Armies of bots battled on Twitter over Chinese spy balloon incident (www.newscientist.com)
from L4s@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 22:00
https://lemmy.world/post/11570035

Armies of bots battled on Twitter over Chinese spy balloon incident::Large proportions of users posting on Twitter – now X – about the Chinese balloon that drifted over the US and Canada in 2023 were bots attempting to shape the debate

#technology

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WatDabney@sopuli.xyz on 04 Feb 2024 22:20 next collapse

No surprise there.

There was never even the slightest chance that that balloon could pass through US airspace unobserved, and China possesses FAR more effective, secure and difficult-at-best methods with which to spy. So very obviously, it was intended to be discovered. And presuming that to be the case, the important bit then was the reaction its discovery would trigger.

So it was safe to presume from the start (as I did) that some significant part of the social media noise about it was simple astroturfing explicitly intended solely to further whatever response whoever wanted.

bionicjoey@lemmy.ca on 05 Feb 2024 00:54 collapse

There was never even the slightest chance that that balloon could pass through US airspace unobserved

That’s because they forgot to paint it blue. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world on 05 Feb 2024 01:33 collapse

Anytime I need to sneak around I paint myself blue.

bionicjoey@lemmy.ca on 05 Feb 2024 01:34 next collapse

You blue yourself?

bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml on 05 Feb 2024 03:12 collapse

Tobias?

AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world on 05 Feb 2024 12:45 next collapse

Well no. I take my jorts off for this part.

bionicjoey@lemmy.ca on 06 Feb 2024 02:01 collapse

<img alt="" src="https://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fucking_idiot_arrested_development.gif">

tsonfeir@lemm.ee on 04 Feb 2024 22:36 collapse

The future is our AI talking to their AI on social media filling it with garbage in place of us while we do all the manual labor for the rich. AI sure is doing a good job avoiding work. Gen-AI is just fucking lazy.

skeptomatic@lemmy.ca on 05 Feb 2024 04:42 collapse

I got news for you. That’s not only the future.