Confessions of an Internet Shill

[benjamindees]

I Was a Paid Internet Shill

http://the2012scenario.com/2012/10/i-was-a-paid-internet-shill/

I am writing here to come out of the closet as a paid shill. For a little over six months, I was paid to spread disinformation and argue political points on the Internet.

We sat down at his desk and he began by asking me a few questions about myself and my background, including my political views (which were basically non-existent). Then he began to explain the job. “We work on influencing people’s opinions here,” is how he described it. The company’s clients paid them to post on Internet message boards and popular chartrooms, as well as in gaming forums and social networks like Facebook and MySpace. Who were these clients? “Oh, various people,” he said vaguely. “Sometimes private companies, sometimes political groups.”

We need a "shill" tag.

[1715001227]

1715001227

[dank]

I had an arousing suspicion this was happening.  Figures.

[Richy_T]

The surprise would have been if it wasn't.

[Charlie Prime]

Paid shills are a real phenomenon.  They do exist.  I have outted them on a few forums, but the story in that link is bunk.

The posting of "insider confessions" is a literary hobby for some people on the AboveTopSecret forum.  I've seen them from people claiming to be Illuminati family members, ET handlers, and Jesuits.

Be skeptical.

[conspirosphere.tk]

This is exactly what I've been plotting: an internet "marketing" agency offering psy-ops swarming, disinfo campaigns, purposeful trolling, social media spamming, e-communities disruption, slander and character destruction etc. for hire.
I've got the name ready: "Internet Trolls Wars". I am sure that there is a huge and largely untapped global market for it (apart from the Hasbarabots who are much ahead in this biz). Anyone interested in partnering? The biggest need is a software platform to check the trolling performance by associates and manage the payments per performance.

[Grinder]

That must be the biggest waste of money ever. When have you ever seen anybody change their mind on a web forum?

[ElectricMucus]

abovetopsecret.com

Been there, done that.

I wouldn't take anything serious posted on that site. That is very likely made up on the spot.
Makes for an entertaining read though.

[dank]

I'm not trying to talk in certainty here, but look at my Dank Bank thread.  What person, completely disinterested in my ventures and spiritual phenomena, spends so much energy as to post multiple times a day, every day about it?  Let alone over a half dozen people.  All while using the same tactics expressed in this article.

[Atlas]

I'm not trying to talk in certainty here, but look at my Dank Bank thread.  What person, completely disinterested in my ventures and spiritual phenomena, spends so much energy as to post multiple times a day, every day about it?  Let alone over a half dozen people.  All while using the same tactics expressed in this article.

Dank, you are clearly high.

[dank]

It's not 4:20 yet.

Seriously though, one who spreads love is a threat to a society built off hate and fear.

[emuLOAD]

well, ATS is... a peculiar place... so the story may be true as much as it may be a complete fabrication. Frankly, I'd expect most "shills" to be homebased, for instance, but you never know. This said, it doesn't take an insider's confession to know that there are people on the internet (and, hint, in real life too) who bring fotrh not their, but their master's agendas. Nothing new or shocking, as Richy_T said it would be shocking if nobody was doing this.

Does it really matter? meh.
so many people on the internet would be bored to death without them ^^

[ChrisKoss]

If you want to learn more about the tactics of internet shill, check out this paste:

http://pastebin.com/irj4Fyd5

For examples, check Atlas' post history.  Accidentally or intentionally, he uses many of the techniques described to derail productive discussions.

[ChrisKoss]

That's a fairly good example of a shill post too though, it re-directs the discussion from the original topic and onto a controversial poster who attracts heated discussions. That's the trouble with trying to identify shill's, once you start looking for them you see them everywhere (not saying you are one btw, just making an example of how easy it is to slip into paranoia).

Touche.   

I care less about whether someone is being paid to post or not.  I just wish the quality of these forums could be raised somehow.  It seems like in almost every good thread, there are a small handful of 5-7 posters who start discussing completely unrelated to the topic.  This forum seems very polluted to me.  It's frustrating because there is a lot of great information on here, but in order to get to it, you usually have to wade through a bunch of irrelevant crap.

I think the moderators could drastically improve the quality of these forums by getting more strict about removing irrelevant posts.

</rant>

[Charlie Prime]

This is exactly what I've been plotting: an internet "marketing" agency offering psy-ops swarming

Too late.  The United States military has already contracted with a California corporation for this software.

See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

"Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media

Military's 'sock puppet' software creates fake online identities to spread pro-American propaganda"


This is not new.  Governments have used all available media to manipulate public opinion for thousands of years.  Here is a new book which advances the thesis that Christianity and the New Testament were created by the Roman Flavian emperors to defang Jewish terrorists in occupied Judea: http://caesarsmessiah.com

[conspirosphere.tk]

[GernMiester]

Der, No way reviews are the InterWorldWideNet are paid adverts for said company
Oh wait only as total fucking moron wouldn't know that already.

[jasinlee]

Wait so your not Atlas? I thought all shills were ?