FBI agent accidentally reveals own 8chan posts

https://ceinquiry.wordpress.com/2019/06/17/fbi-8chan/

by nailer • 7 years ago

214 115 7 years ago

ceinquiry.wordpress.com

mikemoka• 7 years ago

All those Putin memes you might find are not accidental either and came earlier..Russia has a long history of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_web_brigades

Valmar• 7 years ago

Some classic Whataboutism right here. Smells like a desperate attempt at deflection to me.

"FBI? But - but - Russia!"

hprotagonist• 7 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_you_are_lynching_Negroes

cwtpk• 7 years ago

It's a tradition in irc to call someone a "fed". This just legitimates it, :P

faissaloo• 7 years ago

We just call 'em glows

trpc• 7 years ago

Taxpayers money well spent

s9w3• 7 years ago

My own post on this was deleted in less than two minutes (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20200354). Hopefully this will stay.

This is extremely important as this topic was cheered on very recently (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20186775). As it turns out the "evidence" was bullshit.

qazpot2• 7 years ago

There is certainly a strain of leftist totalitarianism prevalent on HN, which suppresses any news not in sync with their "we good, they bad" world view.

0815test4• 7 years ago

a strain of leftist totalitarianism

A strain of leftist totalitarianism which - as it turns out - originally came about as a result of Russian (well, Soviet, but still) political interference. Isn't that deliciously ironic? Of course the memetic infection has been self-propagating for a very long time, also merging with other strains originating from e.g. Maoist China at the peak of the Cultural Revolution. It's a bit like a zombie invasion which has no real underlying goals of its own besides memetic success - but the Russian propaganda component was definitely there originally!

pessimizer2• 7 years ago

There's absolutely no relationship between leftism and the FBI, other than that the FBI targets leftists.

hannasanarion4• 7 years ago

What "evidence" does this contradict?

oceanplexian• 7 years ago

What's interesting is that this poster, supposedly an FBI agent, is pushing an anti-Russia narrative in his other posts. Kind of ironic that the same organization that claims Russia is manipulating social media is doing exactly the same thing themselves.

luckylion5• 7 years ago

I've rarely heard an argument from anyone that manipulating people, influencing election outcomes etc via social media is bad. It's bad because the Russians are doing it to them - it's okay if they are doing it to others. The same goes for military invasions under false pretenses, corrupting politicians, large scale spying and whatever else you can think off. Very few people have a moral problem with the actions, they have a "hey, this doesn't benefit me" problem.

radcon• 7 years ago

Not too long ago, we (America) were bragging about our ability to influence foreign elections[1]. Everyone seems to conveniently forget that whenever Russian "meddling" comes up these days.

http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960715,00.html

akhilcacharya5• 7 years ago

It’s fundamentally different for a hyperpower to do this versus a failed superpower. There is no comparison and as an American it’s in our best interest to utilize our cultural and military hegemony for the best of our interests.

So yes, you’re right but I don’t see it as a bad thing at all.

ptero• 7 years ago

Trying to skew media (elections, opinions, policy) of other countries is something many (most? all?) governments did for centuries. And those activities were not particularly well hidden from citizens.

I think earlier (30+ years ago), most of the rank and file citizens were isolated from such influence and few who were exposed to it, e.g. those doing business abroad, were immunized (by privilege, counter-propaganda or a feeling of a gun at their backs).

I think current manipulation efforts makes elites panic only because those efforts can reach most of the country which makes old countermeasures ineffective. My 2c (I grew up in what is seen today as a totalitarian state).

sparkling3• 7 years ago

But remember kids, "the russians" interfered with the elction.

akhilcacharya5• 7 years ago

Except in the fact that they did as proved by multiple intelligence agencies (including the Dutch) and multiple infosec security companies?

JamesBarney• 7 years ago

Sure they both fall under the category "trying to influence someone through social media". But so does a press release put out over Facebook, and lot of other completely innocuous actions.

If we found out the FBI was systematically spending lots of money to influence our elections people would be pissed.

2923557449301102• 7 years ago

If

4ntonius8lock• 7 years ago

This comment seems to be ignoring the long and recurring history of the FBI and other government agencies in subverting, persecuting and destroying the lives of those who were peaceful members of left leaning political parties, basically anyone who identified as a communist or socialist... or who knew anyone who identified that way. Or actually, anyone whose political ideals contradicted American corporate interests. That includes in our country and other countries.

