Russian Trolls Fueled Anti-Vaccination Debate On Twitter, Study Finds (cbsnews.com) 209
"Russian Twitter trolls have attempted to fuel the anti-vaccination debate in the U.S.," reports CBS News, citing a study from George Washington University. Bots are reportedly sharing opinions from both sides of the debate to stir up controversy
The Daily Dot reports: The study further warns that the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation by "accounts masquerading as legitimate users" erodes the public consensus on the effectiveness of vaccination. News of the study comes as the U.S. faces the worst measles outbreak in 25 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that 940 known cases of measles have been reported so far this year. "This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000," the CDC said.
While Facebook vowed ten weeks ago to crack down on anti-vaccination information, Thursday the Wall Street Journal reported that instead it "remains widely available" across Facebook -- and that Facebook is still running paid ads from a prominent anti-vaccination group. [Paywalled article]
According to the Journal, Facebook "says it is mindful of overreach and is still refining automated tools for culling content."
The Daily Dot reports: The study further warns that the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation by "accounts masquerading as legitimate users" erodes the public consensus on the effectiveness of vaccination. News of the study comes as the U.S. faces the worst measles outbreak in 25 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that 940 known cases of measles have been reported so far this year. "This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000," the CDC said.
While Facebook vowed ten weeks ago to crack down on anti-vaccination information, Thursday the Wall Street Journal reported that instead it "remains widely available" across Facebook -- and that Facebook is still running paid ads from a prominent anti-vaccination group. [Paywalled article]
According to the Journal, Facebook "says it is mindful of overreach and is still refining automated tools for culling content."
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One was a competitor for ideas. The other is a competitor for Capitalist Power.
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there are trump supporting right wingers who do the same, though. Both groups are ill-informed.
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People are fucking stupid. News at 11!
Re: Anti-vaccination is huge in leftist California (Score:4, Informative)
Not sure I agree with this. I've looked into this and most of the anti-vaxxer crowd tend to be right wing religious zealots who think Trump was sent to save them from the brown invasion.
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Oh man, who saw this coming? (Score:4, Funny)
Next you'll tell me that Trump lied a few times?
If you roll yourself in Cheeto dust... (Score:2)
Then you're going to get judged on the color of your skin.
I'd say Trump is probably quite tasty, given the Cheeto dust and Hamberders and all.
He should be eaten alive by Rats; maybe they could tell us, afterwards.
Your obviously not from here. (Score:2)
I saw a guy beating a tie-down on his 4 wheeler back into place with the butt of his carry pistol about 2 weeks ago.
It doesn't come much dumber than that.
75% of my state voted for Trump; They're either Stupid, or we have Very hackable voting machines.
So random stuff you read on the internet (Score:4, Insightful)
Isn't true? Color me amazed.
Most all of these BS issues could be fixed if we started teaching critical thinking again in school.
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Most all of these BS issues could be fixed if we started teaching critical thinking again in school.
Too bad they've drummed that out in favor of common core and it's analogs in other western countries.
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Go fuck yourself, you paid eight-wing liar.
People are starting to notice the world wide campaign of lies paid by the right extremists.
You demons.
Huh. Look at that, we've got an actual non-engrish speaker that ... smells like a paid shill. Hmm...I wonder if that has anything to do with so many left-wing media outlets suddenly doing stories in the last 4 days on "white supremacy" again...
Re:So random stuff you read on the internet (Score:4, Informative)
Yeah, about that:
https://www.austinchronicle.co... [austinchronicle.com]
https://www.insidehighered.com... [insidehighered.com]
There has been a 40-year war on critical thinking in the United States, waged by the GOP and "conservatives". Russia has just made the most of that Civil War on Reason, starting in 2016.
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What do liberals and conservatives have in common? They both think the other side is stupid and evil.
So you're saying they are both right?
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I can haz rubella?
I can haz measles?
I can haz cheeseburder?
Are you really sure that critical thinking can be taught? Is the mind a cup, to be filled by the teacher with knowledge?
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Really? How? Neil DeGrasse Tyson has stated that 40% of scientists believe in God. Let's assume his number is correct....
OK, let's assume that.
