Former Ambassador Michael McFaul:
“We have entered a new era of Great Power Competition with China first, and Russia second. In this contest, I worry more about the American threat from within -- polarized divisions that prevent us from acting strategically in the world -- than the China threat.“
@LSWellesley
The powers outside do contribute to the division inside. Infowars are real thing. I hope the US people will learn from Ukrainians that the enemy is not always invading with the tanks.
Divide and conquer - such an old quote yet so underappreciated. Money for boosts in algorithms, propaganda, trolls, bot farms - this is not a conspiracy, these are the modern weapons. 😪
#politics
@LSWellesley
Totally agree. "New" probably not the right word, "upgraded" would fit better. Such a complex and interesting topic. And I genuinely think there is less division in the US than we are made to think. ❤️
@LSWellesley
1/ This whole thing makes me think a lot.
A while ago I watched a video of 2018 conference where an Israeli rep in Ukraine was talking about increasing antisemitism in Ukraine. When asked about details he said that it was the comments on social media platforms that indicated that rise. And then that there was no or almost no hate crimes against Jewish. During the last several months huge amount of bot russian farms were brought to light.
@LSWellesley
2/ and recently there was a video of Ukrainian famous YouTuber who investigated how Ukrainian YouTube trands are formed. He came to the conclusion that russian content is given privilege to get in Ukrainian trending video lists.
And I feel like it's "fake it until you make it" tactics by russians employed here. Plus, conveniently used to point fingers, fuel hate, divide the society. Such a topic to have a loud convo over Friday beer 😅
Putinists make an art of lying, especially when they are sober. 😂
Many, many years ago, during the Andropov days, I told a group of Russian students that their government was addicted to lying, and distilled and drank lies as easily, and as eagerly, as all of them drank alcohol.
And then there is Kadyrov, who thinks a troll farm is a place to raise goats. Such brilliance! 😂
Here is something I found a minute ago that might interest you:
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/investing-in-africas-creative-industries/
@LSWellesley
thank you! I'll definitely look into that! 🙏 💛 💙
@rakshy
I agree with most of what you write, though I would add that conspiracies are an occasional reality and no doubt, a sometimes-efficient means to an end in infowars.
Yes, infowars are real, and have been since the days of the Roman empire (if not earlier), when propaganda emerged as a useful tool in literature and public oration. And here we are.
Thank you for your very thoughtful work. 😃🙏🏻