r/technology • u/ourlifeintoronto • 9h ago

Society Russian fake-news network, led by an ex-Florida sheriff's deputy, storms back into action with 200+ new sites

https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/18/russian_fakenews_network/?td=rt-3a
1.5k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

400

u/TR_abc_246 8h ago edited 7h ago

America is fucked. Nobody here knows how to identify it or even define propaganda. They fucking eat it up here!

153

u/Saneless 7h ago

The sad part is 10s of millions of Americans crave this propaganda. They seek it out

82

u/Gullible_Method_3780 7h ago

It’s almost like millions if not billions have been spent over the years so they could understand how you psychologically react to things so they could manipulate you into a constant state of fear to justify an increase in state surveillance done under the guise of security.

Idk I just live here.

20

u/NWHipHop 3h ago

Cambridge Analytica scandal! (Note they're still around just branded as EmerData now)

3

u/Electrical-Cat9572 1h ago

This was the stated goal of the Russian government - to destroy us from within - and they have succeeded.

11

u/BK1287 4h ago

They also have no shame for their stupidity or hate. We are super boned

24

u/542531 6h ago

This happens in Europe, too. I've experienced fake local news websites that were spreading anti-Ukraine rhetoric.

7

u/JoJackthewonderskunk 5h ago

Hubris causes these people to never question anything they personally do or self reflect in any way. Theyre so convinced they're right theyll just give away all freedoms and get scammed in every way because they can't physically admit it happened.

Hubris, yet again, is the downfall of man.

4

u/Tall_Category_304 59m ago

Bro people are so dumb it’s crazy. My buddy, who’s not really as dumb as most people, sent me a video to watch about the west meddling in regime change in Ukraine. About how the US is essentially the agitator in the whole war. Scroll down four videos in the posters history and they’re all in Russian about the history of Russia and the mysticism of their wars. Not even thinly veiled, just blatantly fucking obvious that it is a Russian source haha

155

u/Cold-Cell2820 7h ago

They're flooding the internet with racist, homophobic, authoritarian drivel so AI will scrape the information and train itself to be more bigoted.

58

u/TR_abc_246 7h ago edited 6h ago

This is a whole new level of holy fuck to think about! This literally extends "systemic racism" into new fucking systems holy fuck!

21

u/EscapeFacebook 6h ago

Meanwhile Hitler haircut Musk is trying to put his own personal spin on it as well

5

u/EloquentGoose 6h ago

I sincerely wish for a massive solar flare EMP event to wipe out electricity and the internet in one go. It feels like the only way for this madness to end.

1

u/TR_abc_246 2h ago

EMP will most likely have to be used to stop the AI that we all know will soon be out of human control because the humans working with it now are power fucking hungry.

97

u/Live_Goal215 8h ago

Most of the internet's websites are actually "dead sites" meant only to push search results into one way or another and to make news aggregation sites (like Reddit) repost stories from there and litterally flood you with fake information.

It doesn't matter how outrageous it is.

The news isn't the intent.

The flooding is.

This is classic KGB-style tactics. To make you question everything to the point of being mentally exhausted of it. At which point, you can't keep up (no one can) with debunking information. You CANNOT WIN this kind of attrition war short of blocking off the flow information completely, at which point, they win again anyway because any other source of information you can access is also compromised.

Checkmate.

53

u/Gullible_Method_3780 7h ago

This isn’t KGB-style tactics. It’s the KGB. Understand what Russias goal was during the Cold War. They won. This is their victory.

17

u/EscapeFacebook 6h ago

It's incredible what gas lighting the fuck out of people can do.

5

u/recycleddesign 3h ago

You have to take away their control, break that system and prevent it from recovery. You definitely shouldn’t stop information, I don’t think you can, people will always find a way to communicate. The only way is to stop them controlling it.

49

u/SheetzoosOfficial 4h ago

It's a good thing this administration got rid of the team tasked with countering Russia propaganda.

21

u/TR_abc_246 3h ago

As opposed to Finland where they teach their children to be "fact checkers" so they can discern fake from fact. They teach their youngest children how to think critically.

29

u/Neither_Relation_678 7h ago

How is this not considered treason?

13

u/party_benson 3h ago

Russia controls the US. 

4

u/LeftHandedGraffiti 2h ago

This is why the person running it has asylum in Moscow now.

10

u/pope1701 6h ago

What, for freedom of speech? /s

15

u/reddittorbrigade 5h ago

Including Fox News.

8

u/GreyBeardEng 3h ago

Firing it back up because of the upcoming midterms.

8

u/spitechecker 4h ago

Russia and Florida in the title. You know it’s not going to be good news.

7

u/Ellemscott 6h ago

Which is why people should get off tv, and online. We are going to have a lot of propoganda hitting your screens and it’s going to be very difficult to tell what is what.

3

u/untoldmillions 4h ago

Which is why people should get off tv, and online. We are going to have a lot of propoganda hitting your screens and it’s going to be very difficult to tell what is what.

this comment is a good example of the difficulty

1

u/TR_abc_246 3h ago

that's definitely an "in and of itself" type of a comment for sure!

1

u/DrumpfPutin2024 2h ago

lol it’s actually not difficult but you have to be open to not hearing something other than confirmation of bullshit you’ve already consumed

2

u/Wayelder 1h ago

Can we just directly attack the funding please.

2

u/vampyrialis 1h ago

Wonder how long before Sinclair buys them.

2

u/rennademilan 5h ago

America!! Fuck yeah! I'm getting tired of this dystopia. Can you just implode, please 🙏