Page 3 - 1902
P. 3
Phil’s Ramblings
H they can game search engines so that their web-
appy Groundhog Day! My name-
site shows up on the first page or two of search
results – even though the person initiating the
sake, Punxsutawney Phil,
emerged from his burrow this
morning to a cloudy sky. As legend has it, search was looking for an unbiased discussion
or explanation of a particular topic. In other cas-
because Phil did not see his shadow we will es, organizations or individuals can purchase
have an early spring. (Unfortunately, this advertising from a website provider, which can
legend has a checkered history – so I would- move their website up on related search results.
n’t get out the spring and summer clothes One such example was highlighted in an online
just yet.)
Guardian article this week entitled, “How Face-
On a more serious note, I’ve been reading book and YouTube help spread anti-vaxxer
more and more articles about how we are propaganda”. As explained in the article,
being manipulated and/or taken advantage of searchers on those websites who were looking
– and how the techniques behind these initia- for general information about vaccinations re-
tives continue to be perfected. ceived more anti-vaccination results than they
did for the positive vaccination information they
History is filled with examples of manipula-
tion, so this is nothing new. The term, “Snake were looking for.
Oil Salesman” has been around for a long Meanwhile, Russia and other “State Actors” are
time, denoting someone who was selling a becoming more and more adept at using social
useless (or even potentially dangerous) prod- media to misinform and confuse citizens of other
uct to gullible consumers. But these efforts countries in ways that are beneficial to the per-
were fairly transparent. We could identify petrator. The first big example was the Brexit
who the huckster was, whether we suc- vote in Britain, then followed by interference in
cumbed to his sales pitch or not. our 2016 elections. Now, a recent Atlantic arti-
Thanks to the many ways in which someone cle reports that Russians are working behind the
can disguise himself on the Internet, it can be scenes to discredit and disrupt the Mueller in-
difficult to determine who, or which organiza- vestigation, using our own U.S. courts (and a
tion, is behind a particular campaign or story. domestic law firm) in the process. You can read
Moreover, it can be difficult to determine the more here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/
motivation behind what is being presented. archive/2019/02/new-mueller-filing-shows-how-
Organizations with very specific agendas can russia-misuses-us-courts/581884/.
disguise themselves with innocuous- It’s bad enough that individuals try to take ad-
sounding names. (This has led to the deri- vantage of us by soliciting donations for phony
sive nickname, “Astro-Turf” for supposed charities, or by trying to sell us sub-standard or
“Grass Roots” organizations that are actually non-existent products or investments. But the
created and funded by shadow groups to scope of these recent initiatives extends to large
promote their agendas.) groups of people, with potential major long-term
The Internet can offer significant anonymity consequences.
to such groups and individuals. Moreover, (Continued on page 4)
3
