this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024
82 points (93.6% liked)

Technology

59427 readers
2820 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Armies of bots battled on Twitter over Chinese spy balloon incident::Large proportions of users posting on Twitter – now X – about the Chinese balloon that drifted over the US and Canada in 2023 were bots attempting to shape the debate

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] WatDabney@sopuli.xyz 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

No surprise there.

There was never even the slightest chance that that balloon could pass through US airspace unobserved, and China possesses FAR more effective, secure and difficult-at-best methods with which to spy. So very obviously, it was intended to be discovered. And presuming that to be the case, the important bit then was the reaction its discovery would trigger.

So it was safe to presume from the start (as I did) that some significant part of the social media noise about it was simple astroturfing explicitly intended solely to further whatever response whoever wanted.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

There was never even the slightest chance that that balloon could pass through US airspace unobserved

That's because they forgot to paint it blue. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

[–] AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Anytime I need to sneak around I paint myself blue.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 5 points 9 months ago

You blue yourself?

[–] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)
[–] AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Well no. I take my jorts off for this part.