Conclusions:
a) 40% of people who self-appoint themselves as "scientists" really aren't, not in any meaningful sense of the word. They may have encyclopedic knowledge of the results of scientific inquiry but that doesn't make them scientists.
b) Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a dumbass for not applying any critical thinking to his own statement.
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Complete nonsense. Religion is nonsense. Period. ALL peolple who insist on clinging to it are idiots to be manipulated by the powers that be - like Mitch McConnell.
Correct, and that's why the powers-that-be all love religion. Trump knows he's racking up money in the bank when he goes on about "grandparents looking down from heaven", etc.
The attack on America continues (Score:5, Funny)
unfettered, unchastised, unmitigated
Thanks, Trumpanzees
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... (and replace it with some fuzzy glorious future where everything will be 'fair' but details on how are vague).
Using vague, fuzzy arguments seem to be a staple from both sides of the political aisle. Our current president is a Grand Master of the technique.
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Using vague, fuzzy arguments seem to be a staple from both sides of the political aisle. Our current president is a Grand Master of the technique.
I have to ask, did you miss 8 years of Obama? Cause I've got some "you can keep your doctor" and "scandal free" stuff to sell ya along with prime mining rights in southwestern ontario to sell you.
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Your first bit in the fake news, is the part where it wasn't the Washington Post. Bonus points if you actually post who did it. The second thing, the racism on display...you guys really are upset republicans freed your slaves and that you missed the full KKK regalia DNC convention huh?
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Your first bit in the fake news, is the part where it wasn't the Washington Post. Bonus points if you actually post who did it. The second thing, the racism on display...you guys really are upset republicans freed your slaves and that you missed the full KKK regalia DNC convention huh?
Do I smell a case of, "Attack the messenger, not the message."
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Be careful or someday you'll realize that
there never was a party switch. If you believe that, then you've been successfully brainwashed. Yes that same 'party switch' when all those democrats from all over the US were still voting against the civil rights act...
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To be fair, the mass anti-vaxxer movements in western countries(NA/Europe) generally centre around highly educated and urban families in major cities. Almost all of the major disease outbreaks have happened in middle-upper class and upper class neighborhoods for example. The outbreaks of chickenpox here in Canada a few years ago was almost exclusively among children and young adults that had parents who worked for the federal government directly or indirectly, and nearly all went to private schools. When
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Oh look. Progressive racism on display...
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Um, you know that guy's not actually a progressive, right? Just a troll. Actual progressives don't say "faggot", it's kind of a definitional thing.
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Actual progressives don't say "faggot", it's kind of a definitional thing.
Haven't been around many hard progressives the last 5 years have you?
Re: Mashiki = Japanese for "inbred deplorable fagg (Score:2)
Recently, I actually heard a self-described "leftist" (meaningless as we all know that term is) hurl the insult "faggot" at a political target. Heard in-person, not just internet trolling.
Fwiw, the dude in question is not intellectually stupid. But he is perhaps the biggest racist I've ever met who's under 65 years old. Anti-"white" (yet he's as pale as I am), anti-semitic (holocaust denier), anti-European ("they're ALL racist!!"), anti-Chinese ("they're ALL horrible people!")... Probably more, but I real
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Haven't been around many hard progressives the last 5 years have you?
Given that none of us occupy the fantasies inside your head, I'd go so far as to say that none of use have been around what you describe as progressives.
Isn't this a self-correcting issue (Score:3, Informative)
with side benefits? The children of stupid people die.
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People dying of stupidity has almost been abolished now. Society is too litigious, so have to protect the stupid people from hurting themselves. 100 years a complete idiot would likely get themselves killed at some point during the week. But now they are around and breeding.
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*100 years ago (at least the complete idiot wouldn't have noticed the mistype, lol)
Re:Isn't this a self-correcting issue (Score:4, Insightful)
And if you think that not vaccinating kids hurts only those kids, then you are dumber than a sack of door knobs. And even if that were true, and you found it acceptable, you'd be a vile, miserable excuse for a human being.
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Well, except 1) they sometimes take other people with them; and 2) those kids aren’t the guilty ones, so why take pleasure that they’re the ones dying?
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This still needs to be explained to people? (Score:5, Insightful)
I can't believe with the number of articles slashdot has done in regards to the anti-vax movement that there's still people who think the only people who will be effected by a breakdown in heard immunity are going to be anti-vaxers.
