Military Forum for Russian and Global Defence Issues
The Guardian wrote:Russian internet 'troll' sues former employer
Anna Dolgov for The Moscow Times, part of the New East network Friday 29 May 2015 13.48 BST
Lyudmila Savchuk says lawsuit will shed light on secretive practice of paying people to post political comments online. The Moscow Times reports
A former Russian internet “troll” hired to promote political views online is suing her ex-employer in an attempt to draw attention to the country’s “information war” , a news report said on Friday.
The grounds for the lawsuit filed by Lyudmila Savchuk, which is expected to be heard by a St Petersburg city court next month, is the employer’s failure to provide any labour contract or other paperwork supporting her hiring and eventual dismissal, Kommersant reported.
Savchuk said she was fired after speaking to the media about her employer, Internet Research, which she described as part of Russia’s “troll factory”.
Internet Research is reported to be linked to another company with a similar name, Internet Research Agency, which in the spring merged with a firm called New Technologies, whose official registration documents identify it as a construction company.
“The ‘troll factory’ operates based on very weird schemes, but all those firms are connected to each other, even though they are separate legal entities,” Savchuk was quoted as saying.
Since her dismissal, Savchuk has been organising a public movement against online trolling called Informatsionny Mir – a name that can be translated both as “Information World” and “Information Peace”.
“There are both opposition activists and supporters of the government among us, but we all believe that such methods of information war are unacceptable,” she said.
Internet Research was not immediately available for comment.
Lawyer Darya Sukhikh from St Petersburg-based human rights organisation Kommanda-29 (Team-29), which is representing Savchuk, told Kommersant that the lawsuit was “a pretext to force this rather secretive organisation into public view”, allowing lawyers to demand documentation.
Savchuk said she was hired in December after responding to a job advert. She said she had been asked to work 12-hour shifts posting political comments on various websites for a monthly salary of 41,000 roubles ($778), which was paid in cash until her dismissal in March. Continue reading.
The Star wrote:Meet the ‘Kremlin trolls’, the humans behind Putin’s propaganda machinery
By: Luliia Subbotovska The Associated Press, Published on Fri May 29 2015
The operation that has worried the EU is drawing Serbia away from its EU membership path, convinced people that Ukraine is neo-Nazi and Putin was right to annex Crimea.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA—Deep inside a four-storey marble building in St. Petersburg, hundreds of workers tap away at computers on the frontlines of an information war, say those who have been inside.
Known as “Kremlin trolls,” the men and women work 12-hour shifts around the clock, flooding the Internet with propaganda aimed at stamping President Vladimir Putin’s world vision on Russia, and the world.
The Kremlin has always dabbled in propaganda, but in the past year its troll campaign has gone into overdrive, adding hundreds of online operatives to help counter Western pressure over its role in the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The program is drawing Serbia away from its proclaimed EU membership path and closer to the Russian orbit, and is targeting Germany, the United States and other Western powers. The operation has worried the European Union enough to prompt it to draw up a blueprint for fighting Russia’s disinformation campaign, although details have not yet been released.
Lyuda Savchuk, a single mother with two children, worked in the St. Petersburg “troll factory” until mid-March. The 34-year-old journalist said she had some idea of the Orwellian universe she was entering when she took the job, but underestimated its intensity and scope.
“I knew it was something bad, but of course I never suspected that it was this horrible and this large-scale,” she said in an interview in her apartment, which has colourful drawings on the walls for her two preschool-age children.
She described how the trolls manage several social media accounts under different nicknames. Those in her department had to bash out 160 blog posts during a 12-hour shift. Trolls in other departments flooded the Internet with doctored images and pro-Putin commentary on news stories that crop up on Russian and Western news portals.
In some departments, she said, the trolls receive daily talking points on what to write and what emotions to evoke. “It seems to me that they don’t know what they are doing,” Savchuk said. “They simply repeat what they are told.”
She said most of the trolls are young and are attracted by relatively high monthly salaries of 40,000 to 50,000 rubles ($800 to $1,000 U.S.). Continue reading.
Cтудия Наш дом wrote:The visit of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in Slavic. (29.05.2015)
Sputnik wrote:French Ex-President: Regional Autonomy May Resolve Ukrainian Conflict
EUROPE 20:27 29.05.2015(updated 20:39 29.05.2015)
Granting of autonomy to regions in the Eastern Ukraine, which will remain a part of the country, but have their own local government and administration, may help to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing said.
