Apocalypse-mongering Invasion on ATS

Hello.

I've noticed a negative trend on ATS.
I am sure I am not the only one to be aware of this problem.

The latest "wave" of ATS members and their "ageinda": Spreading fear.

These "waves" of new members seem to roll in and out just like the tide.
The similarity between them is that their "invasion" is triggered by some sort of event.
Usually some sort of "internet rumor" sets these people in motion and I guess ATS is not the only board out there getting it's fair share of the unwanted "action"...

Example:
Prior to the Beijing Olympic games, there was an uprising in Tibet.
As this was being discussed, ATS suddenly got a big influx of Chinese members (nationals and/or natives).
They all were on the same page; the situation in Tibet was the Tibetans own fault and the Chinese government did all it could to sort out the situation peacefully.
These pos(t)ers frequently linked sources to Chinese, patriotic blogs.
When confronted with serious accusations for being paid agents, these members disappeared off the face of the board, not seen since.
Tibet thread

However, this kind of behaviour is nothing new.
I don't know if one sees them more clearly after being on the boards for a couple of years or not, but at least to me it seems like these kinds of "invasions" are increasing in both occurance and width.

The latest trend that comes with the "invaders" is fear mongering on a large scale.
I find this trend to be the most dangerous and damaging one so far.

The posters who carry this message follow a similar pattern;
* The "truth" about an event is not interesting.
* What these posters make up in their minds will stand as facts.
* Links and sources that disapprove their claims are never visited/read.
* Links and sources that approce of their claims are always valid.
* The task is to outnumber the rational/veteran members in the current thread.
* Make duplicate threads on the same subject to make an "illusion" of a "hot topic".
* Link to your own blog and claim it as a valid source of information.
* Sorcha Faal.
* "Hit and run" tactics; creating an account just for a few posts in the same thread.
* The mission goal is to spread panic and fear

I guess this list can be made twice as long (feel free to contribute to it with your own observations).

ATS is free for all, and that, in general, is a very good thing. Everyone gets to post and do their best (until they get banned) and even though some members are way out of line, they are permitted to speak (out of) their minds (maybe some of my posts look like crazy talk to you as well!).

This kind of "rant threads" are quite common as well, I know (since I have written some earlier on other issues), but the last post on the above list is what makes me worried the most; what seems like organized apocalypse-mongering.

We live in uncertain times, yes. There is much change going about, some good, some bad. The environment is taking some bad hits and there are lots of earthquakes these days, yes.
But right now, the worst thing to do is to panic!

...except...

you are in on some sort of "agenda".

Does that sound totally out of place?
I don't know, but spreading fear about terrorists isn't too much unlike that of telling everyone that the end of days is upon us.
There is money to make off peoples fears. We all know that.

Another thing that troubles me about this thoughtless behaviour is that some actually believe such nonsense.
One can't prowl the internet boards, screaming "apocalypse!" not thinking that no-one won't take it seriously.
Not that ATS can have any responsibilty but there is a very real danger that other members will freak out totally and maybe hurt themselves or people around them.

For example; one of the latest "invasions" were about the Smolensk plane crash (also known as "Katyn 2", a popular name that is not only a grave insult towards Russia but also to the victims of the Katyn massacre of 1940).
All points on my list above were in action, but the main goal was different.
In that case, the idea was to create (or strengthen) an anti-Russian mindset.
The accusations made were straw-grasping at best (some sources came from known militant muslim webpages that I don't think ATS wants to be related with) but some of our more veteran members did fall for it.
However, if one wants to believe that the crash was set up beforehand, it's not such a big problem (even though the anti-Russian emotions on that issue almost became racist).
But to tell people, over and over, that the World is coming to an end is much worse.

Now, the Smolensk disaster was a pretty massive event, but it doesn't take that much to get these mongers going. Even that drilling rig that fell of a barge in a canal the other day made people scream armageddon all over the boards, trying to top each other with the most fitting biblical quote (how come we almost only see biblical quotes when it comes to fear-mongering?). Thread

Many out there are confused and afraid. Many of them seek answers on what is happening to the world. Some of them look for answers on internet forums...some here on ATS.
My hope is that we can make this place better than the other; that ATS can serve as a source of valid information instead of fear, lies and ignorance.
As veteran members, we should always take a little of our time to crack down on this kind of irrational behaviour and make a stand for the validity of ATS (that I fear is on the decline).

I've been reading (and writing) numerous rant/complain threads on different
subjects, but I hope that you can understand that I am trying to stress a specific problem here.
I am also surprised how I managed to keep my head on the level in this thread.
Usually, I only get through the title before I go like :bash:
Maybe it is because "it's serious" this time...
What I see in some of these "invaded" threads are members that are afraid, I mean for real.
What if one of these scared members are parents? Mentally ill? Minors/juveniles (like some/many of the "invaders")?
These crazy, apocalypic preachings do reach the "real world". There could be chain reactions... I won't say more on that now.