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Do not underestimate the power of the derp.
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Re: Utter Bullshit (Score:1)
For fucks same, Slashdot, fix how your server interprets apostrohes coming from iOS. This is the only site that posts that kind of garbage.
Posted the above comment and this one from Firefox on iOS.
21st century germ warfare (Score:1)
Turn idiots into typhoid mary's and let them do the work for you.
Also how long until people realise that, just because no weapons are fired, doesn't mean we're not at war. The openly state sponsored cyber-hostilities by china and russia against the west are clear acts of aggression akin to sending spies for the purposes of industrial sabotage.
Amazing (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:Amazing (Score:4, Insightful)
Get a new Russian president elected?
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Land on Mars?
Uh huh. (Score:1, Insightful)
Let me guess. Russian trolls also caused 9/11 and WW2 and herpes and your shitty high school grades and your low SAT scores and your break up with your college girlfriend.
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Ivan this is your boss Dimitry. Your false equivalences are too transparent so your pay will be docked two roubles.
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Russian troll detected. Swarming this thread in fact. The stench is disgusting.
Social media (Score:3)
Social media has its place, sometimes at least. But some people need to figure out it’s not a good place to “learn” things from - it’s the equivalent of believing what the drunk guy at the end of the bar is spouting off about.
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People are lazy and when entertained, may be a little bit indoctrinated.
Couple that with targeted advertising and you have yourself a winning combination.
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You're completely ignoring the context and using a strawman argument. The discussion is focused on whether people should have their kids vaccinated against measles or if doing so carries a risk of causing autism in their kids. The only scientifically sound answer to that is that you should not refrain from vaccinating, because the vaccine does not cause autism, full stop. It is not wise to allow for leeway where there is none.
Regarding the meta discussion: People who think they can decide these things by ch
Re:Pro-vaccine side helped fuel it (Score:5, Informative)
Well no, I'm not and I think most doctors would agree with me that the categorical statement "vaccines are safe" is not a defensible medical position anymore than "painkillers are safe."
Vaccines are generally safe. Just like aspirin is generally safe, but but no medication is 100% safe. That hasn't changed since the beginning of time. There are risks and side effects to every medication including aspirin.
Gardasil was comparatively quite dangerous to certain women for a disease that is largely a nuisance.
HPV [wikipedia.org]: "In the United States, about 30,700 cases of cancer due to HPV occur each year.". I don't consider 30,000 cases of cancer every year to be a "nuisance."
My understanding is that the Anthrax vaccine caused all sorts of nasty stuff to our soldiers who had to take it.
Then you would be wrong [wikipedia.org]: "After reviewing extensive scientific evidence, the FDA determined in 2005 that AVA is safe and effective as licensed for the prevention of anthrax, regardless of the route of exposure. In 2006, the Defense Department announced the reinstatement of mandatory anthrax vaccinations for more than 200,000 troops and defense contractors. Despite another lawsuit filed by the same attorneys, the vaccinations are required for most U.S. military units and civilian contractors assigned to homeland bioterrorism defense or deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan or South Korea"
It's easy to discredit most of the core vaccines when people vulnerable to this stuff can read about more obscure, less tested vaccines causing crazy stuff
Like? Describe "less tested vaccines causing crazy stuff"
and then some frothing at the mouth "I Fucking Love Science" dork is rage trolling in their face about how they must agree that "vaccines are safe."
In your post you've posted multiple false statements. If you want to discuss the merit of whether vaccines are effective and safe, you don't start out well when you do that.
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My understanding is that the Anthrax vaccine caused all sorts of nasty stuff to our soldiers who had to take it.
Then you would be wrong: "After reviewing extensive scientific evidence, the FDA determined in 2005 that AVA is safe and effective as licensed for the prevention of anthrax,
It wasn't the anthrax vaccine, it was the anti-malarials that harmed the troops.
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Medicines requires testing 5yrs+ of testing against placebos; to avoid this vaccines are "biologics" rather than "medicines"
That is the clinical definition of a vaccine. So you want the FDA/CDC to ignore exactly what their guidelines are . . . because.
