For years, many have suspected that government trolls have been systematically causing havoc all over the Internet, but proving it has been difficult.
But now thanks to documents leaked by Edward Snowden and revealed by Glenn Greenwald, we finally have hard evidence that western governments have been doing this.
As you will see below, a UK intelligence outfit known as the Government Communications Headquarters, through a previously secret unit known as the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group, has been systematically attempting “to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse”.
It isn’t just that the British government is trying to influence what people are thinking.
The reality is that this is far bigger than a mere propaganda campaign.
As Greenwald recently noted on his new website, the “integrity of the Internet itself” is at stake:
What do yall thinking about the idea that you could've been talking with a paid troll all this time? Is the internet more appealing with them? IMO, these really hurt the appeal of social media for me. I just disconnected from facebook three years ago and just went with the forums and then it just blew my mind how the forums are now being contaminated with these type of keyboard warriors who're being paid to troll. Before ,t wasn't that widespread but I could tell something's weird w/ATRL sometimes.
