janc_ 3 days ago

There is in fact proof of this in the real world, where Russia has been paying people in Europe to do actions that rile up "the left" & "the right" (in both directions).

It would be quite naive to think they don't do the same in the virtual world of the internet, where it is even cheaper…

wiseowise 4 days ago

There's no evidence to disprove them either.

Bots aren't necessarily aimed to promote "glorious motherland" directly, there are probably hundreds of people on a payroll searching for easy, popular targets to wreak havoc.

  • MomsAVoxell 4 days ago

    Paranoia. There is just as much evidence that the USA has influence operations in every country on the planet too.

    • wiseowise 4 days ago

      Whatever lets you sleep at night.

      • MomsAVoxell 4 days ago

        Oh, as if "the Russians are comin' to brainwash us all" doesn't keep you up at night.

        Give it up. The Russians aren't coming for you. You're gunning for them.

UltraSane 4 days ago

You just have to read Reddit and YouTube and Twitter comments to see all the evidence you need.

  • mh- 4 days ago

    Curious that you didn't include HN in that list.

    • UltraSane 4 days ago

      Because I rarely see obvious Russian troll comments on hacker news

      • MomsAVoxell 4 days ago

        Yes, there are Russians on the Internet. No, they’re not all trolls. No, I’m not Russian. Yes, there are American trolls on the Internet. No, America doesn’t own the Internet.