MMR vax was tested w 800kids; 42 days 50% had gastrol + respiratory illness, so results were never published (RFK FOIA'd them)
Er what? Citation please. From what I can tell RFK is generally wrong about many things when it comes to vaccines [statnews.com]. He outright ignores multiple studies; he distorts facts.
actual death rate for measles in USA is 1 in 500k, not the 1 in 1000 global rate quoted often
Generally since people in the US are vaccinated against measles so that they don't get measles; therefore they would die less from a disease they cannot contract. Is there some sort of logic that seems to be missi
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Re:Pro-vaccine side helped fuel it (Score:5, Informative)
Gardasil was comparatively quite dangerous to certain women for a disease that is largely a nuisance.
Looks like it's not dangerous at all [wikipedia.org], certainly not 'quite dangerous', and HPV causes cervical cancer, so it's not 'largely a nuisance.' You might want to reconsider where you're getting your information.
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Cervical cancer a nuisance? I'm glad to see your perspective is balanced.
In countries without a federal vaccination programme, cervical cancer is comparable to breast cancer in incidence rates, making it the second/third most frequent cancer. Cancer as a category is the second most likely cause of death. Early versions of the HPC vaccine (such as the Gardasil you mentioned) protects against HPV16 and 18, preventing up to 75% of all cervical cancer (the real number is around 68%). Newer vaccines include bett
Very Legal and Very Cool (Score:2)
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It's not really a problem, the kind of morons who get their news and medical information from twitter don't matter, they're subhuman. They won't vaccinate anyway, and they'll vote for their traditional party either way.
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And that invalidates what I wrote how exactly? It doesn't. Of course, I could expand what I wrote and say only a moron believes falsehoods that come out of a president's mouth, and Trump and Obama and Bush before him all spewed bullshit by the bucket.
I want to know who paid the Russians (Score:2)
They didn't do it for free.... Or fun!
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And that's not all (Score:3)
https://allianceforscience.cor... [cornell.edu]
And it worked. Now we're disease-wracked as well as missing out on the latest biotech.
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You've been listening to too many Russians. Actually, expensive efforts to breed GM crop plants were designed to reduce the need for pesticides. Otherwise, it would have been cheaper just to apply more pesticide.
Give the McCarthyism a rest (Score:1, Troll)
It's called trolling for hits, and most people who do it aren't Russian. Why are people still fucking that chicken [youtube.com] after Mueller wrapped his investigation with no collusion, and the "we're glad you're home, the Russian's pooped in the hallway" meme. [pics.me.me]
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Duh (Score:3)
Anyone stupid enough to look to social media for medical advice deserves what they get. The losers in this scenario are the poor kids who are exposed to easily preventable diseases and the rest of the public at large who are subject to these retards. Why can't we prosecute them for handing out medical advice for which they are obviously not qualified to give ?
Aha (Score:2)
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I'm trying to picture ... (Score:2)
... people hyperventilating because stuff posted on Usenet might not have, you know, been fully approved by respectable authorities. I can't picture it ... the idea would have been laughable.
Why have we gone nuts since then?
"Social media" is either a freewheeling place where people can say what they want, or it's not. (E.g., is it YouTube, or GoogleTube? The original idea was "you", the public, posting stuff, not a curated collection of stuff.)
Russians see a free society (Score:2)
And their first reaction is to tear it down. Sadly they probably have succeeded and the US probably can't ever go back.
The only recovery at this point is for all Americans to recognize Facebook for what it is. Trash no better than the sensational garbage you see at the supermarket checkout. As the National Enquirer fades away, a new contender rises up to take its place.
Re:Red Baiting.. (Score:4, Insightful)
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Fuck you. Also get a clue. Plenty of evidence that Russian operatives are tampering with all sorts of shit all over the world.
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WWII was Germans.
America doesn't give a shit what you look like. Pew Pew Pew chackachackachackachackachakachaka Pew Pew Pew BOOM!
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The issue with stories like these is they don't set a baseline. The baseline is a normal level of interference from clickfarms , russian or not. If the interference is much more than that maybe you can start looking at it.
Instead the baseline here is set as pristine and one ad which traces back from a russian IP, whatever that means, is seen as big news. And(with the contribution of people who see it as being in their interest) it builds up into a large anti russia frenzy which is based on nothing really.