Don't let ATS fall into that category of "crazy conspiracy forums"... We are so much better than that.
Let stupid rumors meet their grave here.
For those who seek the truth about a crazy story, let them check ATS first and see if it was BS or real deal.
Say no to fear-mongering, hearsay, rumors and gossip....and most of all;
keep denying ingorance!



Thank you for your time,
/Raud (caring for the status of ATS)

Well this is a "consiracy theory" website...if you want care-bear forums go to Fox or the daily show.
I for one live and work in Bagdad so there are times when I see and hear things that dont make it to the US.

[edit on 3-5-2010 by jbmitch]

reply to post by Raud


Love it. Though my registration states i am new here, that is just this incarnation. I have been around this place forever just in numerous guise over my time. You are completely right. The hard part of it is with a website like this is that it is so big and so well made that it cannot help but attract some people that probably use the forum in an unintended way. This is quite the dichotomy. I compare it to the pub on the weekend. You can't help some boners getting in and annoying you. I just choose to take it that I am on a major international forum of some importance and that is why they visit us spreading the filth. In a way it is a compliment.

Great rant. I probably would have cut pretty sick before I got halfway through.

I tend to believe that nowadays many people have lost their hopes and when one losses its hope it losses everything .

Some saw their dreams shattered or vanishing right in front of their eyes .

Many can't deal with that and it's normal not to, so most try to find someone to blame besides themselves , governments , elites that supposedly rule us and so on

The only way to avenge that and punishing those who supposedly are guilty of others misfortune is an event of apocalyptic proportions.

Any way , is just a way of looking at things and i strongly believe that many feel that way even if they aren't aware of it.

No way ,i say let em keep posting, then ats can find the facts and blow it out the water, like it normally does ,so any one who is mentally unstable reading the post should scoot down the post,or find a member like phage and read his input to said post, it will be even keeled , that will set them at rest,or by the end of the post its debunked..

[edit on 3-5-2010 by onecon]

reply to post by charlie_the_loafer


I haven't thought about it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

One could say that some of these people have had their own "personal apocalypse" and don't want to be alone with the distress, thus inflicting it onto others?
I could see that as a possibility. Still, it's pretty sick thing to do.

Gotta say it again though (don't know if it was clear enough in the OP):
The "end of the world" is no joking matter. Of all the crazy claims that some try to push into people's heads, there are those that are harmless and those that might cause serious problems.
It's a bit like what caused the bank run in that sparked the Great Depression in the US. A well-placed and maintained rumor brought an entire nation on its knees.
And that was just about the banks. This time, it's about the whole freaking world going under!

It would be such a pity to see the world actually crumbling down just because everyone thought so... :shk:

Fear mongering is as popular here today as it ever was. I don't see a rise. It's always been this way and fighting it is pointless.

What I've learned is that there's no point in trying to make the people think critically. If they were capable of such thinking, they wouldn't have been fear mongering in the first place.

Over the centuries, countless hordes of Chicken Little's have proclaimed to us that the sky is falling, yet the sky still stands above us today.

You would think that they would learn. The problem is that they all make the same fatal mistake of thinking that they are privy to some grand overview that no one else is, or has ever been... and they believe that they are the chosen messenger of the people.

In Short:

Delusional, Paranoid, Attention Seeking & Narcissistic Individuals!

IRM

reply to post by InfaRedMan


IRM; you speak of sanity as always.

I just felt this latest type of "fear" being mongered a little extra cause for concern. But maybe they just managed to hit my nerve this time...

But...maybe fear isn't such a bad thing.
I mean, just think of all the great stuff we've got from fear;
Nuclear arms-race and the Cold War, organized religions with all its cults and sects, the war on terror, racism...

...I mean, where would we be today without the awesome awesomeness of fear?

Great thread...i am sure many of us have noticed much of what you mention and an increase in it..some of the fear mongerers may have agendas of their own but over all imo a lot of the time its just scared individuals that react to being scared by whatever topics have un nerved them..but i do agree that many seem to be motivated by an agenda..

as for added examples to yours, i came across this thread a little while ago and it fits well with this topic!

www.abovetopsecret.com...

~warmth and light ~

It doesn't matter man everyone indulges in fear porn about everything.

Its typical ego behavior, we need to feel annihilation pending to both feed fear and hope for an end to the torture.

I think it behooves people to go on and look at topics that are just at a base value repeating the same message repeatedly "your screwed". Also the threads and their two line empty calorie responses... Really... do that crap on twitter.

Actually discuss something for christ sake, but no one is discussing anything their just agreeing or disagreeing and inflating a post count.


So no.. it isn't so much mongering its sheep behavior and one dufus doing the fleecing.

Theres nothing to do about it but shake your head and not participate No really NOTHING to be done cause the moment you define mongering or some sort of guideline against it your working against the membership/patronage of the site and theyll never do that...

Lets HOPE to god the festering passes. Cause then the only Doom and Gloom to witness would be the death of what was a good site.

