Putin's Troll Factory

Western claims

 * Polishing Putin: hacked emails suggest dirty tricks by Russian youth group - The Guardian, February 7, 2012
 * Vladimir Putin's Army of Blog Trolls - The Observer, February 8, 2012
 * Russia's Online-Comment Propaganda Army - Olga KHAZAN, The Atlantic, October 9, 2013
 * ''It's like writing copy about hair dryers, one comment-shop explains, "The only difference is that this hair dryer is a political one."
 * Documents Show How Russia’s Troll Army Hit America - Max Seddon, BuzzFeed, June 2, 2014
 * ''The adventures of Russian agents like The Ghost of Marius the Giraffe, Gay Turtle, and Ass — exposed for the first time.
 * The Kremlin's Troll Army - DAISY SINDELAR, The Atlantic, August 12, 2014
 * Wikipedia: Web brigades

"Nashi"
"Nashi" was a mass youth movement whose main role was, apparently, to support Putin reelection in 2012. Yakemenko is a leader, Krystina Potupchik a press secretary and a social media starlet. It appears that played some role on the Government side. A pro-Putin video illustrates the visual aspects of the approach. The movement has some success as a mass youth movement supporting reelection, and was not more than that. Opposition was critical/skeptical/ironic of the whole idea. In 2013, the movement was essentially closed in that form (as reflected in Russian Wikipedia), although there was no well-publicized announcement. Some projects, like Seliger, continued past 2013.

Marat Burkhard's claims

 * Безумие кремлевских троллей - Dmitry Volchek, Radio Svoboda, March 21, 2015
 * One Professional Russian Troll Tells All - Dmitry Volchek and Daisy Sindelar, RFE/RL, March 25, 2015
 * Salutin' Putin: inside a Russian troll house - Shaun Walker, The Guardian, 2 April 2015
 * The Agency - ADRIAN CHEN, The New York Times June 2, 2015
 * ''From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.
 * «Встречаются те, кто верит в то, что пишет. Это очень страшные люди» - Novaya Gazeta, June 5, 2015
 * My life as a pro-Putin propagandist in Russia’s secret 'troll factory' - Tom Parfitt, The Telegraph, June 24, 2015
 * Vladimir Putin's secret 'troll factory' and Lyudmila Savchuk who exposed its dirty tricks - Daily Mail, 25 June 2015
 * Russia's troll army: how the propaganda factory operates - The Week, August 18, 2015
 * ''Journalist posing as a pro-Kremlin employee wins case against shadowy agency known as Internet Research
 * Revealed: Putin's army of pro-Kremlin bloggers - Paul Gallagher, The Independent, 24 September 2015

Evidence
This blog post on the flcrbqrjn (RFE/RL says flcrbgrjn) blog has been copy-pasted to some local fora.

RFE/RF lists nine: Biysk, Bryansk, Veliky Novgorod (wrong link!), Vladivostok, Volgograd (wrong link), Voronezh, Chupakabra, Chita, Cherepovets Google finds a two more: Voronezh, Kirov

Marat Mindiyarov / Burkhard

 * Bilder: Feuer und Smog in Russland - Tages Anzeiger, 05.08.2010
 * ''Marat Mindiyarov is 35 years old and has lived 2006-2010 in Switzerland in the canton of Bern. He now works in Moscow in a hostel and as a tourist guide. His dream is to write a book about Switzerland.
 * Couchsurfing: Marat Mindiyarov Podolsk, Moscow Province, Russia
 * Maybe Accepting Guests, Last login about 2 years ago
 * Facebook: Marat Mindiyarov
 * Lives in St. Petersburg, Russia, From Moscow, Russia
 * VK: Марат Миндияров
 * Odnoklassniki: Марат Миндияров
 * Марат... - Блог Койраха, November 27th, 2012
 * ''blogger who on September 1 this year, began teaching in Orenburg childhood home ... well, having worked there for several days, accused the director Valentin Tazekenovu violations of children's rights and other irregularities ... and was fired ... and then Marat asked the Ministry of Education a statement on the restoration of the workplace, wrote about what was happening in his blog, and gave several interviews to local television stations
 * Не понимаю по-немецки (I do not understand German)
 * Links to www.gayforit.com/video/... and www.gaytube.com/media/ (not safe for work)
 * 1-1/2-Zimmer-Wohnung in der Matte - Ein Feldforschungstagebuch - Alexander Wild Origo-Verlag, Bern 2010