This is not to mention the more controversial reality of the close collaboration between US intelligence agencies and the entertainment and education industries.

misterprime2• 7 years ago

Strzok and Paige sound familiar at all? I think I'm spelling those right.

anon209e9c64• 7 years ago

I've always suspected the chans were full of feds, the toxic speech functions as obfuscation allowing for open discussion of sensitive subjects.

0815test4• 7 years ago

Didn't Qanon explicitly self-identify as a "fed"? So it's not exactly news that feds too like to shitpost on the *chans - arguably, they can shitpost better than anyone!

misterprime2• 7 years ago

I'm a sniper with 90 confirmed kills.

I wrote it. Is it true?

dooglius• 7 years ago

...or the agent isn't the person who took the screenshot. Screencaps of deleted threads are common on chans and it's more likely they got one of those than the original.

s9w3• 7 years ago

If you dig into other discussions about this (the chans were all over this last night) then there are other images that show entire discussions being faked by single IDs. It doesn't guarantee the FBI was behind it themselves, but the evidence is manufactured.

ForHackernews2• 7 years ago

...or they got the screenshots from somebody else posting in the thread who tipped them off.

If an FBI agent introduces a bag of coke as evidence, that doesn't mean it's her cocaine.

yasp• 7 years ago

If the agent didn't retrieve the screenshots himself when he easily could have wouldn't that be easily dismissable evidence since the screen grabs could have been falsified in some way?

benburleson• 7 years ago

That's a great point. Someone else could have even modified the page content before taking the screenshot, which would make the modifications undetectable.

It seems like the agent has to claim he took the screenshots himself; otherwise, they are worthless as "evidence."

ForHackernews2• 7 years ago

I am not a lawyer, but presumably at least part of the reason they're wanting to execute a search warrant on 8chan is to gather evidence with a clear chain of custody.

These screenshots are part of a court filing to get that search warrant. Imagine if I sent in an anonymous tip that my neighbor was running an illegal dogfighting ring, and I included photos of dogs I'd seen in his yard. My possibly-faked photos probably wouldn't stand up in a trial, but they certainly might help convince a judge to sign a search warrant for further investigation.

marsrover• 7 years ago

Not exactly related but how often do you think some form of radicalization happens due to these forums? I don’t visit so I am not sure but it seems like these places are a breeding ground for violence.

s9w3• 7 years ago

Much unlike the others.

Twitter: https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/huffpost-editor-says-new-y...

facebook: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Chicago_torture_incident

akhilcacharya5• 7 years ago

I would personally pin the blame on the YouTube recommendation algorithm and the Chans first due to their natural tendency for extremism, even if some of it or even most of it is ironic.

The fact that the Tree of Life shooter posted to Gab before his attack is no accident. He wanted to radicalize others.

Nasrudith• 7 years ago

I take a view as a paraphrase Sid Meier's Alpha Centuari "Evil lurks onlibe as it has lurked in the streets but it never was the streets which were evil."

Gab is significant because its niche was essentially "Twitter for bigots who are too stupid to dog-whistle." It is the community that is the problem.

rexpop• 7 years ago

What you're speculating is well-documented researchers, and painfully obvious to certain folks of colloquial familiarity with the growth of Internet culture. The best "crash course" I can offer you are two PDFs of research on the subject.

Not only do these forums radicalize participants to violent extremism, their ideology proliferates into, and influences mainstream media, which in turn begins to draw mainstream audiences towards radical violence.[1] This shift in public discourse could have devastating consequences for peace and the stability of our society. There are no more serious threats to civilization, in my estimation.

It's important, also, to remember that these are deliberately amplified propaganda campaigns, not "organic" or popular reactionism.

This radicalization is bought and paid for.[2]

influencers have effectively propagandized to viewers and helped radicalize young people (and normalize bigoted ideas) in the process. In this ecosystem, a range of mainstream conservative and libertarian influencers, self-help gurus, and gaming streamers can ultimately act as gateways to more extremist content.

1) https://datasociety.net/pubs/oh/DataAndSociety_MediaManipula...

2) https://datasociety.net/output/alternative-influence/

hallihax9• 7 years ago

It's been pretty obvious from day 1 that the whole xenophobic anti-Russian scaremongering was being inauthentic and confected.

It's all just noise. There's no substance to any of it - just vague circumstantial nonsense and wild, unsupported allegations.

Miner49er2• 7 years ago

Just because the US is doing this doesn't mean that Russia isn't doing the same. There is evidence they have done it before [1], plus, why wouldn't they? It's a cheap way and easy way to spread propaganda.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html

hallihax9• 7 years ago

I didn't make any comment at all about whether Russia does the same. I assume that any major power is constantly propagandising its own people, and those of other countries.

