# End Game? Russia, Fake News, Propaganda on Social Media \[Here\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541 "2016-12-12T19:08:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541/1 "2016-12-12T19:08:50Z")
Are Russian agents spreading propaganda on _this_ forum? Beware! It is quite obvious Russia is up to its old antics again\*. That being the spreading of propaganda in the U.S. But this time also adding “fake news” into the mix. \*Russia instigated all sorts of protests in the 60’s during the Vietnam war. _“the USSR gave $1 billion to American anti-war movements”_… > **[Soviet influence on the peace movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_influence_on_the_peace_movement)** > > During the Cold War (1947–1991), when the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in an arms race, the Soviet Union promoted its foreign policy through the World Peace Council and other front organizations. Some writers have claimed that it also influenced non-aligned peace groups in the West. > The World Peace Council (WPC) was set up by the Soviet Communist Party in 1948–50 to promote Soviet foreign policy and to campaign against nuclear weapons at a time when only the USA had them. The ... So what is the end game for Russia? What exactly do they hope to accomplish? I read somewhere that Putin or his friends have billions tied up due to U.S. sanctions? Perhaps he simply wants access to this money? The sanctions to end? Maybe something more? Learn to recognize propaganda on social media. Propaganda Techniques… - Glittering Generalities - Name Calling - Testimonial - Plain Folks - Bandwagon - Transfer - Card-stacking Etc. [http://www.uvm.edu/~jleonard/AGRI183/propoaganda.html](http://www.uvm.edu/~jleonard/AGRI183/propoaganda.html) [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140815205902-57567806-7-propaganda-techniques-all-students-should-learn](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140815205902-57567806-7-propaganda-techniques-all-students-should-learn) Fake News… McConnell announces Senate probe of suspected Russian election interference: ‘The Russians are not our friends’… > **[McConnell announces Senate probe of suspected Russian election interference:...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/12/12/schumer-on-congressional-probe-of-russia-i-dont-want-this-to-turn-into-a-benghazi-investigation/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_mcconnell-1110a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.da8d48dfd9eb)** > > McConnell said the Senate intelligence panel will investigate Russia's suspected election interference. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541/2 "2016-12-12T19:14:39Z")
Reported for forum change. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541/3 "2016-12-12T19:39:31Z")
I think the goal here is simply to delegitimize democratic governance. After all, if it’s all a fraud and a con, then there’s no reason to demand democracy in Russia, is there? And I’m sure they’d prefer an ineffectual buffoon rather than a reasonably competent status quo type. When the US is lurching from crisis to crisis and world attention is focus on the shambolic antics of the president, the Russkis are quietly taking control of eastern Ukraine and disappearing problem people. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541/4 "2016-12-12T22:06:52Z")
The most important thing the US media has to understand is the amount of disinformation going on in covering this up. Think you got a scoop on some European kids claiming to have produced most of the anti-Clinton fake news? Nope. That’s likely a false front. Wastes the media’s time researching it. It’ll turn out to be a fake. Makes the media look unreliable (which it actually is). Etc. People who do this (from all over the world including the US) are good at not just creating fake news, they’re good at creating the fake stories about the fake news. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541/5 "2016-12-12T22:19:09Z")
**Moderator Action** I think the answer to this is going to be a matter of opinion or debate. I’m not sure there’s enough of a debate here for GD, so let’s give IMHO a shot. The mods there can move it again if it turns into an actual debate. Moving thread from GQ to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-game-russia-fake-news-propaganda-on-social-media-here/774541/6 "2016-12-13T01:20:03Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > So what is the end game for Russia? What exactly do they hope to accomplish? A weakening or breakup of NATO and the expansion of Russian influence, especially over former Soviet states.