You do know the meaning of the word Apocalypse right???

If you dont, from wiki;

An Apocalypse (Greek: Ἀποκάλυψις Apokálypsis; "lifting of the veil" or "revelation") is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted

Originally posted by polarwarrior
You do know the meaning of the word Apocalypse right???

If you dont, from wiki;

An Apocalypse (Greek: Ἀποκάλυψις Apokálypsis; "lifting of the veil" or "revelation") is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted

Doh!

No, I didn't mean that kind of "apocalypse" damnit!

You know what I mean...the "popular" translation of that term; the end of days.

reply to post by Raud


While i agree with bits of your OP, i do not agree with your observation of an increase in apocalyptic threads...

Apocalyptic post have been here since day one (ive been on ATS a lot longer than my sign up date)

Bible Code 2006, Titor civil wars, 2012, Christian “revelations” interpretations, Koran prophesies, Environmental events, etc etc etc... Nothing new, and some are very interesting!

As someone said previously, this is a conspiracy forum!!

The other thing that we have had, during this time, is constant threads complaining about apocalyptic posts...

One thing i have noticed with ATS (and out there in the real world) is everything is cyclical. We do tend to get waves of posts... depending on what is going on in the world. World events seem to govern people perception and psychology to varying degrees.


However, one thing’s for sure whether you believe it or not, we WILL face an apocalyptic event at some point in the future (just look at history if you don’t believe it) The difficult part is putting a date to it... a fact which is often the reason for so many apocalyptic posts looking silly!

reply to post by Raud


Apocalyptic psychology isn't anything new, it's been part of pretty much every culture since the beginning of societies. Heck, so far as we know humans themselves are a direct evolutionary result of an asteroid apocalypse.

With the advent of the internet and forums such as ATS such dispositions simply become self reinforcing and more visible. Especially when volcanoes are blanketing europe, oil slicks are blanketing oceans, frequent earthquakes, wars abound, economies are on the brink of collapse, states are being washed away with rain, etc, etc ...

Of course all those things are just what we humans call life, but to the doomsdayer who can't get a date, might as well connect 'em and do away with the rest of us.

I kid, it's all good ... as long as one doesn't stop living their life because they've convinced themselves it's all coming to an end in a jiffy.

Drink up ... the world is about to end!

reply to post by Muckster


And these "invasions"...have they always been around too?

I'd like to think that this kind of "troll-flooding" is a new thing...am I wrong?

I know these "complaint threads" have been around just as long...in fact, I kinda regret I wrote this one

Still; what must be said, must be said!

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
I kid, it's all good ... as long as one doesn't stop living their life because they've convinced themselves it's all coming to an end in a jiffy.

I guess that is what I am really worried about.
Because that is what I see in the words of various posters; people with sleepless nights, stress levels through the roof, paranoia and hostilities towards the fellow man...

The "reasons" for such fear might very well be there, but the real terror, according to me, is people that are freaking out.
That is what scares me. Panic-stricken humans running around like there was no tomorrow (with that phrase used correctly).
If we can only avoid spreading fear like wild fire, we might actually get some good work done.


[edit to add:]

Heeey....I've been a member longer than both you guys!

I tellz'ya; it was better back in the day!

[edit on 3-5-2010 by Raud]

Originally posted by Raud

That is what scares me. Panic-stricken humans running around like there was no tomorrow (with that phrase used correctly).

Meh, don't be scared my friend ... some folks are just built that way, trust me when I say that going through life in such a manner is a lot worse for them than it is for us observing them.

When you see them just give them little stars and flags ... that seems to calm them down a bit.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


...okay...give them stars....and flags...avoid mass-hysteria... *scribbling on notepad*

Thanks for the tip S-dawg!

Maybe it is just me, taking ATS too seriously. Maybe even more so serious than those affected by the mongering?

Meh...
...mah...

I'll sleep on it.

It's probably psychology, fear-mongering (2012 is coming, we're all going to die and so on) is going to attract people more and more so maybe it's just a clever way of being an attention w***e, who knows.

I agree with the OP. However, with 2012 coming in, things are bound to become a whole lot more hectic in people's minds. It's just one of those things.

Originally posted by RaudI'd like to think that this kind of "troll-flooding" is a new thing...am I wrong?

No, i've noticed it also, on many sites. Concerted efforts by large numbers of people to push a certain opinion for a small period of time, and shout down any opposition, then they disappear, after i can only assume their objective is complete.

Also, for some reason, either conditioning, medication, or both, many people in this day and age aren't used to thinking for themselves, and instead get swept up in movements like that, from one to the next. So these things don't even have to be entirely made up of paid agents, they just need enough to make it appear a large group exists that is in agreement about something and is convincing people to get the ball rolling, and average citizens will be convinced and agree, then go on to mimic the behavior of others in the group. It really appears to be that simple in most cases.

[edit on 3-5-2010 by Risen]