Fixing Things Up After The Russians
It seems hardly worth it to note that anything in the way of charges leveled against the Russians isn’t going to do anything or have any real consequences.
Isn’t this the kind of thing that spies and agent provocateurs do? Cause disruption that makes it hard for the enemy to operate? Don’t we do the same thing in other countries when we feel that it is justified to meddle in their affairs? Will this whole revelation do anything to stop operations already in progress? Probably not. Might it cause an evolution in the way in which these things are done? Surely.
So, what is required of your average citizen? The same as in every other case where you feel you are being manipulated — educate yourself on the things that mark something as not being genuine.
How was the system being gamed? In the same way that other black hat marketers game the system. So, how do you fight that? Well, as suggested, education is key. Insisting on white hat marketing and SEO and calling out any use of black hat is a really good way to change the environment positively.
For a lot of anti-establishment people the notion of hacking still has some romance. When the same techniques are used to put people in power who they disagree with they then cry foul, failing to see that they are, to a degree, complicit in the creation of the environment that allowed for the foul play to occur in the first place.
A lot of things that develop out there in the world, soon get sucked up and used by the system of control, and new ways to buck the system have to be invented — it’s a cycle.
To not be victim to the whole thing, your average citizen needs to know how to spot something that is designed to manipulate their reactions. If they use certain sites, or run a business that uses certain marketing techniques that are analogous to those used to manipulate opinion and drive elections in a certain direction, they really can make sure that what they do is ethical, and do their due diligence to make sure that they don’t cut corners.
Those who manage the media that these messages were transmitted on are doing what they can to mitigate any future damage, but everyone who is part of the community that uses the platforms has a similar responsibility to correct any weakness in their own filters and ability to identify and stamp out propaganda. As marketers we can move in the direction of an agreed upon standard, something already outlined by Google, and insist that everyone is held to that standard.
