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Kremlin bots spam internet with fake celebrity quotes against Ukraine (kyivindependent.com)

submitted 4 months ago by breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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Russian bots with a Kremlin disinformation network published 120,000 fake anti-Ukraine quotes falsely attributed to celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson, in one day, the independent Russian media outlet Agentsvo reported June 15.

Quotes appeared over celebrity photos, displaying messages calling to end aid to Ukraine and describing European collapse.

The images were published between June 14-15 by the Kremlin disinformation network Dvoynyk, a representative of the Bot Blocker project told Agentsvo. The fake quotes have since garnered over 500,000 views.

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[-] Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 36 points 4 months ago

Do.... Do people care what the REAL scarlet Johansson, Jennifer Aniston or Elton John have to say about Ukraine defending itself and it's people against a fascist invasion?

I mean, I find their stuff entertaining, sure, but like.... Why would I listen to their tactical analysis in the first place?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 35 points 4 months ago

Of course people are swayed by celebrities. I'm surprised you even have to ask that. Celebrity worship is huge in Western culture. Taylor Swift told her fans to register to vote and thousands did just because she said so.

[-] Tier1BuildABear@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

Literally the perfect person for Russia to target

[-] fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee 8 points 4 months ago

I think they already did. There were rumors she would support Biden and I thought "will she get Kremlin shills attacking her on social media?" Over the next few weeks there was a bunch of noise about her private jet.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

It's the same thing as putting typos in phishing emails so you only target stupid people.

[-] rammer@sopuli.xyz 24 points 4 months ago

Yes!

As stupid as it sounds people trust them more than the experts. We live in the post truth times anyway.

[-] jwt@programming.dev 9 points 4 months ago

"This is terrible, can someone please find Ja Rule ?"

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago

Pray for Omarion

[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

I mean, Jennifer Anniston and Taylor Swift DID lead the armies in the congo jungles against the contra groups of the 1980s.....They have military experience!!!

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[-] SarcasticMan@lemmy.world 32 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

These damn bots are out of control lol

"I've met Putin, what a guy, some say he's the second-best guy. I don't know, what I do know is I am the best guy. People say Mr. President you're the best guy, no guys better just the best of the best they say. I told Poots, that's what I call him Poots it's like a pet name, he calls me cyka, which means friend in Russian because we are best friends some say the only true friends because we are such good friends. Anyway, he gets a bad rap poots, he just wants to stop the nazis and help Russians stuck in Ukraine by the criminal Biden crime family. Crooked Hillary won't let Russia grow, they need to grow. Nazis, Hillarys, maybe even a few Obamas that's Ukraine. Obama is trying to stop Russia, I said you can't do that, they can't do that. Let's help Poots stop the crooked Clintons and bring back Taco Tuesdays, you remember Taco Tuesdays? On Tuesdays, before Obama outlawed it we used to have tacos. I had big Macs because I am not Mexican, not a fan of beans. Putin says nazis took his beans to Ukraine, I don't know...maybe, some say it's true. Smart people say it, they say Mr. President we need to leave Ukraine and let Russia have it so they can grow and stop Hillary from sending Hunter over there to steal their beans." - Donald Trump

[-] kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 23 points 4 months ago

Fake. Too coherent.

[-] SarcasticMan@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

Lol that's how you know it's bots

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

And this dude is trending to be president again. The AI can't take over fast enough.

[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

I mean you SAY that, but.....AI has ruined pizza toppings in google searches. I mean really, WHO would order a pizza with glue, or pineapple???

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

These people injected bleach and drink raw milk during a bird flu outbreak in cows. They'd probably love how stringy glue pizza is.

[-] Iapar@feddit.de 4 points 4 months ago

It always comes down to the beans.

[-] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 4 months ago

Lemmy.ml moment.

[-] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 4 months ago

Any hope of civility and partisanship ended when social media received widespread appeal.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

No, it ended when attention optimization and monetization became the objective.

If social media was all "dumb" it would be totally different, though I suppose keeping third party monetization out is always difficult.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

Bro the fediverse is one of the worst platforms when it comes to information warfare. One of the major instances is pretty clearly a training ground for Russian propagandists before they get promoted to Facebook or reddit.

[-] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 4 points 4 months ago

But it doesn't work as well because you can block entire instances. These people self identify by choosing the instance so it's easy to just block all posts and comments, even those from people you've never seen before.

[-] Socsa@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago

Blocking an instance only removes your individual ability to interact with an instance. It doesn't have any impact on the information warfare value of the instance. If anything, it only amplifies it by self-sequestration of opposing voices.

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[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

I'm just a shitty software engineer but I've always dreamed up a social media network — perhaps opensource/non-profit — that promoted in good faith the best of humanity... I think there are methods that this could be achieved and I wish someone like Wikipedia or Mozilla would pursue in earnest. I've been part of the Jimmy Wales Wiki Social discord but I'm not yet sure if they're on the right track.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

CIA: we have overthrown well over two dozen governments sometimes for reasons we aren't even clear about. A noticeable fraction of the human race lives under the regimes we have installed.

NSA: we proved your conspiracy theorist uncle right and can read the emails and text messages of over a billion people.

And neither one can stop a government agency of under 100 people, who live in a country that can't make a CPU over 8 bits, from shit posting on the internet? Not fucking possible.

Check this out: the guy who runs the largest pro-kremlin misinformation website in the world lives in NJ

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ivandjiiski

And yet all these powerful three letter agencies can do nothing?

We know Russia has been funding the NRA and members of the GOP. We know they have blackmailed them. We know they ran stuff through Epstein and have videos of them rapping kids. And yet despite all this, despite the power of tens of billions of dollars a year, despite being only answerable to literal god not a single act can be done to stop trolling? They can overthrow Pakistan but not block an IP!?

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

They haven’t committed a crime posting on privately owned social media sites. The celebrity first needs to file a complaint.

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[-] sunzu@kbin.run 3 points 4 months ago

Spooks work in mysterious ways, dear. And we pay for it :)

[-] mlg@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Considering the recent report on the Pentagon running an anti vax bot spam in the Phillipines, it's probably that they don't want to help nullify social media spam in case they ever need to use it (again).

[-] Kowowow@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 months ago

First they came for weird al and I was silent

[-] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

I dislike Ukrainians. -real Tom Cruise

[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

To be fair, it's never been proven that the real Tom Cruise isn't just a russian internet bot.

[-] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

You know, you have a point

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

I thought he was a bot for Scientology? Is there a connection to Scientology and Moscow?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

I don't understand the concept of a "real" Tom Cruise.

Is this like a "real" Bugs Bunny?

[-] Doom@ttrpg.network 5 points 4 months ago

Watch as they desperately grasp for straws.

They know they're teetering so hard

[-] windie@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

I'm surprised they didn't use deepfakes.

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this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024

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