Search Engine Optimization
Sputnik exposes Putin's Troll Army
 * It's Worse Than You Thought: The 'Kremlin Troll Army' Exposed - Sputnik, 28.03.2015
 * ''Radio Liberty did discover something, but it's quite the opposite from an ominous troll army which works around the clock to convert the entire world to a Putin-based religion. They found a search engine optimization (SEO) company, likely subcontracting for a political consultancy firm.
 * ''Considering the extremely low impact of such posting, the goal appears to be not to convert public opinion, but rather search engine optimization (SEO): search engines such as Google crawl the web for keywords and links, which are then used to give weight to certain web pages when search terms are entered.

Fake news sites
Russian opposition blogger Ruslan Leviev explains how fake internet sites created by Russian Troll factories work: Summary here:
 * Debunking the fake article on 2000 Russian soldiers killed in Donbas everyone fell for
 * Russian Blogger Critical of War in Ukraine Says Article on "2,000 Soldiers Killed" is Fake - Interpreter Mag, 28 August 2015
 * ''He points out that this site is a typical "web site in a box" made from a template using the Russian equivalent of Squarespace. We could note that its name is similar to many such instant sites mean to drive traffic to click ads and make revenue for their owners -- a bright green dollar bill sign shows up on its URL in the browser. This particular site was described as making $6 a day from Google AdSense even before their sensational publication about the death benefits.

Examples

 * "Russian TV stations broadcast secret nuclear torpedo plans", The Guardian, 12.11.2015
 * Video material. Announcer: "deployment of anti-missile shield in Europe is nothing but an attempt to neutralize nuclear potential of other countries, primarily Russia". Putin: "we have said many times that Russia will take necessary steps in response".
 * Guardian users contributed over 10 pages of comments, in English. (12.11.2015).


 * An illustrated calendar with a modern (Syria-themed) rendering of a classical movie  "White Sun of the Desert" (graphics) has attracted some popular following.

Theoretical Foundations
If every single word of that is true, still this is probably a cartoon (or somewhat inferior) version of how Western media operates anyway. Brief sketch of the argument: "...Much of the news people read or watch on television is manufactured by PR firms and specialists, rather than discovered by journalists..."
 * The Engineering of Consent, by P.R. father Edward L. Bernays. Further expanded in Necessary Illusions, Thought Control in Democratic Societies, by Noam Chomsky South End Press, 1989. "The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest. The freedoms of speech, press, petition, and assembly, the freedoms which make the engineering of consent possible, are among the most cherished guarantees of the Constitution of the United States. With pressing crises and decisions to be faced, a leader frequently cannot wait for the people to arrive at even general understanding. In certain cases, democratic leaders must play their part in leading the public through the engineering of consent to socially constructive goals and values..."
 * Moulding and Manipulating the News, by Sharon Beder
 * More on the issue and some historical background in Moulding Minds: Foreign Policy And The Manipulation Of Public Opinion, Josh Watts, 2014

Analysis

 * Manufacturing Consensus: Why the Western Media Fears 'Russian Trolls' - Sputnik, 04.04.2015
 * The Kremlin’s comment trolls are real — as is the media’s amnesia about them - Mark Ames, Pando, April 2, 2015
 * Western Hypocrisy, Social Media Manipulation - Jennifer Cohagen, Thick Toast, 2 April 2015 (Russia Insider)
 * Kremlin Troll Army Myth Deconstructed - Mark Chapman, Russia Insider, 13 April 2015

