Will Sock Puppet Deception Sway Your Vote?
As the discussions of ballot propositions heat up, it is fun to read the comments sections of news articles. It is a way to explore the rationale for decision making and a gauge of public perception. It is a way to learn new arguments that may be compelling for or against the initiatives. It is interesting to see how others attempt to persuade voters to make a decision, one way or another. But are there deliberate efforts to blanket comments sections and social media with the same cut-and-paste messages? Is there an effort to do so under different usernames to build the deceptive appearance of swelling support? A quick Google search suggests this is the case. For example the comments section of the Stateman article that deliberately deceives readers by making detection of the DNA encoding herbicide resistance to "pesticides", you'll find a comment from "Noah Dazinger" a name attached to someone that shows up frequently in comments sections arguing agai