Is ATS accusing it's members of being Russian shills?

a reply to: _BoneZ_

You seem to misinterpret my words there is an effort online to demonize them for everything that is wrong, I never stated they are innocent at all. As a mod you are on here a good bit are you really going to say that there isn't daily threads popping up about how evil Russia is? The same thing happens every time there is a new boogeyman.

A Certain Point Of View

originally posted by: sosobad
As a mod you are on here a good bit are you really going to say that there isn't daily threads popping up about how evil Russia is? The same thing happens every time there is a new boogeyman.

I think this is much more a matter of the influence of Western media on Western audiences than evidence of "paid shills" of any variety.

Because ATS is an English-language site, the majority our membership live in English-speaking countries and are exposed to English-language news sources, most of which report from a Western perspective. Thus when Western media outlets constantly run stories demonizing Russia, as they are so prone to doing these days, it's not surprising to see threads and posts along the same lines appear on ATS.

Of course, there's always more to the story than what is reported in Western media (or any media), and there are many ATSers who want to make sure it's heard. It's not necessarily a matter of being "pro-NATO" or "pro-Russia" either, but "pro-Truth".

Dare I say it? Denying ignorance.

Professional Discourtesy

As Bill pointed out, there have been some cases of "paid shills" plying their trade on ATS who made it quite clear they were doing so. There are many varieties of "digital armies" operating online, from government/political/business organizations to activist groups and individuals working to spread their messages. Some try to "fly under the radar" and some are very open about what they are doing.

But the overwhelming majority of ATSers aren't any of these, just people interested in the topics we discuss, and often with strong opinions about them.

Indeed, when I see a member accusing another member of being a "shill", what I see is an ad hominem attack used in place of a convincing argument. It's a tactic born of uncertainty and confusion, almost always utter nonsense, and something we appreciate being alerted to, since it is usually a form of trolling.

To Russia With Love

So when you ask, "Is ATS accusing it's members of being Russian shills?", I can't speak on behalf of ATS, but I think the question implies something much broader than anything I've seen.

Aside from occasional examples of flat-out self-identification, being pro-Russian most certainly doesn't mean being a "paid shill". It's really not a stretch to assume that most of our Russian members are pro-Russian just as, say, most of our American members are pro-American, and there's nothing wrong with either.

On a more practical level, if "paid shills" don't tell us who they are or otherwise tip their hands, we don't know. But as long as members aren't violating the AboveTopSecret.com Terms And Conditions Of Use, I don't think it matters if they're being paid to be here or not.

If they're on-topic, posting honestly and not being rude, that's all that really matters to me. After that, what to say or not to say and what to believe or not to believe is up to each of us to decide for ourselves.

YMMV.

a reply to: SubTruth

No... it's a conspiracy theorist thing. We don't trust Western media and we don't trust Western geopolitical ambitions because the elite controlling Western governments is corrupt to the bone. Ukraine is simply the next playground, the Cold War never really stopped. The ambitions of the Western oligarchy has never been impeded, look at what Brzezinski has written, look at PNAC, look at what General Wesley Clarks said.

There are very clear and logical reasons for all the recent conflicts since 9/11. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, this is a geopolitical chess game and the West is trying to put the squeeze on Iran, Russia and ultimately China. All these color revolutions are simply the product of intelligence agencies and other interests taking advantage of real grievances to foment political dissidence in an effort to destabilize "rogue" governments, that is, governments that do not display fealty to the Western oligarchs.

It's certainly not a nationalistic thing, we're simply pointing out the massive lies because ultimately geopolitical hegemony isn't the only priority of the elite. They have plans for us the people too, we are probably the main targets of their machinations.

The idea that Russia with the economy of Italy could stand up against NATO and the West is laughable. Comparisons to Hitler are out of touch with reality, if one reads between the lines it becomes very obvious that Russia is being backed into a corner and is protecting its interests in its sphere of influence. Gee, what a coincidence it is, that the two most recent conflicts just indirectly happens to paint a big fat target on the only two naval bases Russia has that connects to the Mediterranean.

I see a lot of people putting forth such thoughts, which is natural since this is a conspiracy site, but I do wonder about the people that seem to spend their whole goddamn day in certain forums perpetually arguing about the same thing over and over and over again, their time spent here almost exclusively defending one side of a certain issue.
You know who you are, and hey; if you aren't getting paid you're a sucker!

Ha! It almost makes me laugh, the thought that Russia would have online shills and the US wouldn't, have we so soon forgot about the sock puppets? NSA invented the game and is most definitely the main player in it, and this is a conspiracy site, we are definitely a target.

a reply to: Majic


Ummm...Now this is..."a certain point of view"...that I can get behind...
Thank you for a reasoned post that actually brings balance to the discussion...

I think your comments dealing with "point of view"...generally...being slanted by geography are spot on and conversely...especially when considering media sources...

I personally feel that President Putin was emboldened by all of the pro Russian/Putin sentiment being bandied about...prior...to any of the events involving Crimea and the Ukraine in general...not to say any of that was a deciding factor...but I think it did stroke his ego and might have been that...one straw.........Only he knows...

I do tend to wonder like Vasa Croe stated...what the purpose of paying someone to comment on ATS would really hope to accomplish...I don't see how it would actually sway opinion one way or the other...to me it would be like advertising...unless it were subliminal I don't see how it might affect one's opinion overmuch...




YouSir