A technology blog for The Economist Group IT team
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Web propoganda tools
GIYUS.org is a download that alerts you to stories on the web about Israel so that you can comment on them. The tool is intended to encourage those with pro-Israeli views to voice them on the web.
Effectively it's a troll-helper.
When you think about it, though, it could be pretty counter-productive.
First off, when sites get wind of what's going on they may choose to simply disable commenting on affected articles. And secondly, if I have anti-Israeli views, I could use the tool just as effectively.
This tool is publicly available, but I suppose that a private one (for example, one for Labour Party members around election time) would stop opponents using it.
Effectively it's a troll-helper.
When you think about it, though, it could be pretty counter-productive.
First off, when sites get wind of what's going on they may choose to simply disable commenting on affected articles. And secondly, if I have anti-Israeli views, I could use the tool just as effectively.
This tool is publicly available, but I suppose that a private one (for example, one for Labour Party members around election time) would stop opponents using it.
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