DNI Report: Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections

[Me_Billy]

From DNI (Director of National Intelligence)…

[“This report is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment; its conclusions are identical to those in the highly classified assessment but this version does not include the full supporting information on key elements of the influence campaign.”]

Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections

ICA_2017_01.pdf

[aceplace57]

Is this really all that new? The Soviets certainly had a interest in manipulating our politics. The Vietnam anti war movement for example was lead by sincere young Americans. There’s always been suspicion that a few provocateurs had gotten into some of the student group’s.

Our own CIA has been meddling in other countries internal affairs since WWII.

I lived through much of the cold war. I just can’t get excited that the DNC got hacked. It’s something that we should expect. Espionage is preferable to actual warfare. Every major country engages in it.

It’s up to the US to secure our Computer Networks. Train people and be ready for whatever cyberwar that might eventually come.

[aceplace57]

I’ll go by FedEx Office (Kinkos) tomorrow and print this out. So I can read it closely.

It’ll be interesting to see what they are willing to say in a declassified document.

Thanks for the link.

[Evan_Drake]

IN THE PAST six weeks, the Washington Post published two blockbuster stories about the Russian threat that went viral: one on how Russia is behind a massive explosion of “fake news,” the other on how it invaded the U.S. electric grid. Both articles were fundamentally false. Each now bears a humiliating editor’s note grudgingly acknowledging that the core claims of the story were fiction: The first note was posted a full two weeks later to the top of the original article; the other was buried the following day at the bottom.

…

But what was the Post’s motive in publishing two false stories about Russia that, very predictably, generated massive attention, traffic, and political impact? Was it ideological and political — namely, devotion to the D.C. agenda of elevating Russia into a grave threat to U.S. security? Was it to please its audience — knowing that its readers, in the wake of Trump’s victory, want to be fed stories about Russian treachery? Was it access and source servitude — proving it will serve as a loyal and uncritical repository for any propaganda intelligence officials want disseminated? Was it profit — to generate revenue through sensationalistic click-bait headlines with a reckless disregard to whether its stories are true? In an institution as large as the Post, with numerous reporters and editors participating in these stories, it’s impossible to identify any one motive as definitive.

…

It is no coincidence that many of the most embarrassing journalistic debacles of this year involve the Russia Threat, and they all involve this same dynamic. Perhaps the worst one was the facially ridiculous, pre-election Slate story — which multiple outlets (including The Intercept) had been offered but passed on — alleging that Trump had created a secret server to communicate with a Russian bank; that story was so widely shared that even the Clinton campaign ended up hyping it — a tweet that, by itself, was re-tweeted almost 12,000 times.

…

But this is the climate Democrats have successfully cultivated — where anyone dissenting or even expressing skepticism about their deeply self-serving Russia narrative is the target of coordinated and potent smears; where, as The Nation’s James Carden documented yesterday, skepticism is literally equated with treason. And the converse is equally true: Those who disseminate claims and stories that bolster this narrative — no matter how divorced from reason and evidence they are — receive an array of benefits and rewards.
The Intercept: Glenn Greenwald: WashPost Is Richly Rewarded for False News About Russia Threat While Public Is Deceived: 04/jan/17
Very long article.

[running_coach]

@Evan_Drake

IN THE PAST six weeks, the Washington Post published two blockbuster stories about the Russian threat that went viral: one on how Russia is behind a massive explosion of “fake news,” the other on how it invaded the U.S. electric grid. Both articles were fundamentally false. Each now bears a humiliating editor’s note grudgingly acknowledging that the core claims of the story were fiction: The first note was posted a full two weeks later to the top of the original article; the other was buried the following day at the bottom.

…

You didn’t read the corrections very well, did you?

First WaPo link

Correction: A previously published version of this story incorrectly stated that Russian information service RT had used the “#CrookedHillary” hastag pushed by then-Republican candidate Donald Trump. In fact, while another Russian information service Sputnik did use this hashtag, RT did not.

So they got the wrong Russian information service. I don’t see a correction about the basic facts in the article.
2nd WaPo link:

The Post initially reported incorrectly that the country’s electric grid had been penetrated through a Vermont utility. After Burlington Electric released its statement saying that the potentially compromised laptop had not been connected to the grid, The Post immediately corrected its article and later added an editor’s note explaining the change.

So they initially received incorrect information and made a correction. Reading the article shows there was a lot of confusion from a lot of sources. How long should a site wait if they think they’re getting the correct story?

[Euphonious_Polemic]

@aceplace57

Is this really all that new? The Soviets certainly had a interest in manipulating our politics. The Vietnam anti war movement for example was lead by sincere young Americans. There’s always been suspicion that a few provocateurs had gotten into some of the student group’s.

What’s new is that now there is a right-wing group who is ready, able and prepared to take the meddling and propaganda from Russia - promote it, celebrate it, defend it and basically do the work of the Russians for them.

They have painted the Democrats as absolutely, totally evil, to the point that they will accept the word of foreign government agents over their own citizens. They are essentially an overt fifth column, who are actively participating in the ultimate destruction of their own country. Many of them do this out of stupidity, or authoritarian beliefs. Others seem to be convinced that they personally will be on the top in the new order to follow.

[rowrrbazzle]

@Euphonious_Polemic

What’s new is that now there is a right-wing group who is ready, able and prepared to take the meddling and propaganda from Russia - promote it, celebrate it, defend it and basically do the work of the Russians for them.

They have painted the Democrats as absolutely, totally evil, to the point that they will accept the word of foreign government agents over their own citizens. They are essentially an overt fifth column, who are actively participating in the ultimate destruction of their own country. Many of them do this out of stupidity, or authoritarian beliefs. Others seem to be convinced that they personally will be on the top in the new order to follow.

It’s called projection. Look it up.

Hillary called half of Trump’s supporters deplorable and irredeemable. The NY Times has a long history of fake news, going back at least to Pulitzer Prize-winning Walter Duranty.

As for the rest of the above nonsense, it’s more of the same that got Trump elected. Keep it up and you make his RE-election that much more likely, because we’ve had enough.