A peek into what Hillary's fans are doing on the Internet. Here is a short quote from the link of

[Cal33]

"Confessions from a Hillary Shill" by "Le Taz Hot."

<< Just to give you an idea, here are some of the guidelines for our posting in October:

1) Sexism. This was the biggest one we were supposed to push. We had to smear Bernie as misogynistic and out-of-touch with modern sensibilities. He was to be characterized as "an old white male relic that believed women enjoyed being gang raped". Anyone who tried to object to this characterization would be repeatedly slammed as sexist until they went away or people lost interest.

2) Racism. We were instructed to hammer home how Bernie supporters were all privileged white students that had no idea how the world worked. We had to tout Hillary's great record with "the blacks" (yes, that's the actual way it was phrased), and generally use racial identity politics to attack Sanders and bolster Hillary as the only unifying figure.

3) Electability. All of those posts about how Sanders can never win and Hillary is inevitable? Some of those were us, done deliberately in an attempt to demoralize Bernie supporters and convince them to stop campaigning for him. The problem is that this was an outright fabrication and not an accurate assessment of the current political situation. But the truth didn't matter - we were trying to create a new truth, not to spread the existing truth.

4) Dirty tactics. This is where things got really bad. We were instructed to create narratives of Clinton supporters as being victimized by Sanders supporters, even if they were entirely fabricated. There were different instructions about how to do it, but something like this (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/31/1443064/-Dis-heartened-Hillary-Supporter) is a perfect example. These kind of posts are manufactured to divide and demoralize Sanders supporters, and are entirely artificial in nature. (The same thing happened in 2008, but it wasn't as noticeable before social media and public attention focused on popular forums like Reddit).

5) Opponent outreach. There are several forums and imageboards where Sanders is not very popular (I think you can imagine which ones those are.) We were instructed to make pro-Sanders troll posts to rile up the user base and then try to goad them into raiding or attacking places like this subreddit. This was probably the only area where we only had mixed success, since that particular subset of the population were more difficult to manipulate than we originally thought.

In any case, the final nail in the coffin for me happened last night. I was..... >>

This reminds me very much of the way how the Corporate Power people are operating. Read the whole link. It's
quite shocking how they operate, but it's a very informative read.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=773551

Added Edit: Please be sure to read the link given at the bottom of Le Taz Hot's post.

[Skidmore]

1. ...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/31/1443064/-Dis-heartened-Hillary-Supporter

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

60. Well, well, well...look what we have here...hmmm. Is anyone surprised by these slimeball tactics?

Of course, we're talkin Hillary and her minions, so the question pretty much answers itself.

Go Bernie Go! It's time...take no fuckin' prisoners!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2016!!!

[FreakinDJ]

65. Those were the topics being posted on DU

[VanillaRhapsody]

2. total bunk....

Not one shred of evidence that this person is any such thing....

[SCantiGOP]

41. I'd call it bullshit

Good work of fiction that smacks of desperation.

[Lil Missy]

3. *yawn*

[DanTex]

4. I know the guy who wrote this. It was on a bet.

I didn't think Bernie fans were gullible enough to make this go viral. Looks like I lost.

[rhett o rick]

8. So you think that it was a dirty trick to set up Sen Sanders?

Big Billionaire money will buy lots of dirty tricks. I side with the People's choice and not the Billionaire's.

[DanTex]

12. Always a conspiracy theory...

[NuclearDem]

18. People making shit up on the internet is not a corporate conspiracy.

You're just covering your ass for falling for the first thing you read that fit your preconceived notions.

That's not a conspiracy--that's you not doing your homework.

[zappaman]

64. +1

[Android3.14]

53. Sure you do

[DanTex]

58. You got me! I was joking.

[sabrina 1]

57. What's his name and what was his purpose? Where can we find him online?

[DanTex]

59. Can't tell you his name. His purpose was to see how gullible Bernie supporters are.

Pretty darn gullible, it turns out.

[sabrina 1]

63. Lol, suuuure! Btw, we didn't need that post at all to recognize the paid-for talking points.

We have a list here which we have been keeping since the beginning.

But the most obvious were the 'racist' and 'sexist' garbage obviously paid for.

Some were caught 'red' handed of course.

But talking points paid for by secret money are not hard to recognize at all. Which is why they have had zero impact on Bernie's incredible campaign. Social Media is a great tool to expose the dirty tricks coming from those Super Pacs, funded by money the people cannot see.

As for you knowing whoever this is, sorry, but when something doesn't make sense it's because it doesn't.

Nice try though! Well, sort of!

[DanTex]

66. Conspiracy!

[BootinUp]

5. Never heard of "Don't believe everything..."

Doubling down after it was already debunked!!!!

