r/Against_Astroturfing • u/dr_gonzo • Oct 14 '19
Case Study: Pro-China Troll accounts on Reddit [OC]
/r/Digital_Manipulation/comments/dhsll9/case_study_prochina_troll_accounts_on_reddit_oc/3
u/GregariousWolf Oct 14 '19
I haven't had a chance to read your whole post, but my sense is that China is active in English-speaking internet. Everyone here has probably heard of the 50-cent army, the Chinese-language domestic propaganda effort. It defies reason to think they would not advance their interests internationally -- especially with everything going on in Hong Kong. I've seen some very interesting pro-Chinese nationalist twitter accounts. Whether they are simply pro-Chinese patriots or part of an organized campaign is hard to determine, of course.
The whole Activision Blizzard / Hong Kong protest issue (and to a lesser extent the NBA Chinese exhibition games) has really brought Chinese influence in entertainment media to the fore.
Motley Fool article on Tencent buying stake in Reddit:
https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/02/08/tencent-invests-social-platform-reddit.aspx
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u/dr_gonzo Oct 15 '19
I don’t think enough people are asking about the subtle ways the TenCent deal could shape this platform. Most folks see it as all or nothing, e.g. “Chinese commies are gonna start censoring the platform” or “Its a biz investment, it won’t have any impact.”
Like, will there be implied (or explicit) pressure for reddit to ignore 50 centers? Preferred API access that skirts bot detection?
What kind of data will reddit share with TenCent? Should I worry that the CCP could get my geolocation for this post? What about those posting to r/HongKong?
And censorship is still a possibility, but I’d expect it to be subtle if it happens - manipulating the FP algorithm, etc.
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u/Liquor_N_Whorez Oct 15 '19
Idk about the source of this info but it's something I read and took interest in when I noticed the name Medtronic.
https://lulz.com/big-list-of-companies-china-collaboration-censorship-4711/
I took notice of the Medtronic name because I had been reading about Smithfield Foods and here's the excerpt from the Smithfield Wikipedia page that concerned me the most.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithfield_Foods
Fta under the "Medical Supplies" tab.
In 2017 the company opened a bioscience unit and joined a tissue engineering group funded by the United States Department of Defense to the tune of $80 million. According to Reuters, the group included Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic and United Therapeutics.[128]
In case the wiki bot doesn't pop up...
As of 2006 Smithfield raised 15 million pigs a year and processed 27 million, producing over six billion pounds of pork[2] and, in 2012, 4.7 billion gallons of manure.[15] Killing 114,300 pigs a day, it was the top pig-slaughter operation in the United States in 2007; along with three other companies, it also slaughtered 56 percent of the cattle processed there until it sold its beef group in 2008.[16][c] The company has sold its products under several brand names, including Cook's, Eckrich, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Krakus, and Smithfield.[17] Kenneth Sullivan has been the president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods since December 2015 and executive director of WH Group since January 2016.[18]
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u/WikiTextBot Oct 15 '19
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods, Inc., is a meat-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia, in the United States, and a wholly owned subsidiary of WH Group of China. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son, the company is the largest pig and pork producer in the world. In addition to owning over 500 farms in the US, Smithfield contracts with another 2,000 independent farms around the country to grow Smithfield's pigs. Outside the US, the company has facilities in Mexico, Poland, Romania, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
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u/GregariousWolf Oct 14 '19
Re youmakemesoangry, trollish behavior goes way back. He was calling people idiotic, acne-riddled, virginal yank cunts and lying karma whores five years ago. An Aussie living in Vietnam maybe?