NATO's war on social media

 * CIA Trolls Infect the Net - Susanne Posel, Occupy Corporatism, December 1, 2012
 * British army creates team of Facebook warriors - Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, January 31, 2015
 * ''The British army is creating a special force of Facebook warriors, skilled in psychological operations and use of social media to engage in unconventional warfare in the information age. The 77th Brigade, to be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, in Berkshire, will be about 1,500-strong and formed of units drawn from across the army. It will formally come into being in April.
 * ''The brigade will be responsible for what is described as non-lethal warfare. Both the Israeli and US army already engage heavily in psychological operations. Against a background of 24-hour news, smartphones and social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, the force will attempt to control the narrative. The 77th will include regulars and reservists and recruitment will begin in the spring. Soldiers with journalism skills and familiarity with social media are among those being sought.
 * British Army Creates Facebook Soldiers - Thomas Tamblyn, The Huffington Post UK, February 2, 2015
 * ''The British Army has announced the creation of a brand new brigade whose sole task will be to wage a war on social media. The 77th Brigade will comprise of 1,500 specially trained soldiers who have been hand-picked from regular service and will begin waging a war of words on Facebook and Twitter.
 * ''CIA-Sponsored Trolls Monitor Internet & Interact With Users to Discredit Factual Information
 * New British Army unit 'Brigade 77' to use Facebook and Twitter in psychological warfare - INDEPENDENT.CO.UK
 * ''The British military is setting up a specialist force modelled on the Chindits, the commandos who gained renown through their daring missions behind enemy...


 * America Goes Large: Obama Wants Huge Budget for His Anti-Russian Troll Army - Sputnik, 14.04.2015
 * EU declares information war on Russia Task force will start trying to win hearts and minds in eastern partnership countries next month, James Panichi, Politico.eu, August 27, 2015
 * BBC to face down Vladimir Putin with plan for new World Service Russian TV channel, The Independent, September 5, 2015
 * A troll story in 4 screenshots - OffGuardian, September 29, 2015
 * NATO looks to combat Russia's 'information weapon': document, Reuters, Jan. 27, 2016.
 * Examples?
 * This is a comment of a pro-Ukrainian Russian speaker on a Ukrainian mirrored version of the recent BBC Panorama (failed) attempt:
 * Well, I think that any vatnik knows about this, but they perceived it quite well, on the contrary, they are proud of their king that he is so rich. Vatnik is in shit up to his ears, yet can feel the happiness of contemplating the splendor and majesty of the king! And there is no greater joy for a slave than this! (NATO psy-op committee may need to carefully study this comment )


 * Cold War Scare: US Propaganda Budget Reaches All-Time High, Sputnik, February 13, 2016
 * Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) budget to increase by $27 million to $778 million, after 2015 increase by $30 million.

Social Media War on Social Media
I don't think social media is really placed out there for the benefit of the flow of ideas. It is an advertising net run by major players, governed by profits, on one side, and a self-propelled  information collector on the  other. Putin will know a thing or two about the latter. So does Snowden and co. The rest of all that works in less obvious ways, as some sort of self-focusing optics to increase traffic and profit of a few players in that game at expense of others. For example, why exactly is that Anatolii Sharii is getting 20 thousand euros per month out of youtube (as he bragged in one of his videos--I did not bother to save it). He is alright, no complaint here, but somebody else may be alright or even better too, yet lucky to generate 20 pesos per year. Marketing schemes and laws (on copyright, etc) are designed by corporate giants are for their profit, not for promoting truth. As a result, content is not judged by its truth or its depth, or making anything better, but rather by some coherent noise (or groove) they are all making. One step out of there and you are in nowhere. --Resup (talk) 04:45, 29 December 2015 (UTC)
 * ... and this is even without worse and obvious sponsorship phenomena like Bellingcat (we discussed the latter elsewhere)... 'Putin trolling',  if that exists, needs to be seen in this overall context, not as an  isolated 'Russian horror/Putin bad/we good' story  as it is presented in Western corporate news.  Not seeing that broader context and focusing on their assignment in those Putin trolling reports by itself illustrates how things work (horror stories will sell, but no corporate moneys will be made by saying and we are bad too). --Resup (talk) 13:12, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

How can a friends count jump by 5000 - 500 in a single day ? --Resup (talk) 18:56, 9 January 2016 (UTC)

Gizmodo on FB 'trending news' robo-humans, May 3, 2016
 * Present market capitalization (value) FB : 340 bn USD; Gazprom: 58 bln USD (and what is it good for?)

Social media censorship war

 * Putin's Kremlin Bots Boot Thousands of Ukrainian Accounts Off Twitter - Korrespondent, January 9, 2016