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Government Media Social Networks The Military United States

Pentagon Wants To Predict Anti-Trump Protests Using Social Media Surveillance (vice.com) 421

Posted by BeauHD from the state-of-surveillance dept.
Alice Marshall shares an excerpt from Motherboard: The United States government is accelerating efforts to monitor social media to preempt major anti-government protests in the U.S., according to scientific research, official government documents, and patent filings reviewed by Motherboard. The social media posts of American citizens who don't like President Donald Trump are the focus of the latest U.S. military-funded research. The research, funded by the U.S. Army and co-authored by a researcher based at the West Point Military Academy, is part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to consolidate the U.S. military's role and influence on domestic intelligence.

The vast scale of this effort is reflected in a number of government social media surveillance patents granted this year, which relate to a spy program that the Trump administration outsourced to a private company last year. Experts interviewed by Motherboard say that the Pentagon's new technology research may have played a role in amendments this April to the Joint Chiefs of Staff homeland defense doctrine, which widen the Pentagon's role in providing intelligence for domestic "emergencies," including an "insurrection."
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Pentagon Wants To Predict Anti-Trump Protests Using Social Media Surveillance More

Pentagon Wants To Predict Anti-Trump Protests Using Social Media Surveillance

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  • Hmmmm (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I was not aware protestors made their efforts secret. I am personally all for secret protests! It would really help avoid the convuluted traffic the public protests inspire.

    • First of all, "anti-Trump" protests are not "anti-Government" protests. The Pentagon has a few smart people, you'd figure they'd point that out to the rest of them.

      Secondly, it's not very democratic to take sides against the People. A lot of those smart people at the Pentagon study a whole lot of history and should know the inevitable negative consequences of such policies.

      • Re:just because you can doesn't mean you should (Score:5, Insightful)

        by shaitand ( 626655 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @09:19AM (#57568017) Journal
        "First of all, "anti-Trump" protests are not "anti-Government" protests."

        Yes, actually they are. He is the President and the head of the United States Government even if only during his term.

        "Secondly, it's not very democratic to take sides against the People. A lot of those smart people at the Pentagon study a whole lot of history and should know the inevitable negative consequences of such policies."

        Agreed. The Constitution outranks the three branches, including the military and the President and the people outrank the Constitution. If only people had stuck behind the Constitution when doing so conflicted with expediency and their personal agendas the government might have remembered that.

  • Why is the military doing this? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Law enforcement I could understand, but the military?

    Not that I think it's a good idea. I'm getting kinda sick of the anti-Trump whining, but that doesn't mean you have to go all "pre-crime" on political protestors.

    • Re:Why is the military doing this? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by postbigbang ( 761081 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:39PM (#57565453)

      Fear is a huge motivator. People now use heavy weapons. Look at the violence of the past two weeks if you had any questions.

      People's trust in government is at an all-time low, and the distrust with law enforcement has also risen. Were these intentional moves so that government might assert control, bypassing both constitutional and legal constraints?

      A pipe bomber plays into their hands. Fear of heavy armament or resistance has always been a motivator to use excessive force. Weapons of mass destruction guarantee a turf war. Will good sense prevail? Will/would the citizenry excuse a military response to a small crisis? Watch the southern US border over the next few weeks, and you'll have your answer. Fear drives a military response against a Honduran march heading towards Texas. This will not go well.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      "anti-Trump whining," yes, it does get irritating. However, have you ever listened to Trump. He's the Whiner-in-Chief. He's always complaining about something and how evil forces are out to destroy him. If he ever looks in the mirror, he'll demand to put himself in the hoosegow.

  • Executive order to amend the Constitution ? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:18PM (#57565325)

    Gosh, is there no limit to this miserable sack of pus' stupidity and ignorance ? Did he seriously tell a journalist and the entire world that he would sign an executive order to effectively repel the 14th amendement of the Constitution of the United States ?

    Yes he did. But you know what ? It's not because he's stupid. It's because he knows perfectly well that his supporters are stupid, and that he can say pretty much any complete absurdity and absolute lie, but if it's what they want to hear, then they'll believe him anyway.

    After all, didn't he get elected even after basically calling all his supporters fucking morons ?

    "I could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot someone, and I still wouldn't lose any voters".

    • further right and into the realm of dictators. It's the same thing we're seeing with Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell going around saying they want to end Social Security and Medicare right when they're getting ready to retire. They're putting the idea into the public discourse in a politically safe way. For Ryan & McConnell it's because they're close to the end of their careers (though Ryan might try and come back for a presidential run in a few years). For Trump it's because he's Teflon. Nothing sticks.

  • If this were Obama Fox News would be losing their (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:18PM (#57565331)
    shit right about now. Now, Fox & Co are propagandists, so I don't expect even a tiny bit of consistency from them. But I expect a little better from the right wing. There was zero outrage when Trump praised Chinese President Xi for seizing power for life and suggested he'd like to do the same. Again, imagine the shit storm if Obama had done that.

