this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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Asklemmy
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i think that it's a lot more likely that a few people are just making burner accounts to be dicks on the internet than some weird QAnon-esque conspiracy theory that both the Russian and Chinese governments are not only aware of a tiny reddit clone but also are actively employing people (who all happen to be fluent in english) to create fake accounts and convincingly imitate westerners all in order to slightly increase political divisions in america for a few thousand people by having arguments about already incredibly contentious issues.
Thank you! Like, this isn't how foriegn influence campaigns work. Believing the jerk you're arguing with is a Russian agent might make you feel like you're in a Tom Clancy novel, but the odds are it's just a dweeb with multiple accounts. Foriegn influence campaigns make sock-puppets to repeat the same 5 talking points on as many communities as possible, and maybe have a few canned replies. They don't fight with the same person in a 20 reply thread over the course of 2 days.
It's not a "QAnon-esque conspiracy theory". Russia's online influence in American politics has been fairly well documented. That being said, I think it's somewhat unhealthy to assume everyone who says something controversial is dishonest or a troll. Not good for discourse.
im not saying governments dont astroturf or anything, i meant it was a QAnon-esque conspiracy to assume that there were paid shills and bots around every corner and the vast majority of anti-american sentiment comes from a Russian cabal or something, especially on a comparitively tiny online space like lemmy. Like i've fairly frequently seen the accusation that lemmy is filled with paid actors / bots working for various countries from people just because they've suddenly been exposed to views that they've never really encountered before.
The general consensus is that yes, Russians do troll. The conspiracy comes from the fact that EVERYONE you have a bad interaction with is a troll. No, a vast majority of Americans are just really shitty people and there's a really good chance your argument is an organic one.