[Hydra]

6. I see Team Hillary is not happy to see this again

[FarPoint]

10. What team are you on then????

[Hydra]

13. I'm not sure what you'd call us, we might even have a name...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. Is there a team that is unfamiliar with the truth?

EOM

[leftofcool]

27. Actually, this Hillary supporter thinks it is hysterical!

It is exactly the type of behavior we have come expect from the Bernie folks. What I don't understand is why it isn't be plastered on every Hillary supporters FB page? After all, John Lewis, Howard Dean, Jane Goodall and others, probably need to really see this, don't you think?

[artislife]

28. Yes. nt

[BklnDem75]

7. Uh... Bonjour!

[FarPoint]

9. Oh for crying out loud!

Snap out of the drama....

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. You are sliming innocent posters who have been at this board almost from its inception.

EOM

[Hydra]

15. If you aren't doing any of these things, which an innocent poster would not

Then how would they be slimed, pray tell?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. What part of you and your associates are implying guilt by association don't you understand?

Oh, why hasn't anybody taken DSB's challenge, pray tell?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251775947

[artislife]

29. There is no way to prove it either way. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

34. Precisely...

I can say I saw my neighbor having sex with fill in the____________ and he or she can't prove or disprove it.

It's the worst kind of libel.


J'accuse

[artislife]

35. That seems a little dramatic

for something that has been going on, probably since the inception of this site.

There are hundreds of threads here that are based on opinion or imagination.

I wouldn't get too upset over it.

[FarPoint]

17. That is a great point you make...

Helped me feel more grounded....it's never easy during Presidential Primary Season.... Pitty we can't talk civil in healthy discussion about Democratic Candidates....

[DemocratSinceBirth]

19. I don't have much money for my challenge, just a lot of heart...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251775947

[FarPoint]

20. You sure have Heart...

[riversedge]

51. Thank you so much.

[Android3.14]

54. Contrived outrage

natch.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

56. The outrage is real...

Go disrespect people in real life, preferably record it and link it here, so we can all have a laugh.

[kristopher]

21. 2011: "Military's 'sock puppet' software creates fake online identities to spread ... propaganda"

Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media
Military's 'sock puppet' software creates fake online identities to spread pro-American propaganda

Nick Fielding and Ian Cobain
Thursday 17 March 2011 09.19 EDT Last modified on Saturday 4 October 2014 10.33 EDT

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

A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.

The project has been likened by web experts to China's attempts to control and restrict free speech on the internet. Critics are likely to complain that it will allow the US military to create a false consensus in online conversations, crowd out unwelcome opinions and smother commentaries or reports that do not correspond with its own objectives.

The discovery that the US military is developing false online personalities – known to users of social media as "sock puppets" – could also encourage other governments, private companies and non-government organisations to do the same.

The Centcom contract stipulates that each fake online persona must have a convincing background, history and supporting details, and that up to 50 US-based controllers should be able to operate false identities from their workstations "without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries"...

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

Good thing PR companies representing corporations and political campaigns can't get their hands on this stuff, isn't it?

You can read the full text of the solicitation for bids here:
http://forums.officer.com/t160914/

BTW, I have a screenshot copy preserved that was taken directly from the USAF procurement website.

[artislife]

31. Who would spend the money?

Oh...wait.

[NuclearDem]

22. If you guys spent as much energy getting a ground game for Sanders

as you do pushing ridiculous and easily-debunked conspiracy theories, Sanders would probably be the nominee by now.

[NurseJackie]

25. Thank you.

Not only is this an ineffective tactic and poor use of human resources, it really harms their credibility. As unfair as it may be, there are many people who see this type of loony behavior and will assume that all Bernie followers are kooks, or that the candidate himself must also be a kook. From that point forward, even the most rational Bernie follower is viewed with negatively.

[demwing]

36. I have no opinion about the post, but the saccharine concern about Bernie

Coming from Hillary supporters is comedy gold. Please proceed.

[NurseJackie]

37. Concern? Damn! I was going for ridicule and contempt.

Too subtle I guess ... I'll work on that. Thanks for the feedback.

[demwing]

40. Never give up on your dreams!

Maybe you could try to find a way to turn your hobbies into a new career? I'm sure success is right around the corner!

[artislife]

33. Before the primaries?

That is not how we do things.

[JI7]

42. that's what Obama did and how he ended up beating Clinton

[artislife]

44. No...read the post again,please. nt

[pnwmom]

23. Your OP is an example of the depths to which some of Bernie's supporters will fall.

You re-posted a post from "Le Taz Hot" that was removed from Reddit because the poster couldn't verify that he had worked for Hillary's campaign, as he claimed -- and that had already been discredited here on DU for the same reason.

Why did you choose to re-post a post that had already gotten a lot of attention here, despite its sketchy provenance?

