PeaceData.net - a fake Russian fake leftwing news publication with fake editors and AI-generated photos

[editor]

This is quite an incredible story. The site is still up but the FB page has gone.

The Facebook accounts and pages were designed to bolster PeaceData.net, an English- and Arabic-language website that claims to be a “global news organization”, but whose editorial staff are fictitious. Headshots of PeaceData’s “staff” were created using Generative Adversarial Networks, a type of AI that can produce lifelike images of faces, according to Graphika, a social media analysis firm that produced a report on the IRA operation.

“They put substantial effort into creating elaborate fictitious personas, trying to make fake accounts look as real as possible,” Gleicher said.

Many of the characters had profiles on Twitter and LinkedIn. Twitter said on Tuesday that it had suspended five accounts associated with PeaceData for “platform manipulation that we can reliably attribute to Russian state actors”. The company said tweets from the accounts were “low quality” and “spammy”, and that it would block links to content from PeaceData. LinkedIn did not immediately respond to a query.

Russian agency created fake leftwing news outlet with fictional editors, Facebook says

Internet Research Agency also hired real, unwitting freelance reporters in operation Facebook has removed

www.theguardian.com

Peace Data

Peace Data - Peacedata

peacedata.net

 

[NoXion]

Putain is really desperate to export his particular brand of political confusion, isn't he?

 

[editor]

Putain is really desperate to export his particular brand of political confusion, isn't he?

Seems to be working, mind.

 

[moochedit]

I assume the idea was to encourage Bernie supporters to stay at home?

 

[LDC]

I'm fully convinced plenty of the coronavirus conspiracy stuff has some roots in purposeful disinformation.

 

[frogwoman]

He loves doing this sort of shit (which actually is a lot less effective than either the Russian government or western liberals would have us believe) especially in the midst of controversy over the handling of COVID-19 and the economy which have caused a dent in his popularity, and the poisoning of his biggest political opponent

 

[StoneRoad]

Don't forget that some of the major "western" powers do this sort of thing as well ... only we don't hear about it very often.

The C1A were known to have tried interfering in the trade union movement. [not that proof is easy to find]

 

[Shechemite]

Don't forget that some of the major "western" powers do this sort of thing as well ...

Popes and bears caught doing dirty things shocker

 

[petee]

"PeaceData’s coverage of the US portrayed the country as “war-mongering and law-breaking abroad while being racked by racism, Covid-19, and cutthroat capitalism at home”, according to the report"

well ...

 

[moochedit]

They haven't taken the site down so i guess they figure people will still share the articles.
(They probably will as well.)

 

[freakydave]

I know that Russia are famous for being really into this, but I really think that the source of the problem is that Facebook and Twitter are so good at addicting people and just can't control the content.
I remember 4Chan used to do stuff like this purely for it's own sake, people probably are making money from it, but they would be doing it anyway.

 

[Shechemite]

Lol Steve Topple