The decentralization and the establishment of autonomous regions will help to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Giscard d'Estaing said in an interview with the television channel "Russia-24".
"There are people with a different history within these boundaries. There are serious tensions between them, particularly, between the people in the east, the population in central regions and residents of Polish descent in the west,” former French President said.
According to him, the solution could be a deep decentralization, when the central government does not interfere in all aspects of the country’s life.
“It is possible to create autonomous regions — Ukrainian regions which will remain part of the country, but will be self-sufficient, have their own local government, elections and local administration," he argued.
Giscard d'Estaing also stressed that such a model is quite common in Europe. As an example, he referred to Catalonia in Spain and Scotland in the United Kingdom. Continue reading.
According to this, I have been "trolling" in the name of Dark and Mighty Putin for nearly 12 months now without a single paycheck.whir wrote:The Guardian wrote:Russian internet 'troll' sues former employer
Anna Dolgov for The Moscow Times, part of the New East network Friday 29 May 2015 13.48 BST
Lyudmila Savchuk says lawsuit will shed light on secretive practice of paying people to post political comments online. The Moscow Times reports
..........................................[/url]The Star wrote:Meet the ‘Kremlin trolls’, the humans behind Putin’s propaganda machinery
By: Luliia Subbotovska The Associated Press, Published on Fri May 29 2015
The operation that has worried the EU is drawing Serbia away from its EU membership path, convinced people that Ukraine is neo-Nazi and Putin was right to annex Crimea.
................................................................
The evidence is the existence of pro-russian commentsWerewolf wrote:So are their actual facts and evidences or just claims from the west, because it is hard to follow with that the West claims and what it actually could provide as evidence so far?
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The consul has also said they are LPR policemenFlagship Victory wrote:Russia officially declared the two captured Russian soldiers as mercenaries. Any thoughts?
.Ukrinform via Google Translate wrote:Саакашвілі призначений головою Одеської ОДА
Saakashvili appointed chairman of the Odessa Regional State Administration
21:16 29.05.2015
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed chairman of the Odessa Regional State Administration.
This Ukrinform reported a source in the Presidential Administration.
According to the source, the official presentation will take place tomorrow.
Purpose Saakashvili Odesa governor also confirmed Environment Minister Igor Shevchenko on his page in Facebook .
Currently, ex-president of Georgia is on Bankova. Continue reading.
We all are already marked as "terrorists" by Kiev.Neutrality wrote:These reports about a Russian "troll" army suggests that someone out there in the higher ranks doesn't like that certain people on certain boards make constructive posts which put Ukraine in a negative spotlight
On other boards I've been called a Kremlin paid agent and a "resident". So flattering.
Why this reaction? They are basically pi***** Russia in the face because they can. Odessa is a clearly pro-russian but under occupation.whir wrote:Ukrinform via Google Translate wrote:Саакашвілі призначений головою Одеської ОДА
Saakashvili appointed chairman of the Odessa Regional State Administration
21:16 29.05.2015
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed chairman of the Odessa Regional State Administration.
This Ukrinform reported a source in the Presidential Administration.
According to the source, the official presentation will take place tomorrow.
Purpose Saakashvili Odesa governor also confirmed Environment Minister Igor Shevchenko on his page in Facebook .
Currently, ex-president of Georgia is on Bankova. Continue reading.
Because he had no problem shelling civilians or killing unarmed protesters? It's like pouring gasoline onto a fire.Monarchist wrote:Why this reaction? They are basically pi***** Russia in the face because they can. Odessa is a clearly pro-russian but under occupation.
Even Moldova that is a banana republic is threatening and laughing at Russia. It doesn't surprise me things will only get worse.
European Union sanctions against Russia are up for renewal. To prevent them from being lifted some additional NATO propaganda hyping the Russia threat and warning of an imminent invasion if Ukraine is necessary.