[artislife]

45. Gosh, this isn't the first time something like this has happened...

It seems to be the way it is for every side but O'Malley.

[leftofcool]

24. I love re-posted debunked OP's

[riversedge]

26. Why would you post this debunked article and make yourself look stupid and foolish??

[ronnykmarshall]

30. This is such bullshit.

and the fact this shit is allowed here proved how fucking low this place has gotten.

[Jim Lane]

49. I'm curious about "allowed here"

First, let me say as to the first-person account itself: There are two obvious explanations, each of which is plausible. One is that some Clinton supporters (not the campaign itself), having already maxed out their legal donations, put together a separate operation (preserving the campaign's deniability if they were discovered) and set out to use their money to help Clinton on the internet. The other is that somebody made this up out of whole cloth, perhaps to make Clinton look bad, perhaps to make Sanders supporters look like kooks, or perhaps just for lulz. I have no way of adjudicating between these explanations. Fortunately, I have no compelling reason to, either, since neither explanation reflects on the merits of any candidate.

My immediate question is about your gripe that such posts are "allowed here". What standard would you apply? Nothing negative about any Democratic candidate or the supporters of any Democratic candidate, unless it's supported by a notarized affidavit?

I don't have a problem with the posting or re-posting of items like this. DUers are not (for the most part) idiots. They can decide whether to credit it. People can point out that whoever controls the Sanders subreddit couldn't verify it and pulled it for lack of substantiation. Other people can point out that the U.S. government has explored this kind of online intervention so it's not as if it's completely inconceivable. I don't see what's wrong with DU allowing such discussion for people who take an interest in the topic.

Are you saying that it's against the ToS, or, if it's not, it should be?

[MohRokTah]

32. Complete horseshit

The Sanders subreddit pulled that crap because the poster refused to substantiate it.

[Evergreen Emerald]

39. Hahaha

I am borrowing your fly sig!

[ronnykmarshall]

38. Oh wait .... I just got my CHECK!!!!!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/zT5aiz][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/zT5aiz]


I got a bonus this month.

Thanks Hillary!

[PosterChild]

46. The internet troll fund is Located in ....

..... Brooklyn NY? And where is bernie from ? Brooklyn NY !

Coincidence ? I think not! There is some sort of double-triple-false-flag diss info op going into play here!

[ronnykmarshall]

48. Uh huh!

You got it!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

62. LOL...okay, you get my vote for funniest post of the day...good one!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2016!!!

[KoKo]

43. Extra Information is Always Good! eom

[Jack-o-Lantern]

47. This infighting sucks. I love Bernie, but in the real world only Hillary can be elected.

We live in the real world, and in the real world Burnie cannot be elected. Why? Because the majority of Americans are FOX fed idiots who hear “Socialist” and think Communists. They hear “Jewish” and think, Jews don’t believe in Jesus, Jews killed Jesus.
In short, Americans are by and large are too stupid to vote in their own best interests, and too stupid to know what they are doing. So I believe that Hillary is our last best hope.

[artislife]

67. Another "reality'base" argument

I am caucusing for the one I believe is for the issues that are most important for this country and planet.

Bernie.

Nothing great comes out of being timid.

[davidpdx]

50. I read most of it and I find it extremely farfetched

Now is it possible that the right-wing has paid trolls that are disguising themselves as Clinton trolls, that is possible.

[-none]

52. Good question.

It seems to be the same tactics the Right-wing uses. Rove, is that you?

[ucrdem]

55. Also, he's winning in all 50 states.

And he's a Democrat and Vermont has a law against being a Democrat! It's true, I read it on reddit!

[ecstatic]

61. I'm on the fence between O'Malley and Clinton, and I know this is bullshit

In 2008, I chose Obama over Clinton, so I'm far from a shill. The criticisms Sanders has received are 100% valid, and I'm glad he didn't take the approach some of his "supporters" have taken. Before his run, I saw him on MSNBC state that our side gets too caught up in social issues / culture wars instead of focusing on economics. I was extremely offended, and that was at least a year before he threw his hat in the ring. This idea that people who took issue with his race neutral platform were taking orders from Hillary is offensive and tone deaf at best.

To his credit, Sanders recognized the problem and addressed it.

Anyway, please stop these types of posts. Who is your target audience? I guess it's just a feel good, bury head in the sand thing? Yes. Let's pretend Sanders is perfect and every criticism is from a paid troll? It's funny yet sad because this type of idealism only leads to disappointment and bitterness later on. Nobody is perfect! All 3 candidates would be about the same if elected president. It's congress and local elections that we need to be worried about.

[bobbobbins01]

68. Unless this is verified, it really has no business here.

Unverified info that smears any candidate is embarrassing and out of line.