@benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei

You’re right but IMO they mesh together. The most effective astroturfing takes a real phenomenon/sentiment and amplifies it. That could be as simple as vote and engagement manipulation to boost ‘real’ comments.

E.g. after the last two No Kings protests Reddit was flooded with “it doesn’t matter/waste of time/these protests are useless” comments. Many were probably ‘real’ but astroturfers likely seized the opportunity to upvote them.

@benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei

I’m becoming more and more convinced that cynical defeatism is being intentionally astroturfed and amplified in left-leaning online communities all over the internet by malign actors.