relevant information from obscure websites which don’t list any sources. This honestly does seem like a conspiracy.
tryptaminev@feddit.de 1 year ago
Some 180 students from Israel and overseas studying at an academic institution in Herzliya, in central Israel, are working from morning to night to monitor and foil fake news and anti-Israel propaganda on social networks and to advance the country’s point of view amid the conflict with Hamas and other Gaza terror groups, the school said.
Students in Israel are to form government-funded “covert units” to defend the country on Facebook and Twitter, it’s reported.
Israel Making Positive Strides in Uphill Battle on the Information Front
dsemy@lemm.ee 1 year ago
First and third links clearly state that these students are volunteers, and also a fairly small amount of them.
Second link seems promising, but it offers almost no details, and its source is HaAretz, an Israeli publication which I personally don’t trust (also the source article is behind a paywall).
Last link is about a private company and seems only slightly related.
tryptaminev@feddit.de 1 year ago
Does it matter, whether the people are volunteers, paid or coerced? The fact stands that Israel is making a concerted effort to influence social media in their favor.
I find it a bit silly, that you want proper sources and then just say you don’t trust a major Israeli newspaper without further explanation. Especially since the BBC deemed it credible as a source.
For the last link how is it “only slightly related?” It is a private company that is operating from Israel, run by ex-intelligence people, influencing elections world wide. This kind of things are not sold with a google add, but instead require extensive networks and contacts. It is implausible, that the company operated without the knowledge and approval of the Israeli government. Also the article states that the company was promoted on the website of the Israeli ministry of defense. Finally Israeli intelligence has proven competent in many activities around the globe, but in particular in regards to digital activities (stuxnet). There is no reason to belief that they wouldn’t have picked up on one of their former employees running these kind of activities.
dsemy@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I doubt that Israel makes no effort to influence social media.
I just think the effort made isn’t very big, and with the presented evidence this seems true. I don’t feel like looking through them again to pinpoint where exactly but some of the articles you shared flat out admit Israel isn’t very good at shaping public opinion.
stevedidWHAT@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Point 1 is kinda pedantic wouldn’t you say?
dsemy@lemm.ee 1 year ago
No.
The original comment in this subthread claimed Israel was running troll factories similar to Russia’s, and on a scale large enough for it to be noticeable on Reddit, while also claiming Reddit isn’t even the main focus of those trolls.
Point 1 basically goes to show that while Israel does attempt some social media influence, it appears to be at a far smaller scale then originally claimed.
In all honesty, I’d be surprised if there are many developed countries which don’t do this to some extent, so in my eyes singling out Israel in this case seems a bit weird.