The issue is that this propaganda has become a mainstream news story which is:

1) Endlessly repeated on-air by trusted individuals

2) Almost universally accepted as a truth by politicians and pundits despite there being zero concrete evidence of any Russian conspiracy

3) Rarely, if ever, challenged by politicians, pundits or guests on any mainstream news channel.

qazpot2• 7 years ago

It seems like Russia is USA's boogeyman. Every time, the establishment want people to believe some narrative they use Russia. Conservatives used Russia and communism throughout the cold war. Surprisingly, so called leftists are doing the same from 2016 onwards, blaming russian influence because their choice of candidate did not win.

notfromhere3• 7 years ago

You don't need to be a leftist to think the Russian government played a role in influencing the U.S. presidential election when it engaged in a hacking campaign against a candidate.

DataWorker• 7 years ago

Can you point to some examples of conservatives who think Russia got Trump elected? If anything, it seems like our news media’s obsession with Trump had a larger role in getting him elected. They gave him nearly 24/7 coverage, and continue to give him that same focus even today.

coupdetaco2• 7 years ago

Blame gravity

75dvtwin2• 7 years ago

You don't need to be a leftist

But you do need to be a leftist, to think and argue that that type of interference, by same nations, was not done in 2012 or 2008.

You also need to be a leftist, to still continue to claim that Russia helped a Republican to be elected US president in 2016.

hallihax9• 7 years ago

Real leftists don't mindlessly believe the nonsense spouted by the intelligence agencies.

coupdetaco2• 7 years ago

It’s to sell helicopters. The oil guys like Russia a whole lot

dzhiurgis• 7 years ago

I feel some of the agencies mentioned will comment here as well...

Kinda feel someone already did...

salawat• 7 years ago

Once again, just leaving this here.

https://cryptome.org/2012/07/gent-forum-spies.htm

It has been posted before, but a day can't seem to go by without new people being taken by surprise that this type of thing happens.

Information is power, and there are many people in high places that realize it. A modest investment in keeping an eye on your opponent, and ruffling feathers on line is the new border skirmish or airspace invasion.

If you have an odd feeling in the back of your head that someone or something is actively making it more difficult to discuss something without disruption, distraction or usurpation of the public forum; odds are that is exactly what is happening. If it isn't your platform, and it's big enough to attract a large audience, then it becomes increasingly likely somebody else has been bothered to implement some sort of filter.

Is it good, bad, or indifferent? That I leave to the reader's sensibilities. However, in my opinion, there is a growing trend brought about by a tendency for increased centralization where this type of "forum engineering" is increasingly valuable to nation-state actors. Be careful out there folks, and double check your information consumption. The Signal can't be stopped, but it can be made hard to find through all the equivocation.

fallingfrog• 7 years ago

“CIA Supervisor: Jesus Fucking Christ. What did we learn, Palmer?

Palmer: I don't know sir.

CIA Supervisor: I don't fucking know either. I guess we learned not to do it again. I'm fucked if I know what we did.

Palmer: Yes sir, it's hard to say.”

-Cohen Brothers, Burn After Reading

tbirdz• 7 years ago

How can we differentiate between this agent making these postings as an official part of their FBI duties, or making these posts for their own reasons? I know that the screenshots imply that they made these posts while performing their duties, but well I'm at work right now when I'm making this HN comment, and that doesn't mean that my employer instructed me to make this comment.

Is this sanctioned forum sliding, or just a bored government employee shitposting when they're supposed to be working?

2923557449301102• 7 years ago

Why would screenshots of his personal browsing be used for the court case?

mistermann12• 7 years ago

The response of the agent's superiors might leak some information as to what is actually going on behind the scenes, if they do respond. But then, any such response should be taken with a massive grain of salt due to the fact that all of this is part of multi-domain operations conducted by the US government and military.

jammygit• 7 years ago

On the topic of fake news and disinformation, what would one do to determine whether this post is disinformation or fake news? Most of the sources cited are to websites I’m unfamiliar with.

Is there an easy way to verify?

RickJWagner• 7 years ago

I miss the days of a squeeky-clean FBI (at least the image.)

These days we seem to be getting the X-Files version of the bureau.

chayesfss• 7 years ago

Wonder how many are posting in this thread

FBI agent accidentally reveals own 8chan posts

Related Stories