Enemies of the U.S. are disseminating false information regarding the demonstrations ongoing in Los Angeles
Going Ham on Tellin' Lies! 🤷🔫📰
Foreign dirtbags like China, Iran, and Russia are got damn ’bout it when it comes to exploiting America's deepest fault lines. Ain't no bad blood between us stateside? Pfft, think again. NewsGuard's disinformation observatory says these shady countries are waging an information war, and they ain't afraid to get their dirty fingers all over our protests, spreading falsehoods like wildfire.
Recent protests in LA? Yup, they got jacked too! Chinese, Russian, and Iranian sources decked out in red, green, or yellow links decided to ride the Los Angeles protests coat-tails, spreading lies on social media about the city being the "ground zero" of an American apocalypse. Who the hell needs comic books when you got world players riling things up, huh?
The Chinese, they ain't afraid of jumping in knee-deep. Chinese accounts on social platforms like X and other crap like Douyin and Weibo started spinin' tales about California seceding from the US. How? Go figger! They took a couple swipes at President Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom, and bam! - supposed evidence of a Cali secession scheme.
Iran ain't got much, but they got vicious as hell when it comes to nonsense. Tehran-based newspapers proudly carried the bogus yarn that pop Iranian singer Andranik Madadian (or Andy, whatever) was grabbed by the National Guard in LA. No sir, Mr. Madadian said he's clean as a whistle. The old dog just wanted folks to stop spreading those damn rumors. But, hey, the Iranians ain't done yet. These goons did a numbers game on America's trust, and they ain't above spreadin' lies to make the U.S. seem like a dictatorship run amok.
As for the Russian bears? They ain't much better. Moscow's minions decided to slap a fresh coat of "stinkin' stick" on right-wing conspiracy theories, claiming the Mexican government was the brains behind protests against Trump's immigration policies. Now, ain't that a hoot, folks?
So, what's the deal with this whole "open season" thing? Researcher McKenzie Sadeghi of NewsGuard said things for protesters grow sadder by the day. Erosion of trust in institutions, AI bots spewing junk, and political polarization? Check, check, check. Lower security and moderation from the big platforms? Yup, keep going. Now foreign actors ain't got no breaks when they flood the net with lies!
But wait, there's more horseshit in the works. American influencers are in on the beef too. Recent days? Right-as-rain conservatives have been goin' to town with pics of piles of bricks, claimin' they were left out for California protesters to chuck at the fuzz and crank up the violence. These crazy cats say these pics prove some non-profit orgs supported by George Soros are stirrin' things up real good. The AFP found out one pic was from a bloke in Malaysia, and another? That was smack dab in New Jersey!
Don't think that pathetic attempt to mislead the folks is all coincidence, y'all. The Social Media Lab (a fancy-sounding research place) said it's an old trick, and it's been used knee-deep in lies over and over. So here we are, plain and simple: lying assholes from China, Iran, Russia, and the U.S. are makin' things a whole lot messier than they already are.
[1] "Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections: What You Need To Know." Council on Foreign Relations. (n.d.). https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/foreign-interference-us-elections-what-you-need-know[4] "Spread of Disinformation Online: Strategies, Techniques, and Implications." European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. (2019). https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/spread-of-disinformation-online-strategies-techniques-and-implications[5] "Foreign Disinformation and Media Manipulation: Russia." Freedom House. (2020). https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/basic-facts/foreign-disinformation-and-media-manipulation-russia
- Amidst escalating war-and-conflicts, Foreign policy-and-legislation matters face increasing challenges as China, Iran, and Russia have been found spreading disinformation to influence domestic news and protests.
- In addition to war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice issues have also been tainted by foreign interference, especially in the dissemination of false information surrounding car-accidents and incidents involving high-profile figures.
- General-news reporting faces significant hurdles amidst global deceit, as foreign actors create false narratives to mislead the public, such as by trumpeting fallacious stories about car-accidents or popular figures being involved in illegal activities.
- Warnings regarding foreign involvement in politics have grown more urgent, with researchers highlighting the dangers of disinformation in war-and-conflicts, policy-and-legislation, and crime-and-justice cases, as well as the potential implications for domestic and international affairs.
