Кукли-носки и искусственная трава

Internet fora and blogs are bedevilled by groups of individuals working with multiple false identities - aka sock puppets - in the attempt to create the false impression of a grass-roots movement, hence the term "astro-turfing". Sound familiar? You may think that Tim Ireland has already covered this ground in some detail, and has attracted a fair amount of flak for his troubles. You may also think that he's exaggerating the scope of the problem. Would it surprise you to learn, then, that my initial sentence refers to this article (helpfully* translated here) about the creeping annexation of RuNet, the Russian-language internet, by sockpuppets of the state?

The article asserts that Russian discussion fora are monitored round-the-clock by a "Brigade" whose role is to shape public discussion in ways agreeable to Putin's administration, and the authors develop what seems a methodical case in support, which the rest of this paragraph and the next two or three will attempt to summarise. Despite these brigadniki ostensibly coming from different cities and sections of society, they have a suspiciously uniform worldview, which coincides suspiciously neatly with the administration's line. More suspect still, these views change in conjunction with the administration's changes: policy over the disputed Kuril Islands is offered in evidence. There is boundless loyalty,if not outright affection, displayed for President Putin, and admiration shown for all incarnations of the Cheka/NKVD/KGB/FSB.

On every Russian language political forum, brigadniki conduct targeted propaganda that is anti-liberal, anti-American, anti-Chechen, anti-Semitic and anti-western.

In what may seem a further familiar echo, moderators have been known to delete some comments, but leave "Brigade" comments in place, showing a highly selective approach to moderation.

The article goes on to analyse the idioms and language used by these suspect personae, concluding that they all share a familiarity with and fondness for archaic Soviet phrases, and an inclination towards vulgarity and coarse humour. I would interpolate here that there seems to be a certain amount of snobbery in the article at this stage, but that shouldn't outweigh the common factors identified by the authors:

Along with the obscene abuse, which members of the Brigade use everywhere they go, all of these warped words and turns of phrase suggest a specific culture and educational level of the Brigade that is absolutely not characteristic of the majority of Internet users.

There is also a commonality of methods used - described in some detail - that again will have an eerie familiarity to anyone who's read Tim's critiques. One interesting difference is the mysogynist tone that the Russian authors describe being used against female opponents, whereas Tim and others have been subjected to homophobic abuse.

The authors conclude that the only possible explanation is that the Russian state has turned its attention to the internet as part of its clampdown on freedom of expression in the country: witness the absence of independent media outlets. They trace this turn of events to 1999, which is when, they argue, the tenor of online discussion on RuNet took this radical change.

Now, you may think this could never happen here, but I do find an uncomfortable correlation between the techniques described in this article and those described by Tim Ireland. Incidentally, I am not suggesting, and nor do I read Tim as suggesting, that such practices will necessarily be the sole preserve of the Right, with all due caveats about the inadequacy of that label. It's just that Guido was presenting him with the perfect opportunity to demonstrate rather than describe his points. The current administration's predilection for spin makes it all too likely that discourse on UK political blogs could be polluted by partisans from all sides. I know bloggers are a stubborn bunch. Many are wedded to the idea of free speech, and so take a dim view of anyone they perceive as trying to impose their own ideas of what blogging should be about. But, bear in mind Russians have a self-deprecatory joke about the purpose of Russia's existence being to teach other countries how not to live. What can we do to ensure we don't wake up one day to find our online discussions coralled in the same way?

* I am reluctant to even mention the title of the blog which sponsored this translation, as its author displays an extremely distasteful set of views about Russia; I find it hard to describe it as anything other than a hate blog, and so will not link to it. However, as far as I can tell from my very quick comparison of the source and target texts, the translation is pretty faithful. Presumably because it shows Russia in a bad light... Hat-tip to JRL, 2007 mailing #49.