Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media

by Nick Fielding and Ian Cobain from the Guardian.

The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.

The authorities assure us that this technology (Operation Earnest Voice) would be illegal to use in the US--so why should we worry? See this, this, and this.

On the other hand, there are some skeptics, like myself, who believe that the ruling class clearly saw what happened in Egypt, and are preparing to use social media to manipulate the minds of Americans as they have done so effectively, although more subtly, through their control of education and mainstream media.

Still, many politically astute people believe that we can use social media to organize. Maybe so. In any case, we must be aware of the dangers.