Reuters is always willing to be helpful with this. Consider its record of uncritical ExclusiveNews on the topic:
March 13 2014 Russia Masses Troops Near Ukraine
April 10 2014 NATO Chief: 40,000 Russian Troops Amassed Near Ukraine’s Border
April 13 2014 Well-equipped Russian troops amass near Ukraine border -Britain
May 28 2014 Russia May Have 40,000 Troops Near Ukraine’s Border: US sources
July 14 2014 NATO estimates Russia has 10,000-12,000 troops near Ukraine border
July 25 2014 More than 15,000 Russian troops along Ukraine border -U.S. envoy
July 30 2014 Russia increasing troops, moving towards Ukraine border
August 6 2014 NATO says Russia could be poised to invade Ukraine
August 11 2014 Ukraine says Russia has massed 45,000 troops on joint border
November 4 2014 Russian troops moving closer to Ukraine border: NATO chief
November 7 2014 NATO sees increase in Russian troops along Ukraine border
March 28 2015 Russia May Have 40,000 Troops Near Ukraine’s Border: US sources
May 27 2015 Exclusive: Russia masses heavy firepower on border with Ukraine - witness
In none of the above stories have I seen any real reporting with a critical assessment of the veracity of such news.
Russia, like any normal state, always has some troops near its borders as well as training areas for larger unit exercises. Troops moving within the wider border area is simply normal.
Some 90% of the Canadian army is stationed less than a hundred miles from the U.S. border. When will Reuters finally manage to report that threat of an immediate invasion?
I hope he brought his ties with him.max steel wrote: Breaking news : Mikheil Saakashvali the US backed neolib/con has just been appointed governor of occupied Odessa by the Putsch regime of Ukraine
Not the Onion .
Ivan the Colorado wrote:I hope he brought his ties with him.max steel wrote: Breaking news : Mikheil Saakashvali the US backed neolib/con has just been appointed governor of occupied Odessa by the Putsch regime of Ukraine
Not the Onion .
max steel wrote: Breaking news : Mikheil Saakashvali the US backed neolib/con has just been appointed governor of occupied Odessa by the Putsch regime of Ukraine
Not the Onion .
max steel wrote: Breaking news : Mikheil Saakashvali the US backed neolib/con has just been appointed governor of occupied Odessa by the Putsch regime of Ukraine
Not the Onion .
whir wrote:The consul has also said they are LPR policemenFlagship Victory wrote:Russia officially declared the two captured Russian soldiers as mercenaries. Any thoughts?
franco wrote:max steel wrote: Breaking news : Mikheil Saakashvali the US backed neolib/con has just been appointed governor of occupied Odessa by the Putsch regime of Ukraine
Not the Onion .
He is there to command the invasion of Transnistria.
29th of May, 2015. Lugansk People's Republic, Novorossiya. Gennadiy Moskal, the head of the territories controlled by the Ukrainian army, has ordered to close the crossing point over the blown bridge near Stanitsa Luganskaya for 60 days, the commander of the LPR Territorial Defence Battalion “Ataman” told the Lugansk Information Center. “The checkpoint on the Ukrainian side has been closed. For two days, they allowed no one through, not the disabled, or pregnant women, or old people; no one can get there, or come here from there. There are very rare exceptions to this rule. According to the information I have, the closure of this last remaining crossing point on the line of contact between the LPR people's militia and the Ukrainian side was due to personal orders from Moskal. Of course, people still try to cross… some did today… but no one succeeded,” – the commander said. The LPR fighter serving at a post near the blown bridge told the Lugansk Information Center that a spontaneous rally had occurred yesterday at the local village council building. “Several hundred people gathered to demand free crossing. Ukrainian forces dispersed the rally. They beat people with rifle butts, and even arrested some of them,” – he said. It is neccessary to remind that on the morning of 22 May, without explanation, Ukrainian forces blocked access to pedestrians crossing the bridge between Lugansk and Stanitsa Luganskaya. When OSCE representatives arrived on-scene, they decided that the crossing-point in the village would remain open during the day, whenever there was no gunfire in the area. On the morning of 23 May, Ukrainian forces partially started to allow people to pass into Stanitsa Luganskaya, but only those, who are registered in their area of control. And only those who are registered in the LPR could pass into Lugansk.In the afternoon of 24 May, the crossing reopened. At the moment, the bridge over the Seversky Donets is the only crossing-point for locals. Before the war, Stanitsa Luganskaya had 15,000 people. One should note that the bridge is a vital transportation artery, linking the village with Lugansk, where the villagers work and their families live. The agricultural production, including private greenhouses of Stanitsa Luganskaya, plays a major role in Lugansk’s food supply. wrote:
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