    Somebody raised a very good point today. Trump pulled back the FBI from investigating right wing domestic terrorists. We just had a synagogue shot up and a pipe bomber. That is not a coinki-dink. The president responded to this by tweeting about baseball and saying he thought he might miss his rally.... because he was having a bad hair day. That's not "Trump being Trump". That's Trump signaling to the far right that violence is OK.

    I'm not gonna try to speak to the alt-righters here because I'm not good enough at it to do anything but piss you off more than you already are. Go watch some Secular Talk [youtube.com] or Aron Ra [youtube.com] or Bad Mouse Productions [youtube.com] on youtube

    This message is for the Blacks, Jews and Mexicans who stayed home when it was time to vote for Bernie and did it again when it was time to vote for that bitch Hilary. And it's for the white guys who've got friends in those categories:

    I get it. Taxes suck and you don't like being told what to do by smarthy liberals. But if you sit another election out Trump & company are gonna get some signaling themselves. They're gonna figure out that their strategy of riling up the violent alt-right is working. Those people are going to come for you. Because they've got problems. Big ones. And Trump can't solve them. He's not clever enough. To stay in power he's gonna wind them up and send them after you. It's a trick that's thousands of years old and it works.

    They're coming for you and you're not going to be safe in your gated communities. Vote. And Vote for whoever has the best chance of taking down Trump and company. Or the violence is going to get worse. A lot worse.

    • I should add (Score:5, Interesting)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:21PM (#57565343)
      the post above is what happens when a lefty rants with the kind of bitter rage usually reserved for the alt-right.

      Speaking of rage: I'd be a lot less better if I didn't have so many family members who've had the shit kicked out of them by our crap healthcare system because folks won't stop voting for the GOP when they keep telling you they're gonna end Obamacare with it's protection for preexisting conditions [google.com]. Jeez, I wish I knew how to reach the electorate. 26% of Americans still believe the GOP is gonna save them even after 60 votes to repeal and Mitch McConnell going around saying he's gonna end social security and Medicare.

      • No no no! Republicans will keep the option of having protection for pre-existing conditions. You'll be able to choose! Isn't that great! And all those people without pre-existing conditions won't have to pay more to support those leaches with pre-existing conditions! I mean, if they have pre-existing conditions, they should have to pay more, right? Won't somebody think of the insurance companies!?

        • Re:I should add (Score:5, Interesting)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @10:16PM (#57566085)

          its been a while since I worked in that industry (1995 when i first came back from 3 tours in the persian gulf after the gulf war); but pre-existing conditions were never permanent. Usually they had a 6month clause that meant that for the first 6 months they would review claims to look for a pre-existing condition. It basically meant that you could not choose to forgo insurance to keep more money, find out you needed medical attention, get insurance, and pay less; then later drop the insurance again. That was supposed to be a deterrent. They would order medical records to see if you had been seen for anything related to it prior to having insurance. They would even invoke the 'prudent person' clause that said 'a prudent person WOULD have sought help'. Internally we had a commentary that went like "No, actually I was in the waiting room for something else, but while I was here, suddenly this started happening..." However the Healthcare Reform act of 1996 had abolished most of this and then HIPAA came along and helped with that by fixing the gap that happened when an insured had to leave one employer and go to another employer.

          FACT. The idea that insurance is provided by the employer is deliberately geared to turn you into an undervalued slave. No other insurance works this way. How likely are you to accept abuse or take shit from your employer because they hold the strings on some health benefits you might currently need? It empowers the employee to enter a codependent relationship with the employee where they can misuse you.

          Please do not get caught up in the bullshit belief this is only a GOP thing. This shit has been going on since 1995 at least. From 1996 - 2018 the Democrates have controlled the House, Senate, and Executive branch more than once. They COULD have fixed this. They get paid by these special interest too. Nobody in congress is in it for your best interest. Dont fall for the partisan bullshit on this particular topic.

          • There's a steaming pile of bullshit for you. ...

            I worked in that industry

            ...

            for the first 6 months they would review claims to look for a pre-existing condition

            Yeah, not surprised. Not surprised at all. This is exactly why the problem can only be solved by the government. People still tell these same lies, even after all the focus that was put on what was really happening during the original debate over passing Obamacare.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        the post above is what happens when a lefty rants with the kind of bitter rage usually reserved for the alt-right.

        Speaking of rage: I'd be a lot less better if I didn't have so many family members who've had the shit kicked out of them by our crap healthcare system because folks won't stop voting for the GOP when they keep telling you they're gonna end Obamacare with it's protection for preexisting conditions [google.com]. Jeez, I wish I knew how to reach the electorate. 26% of Americans still believe the GOP is gonna save them even after 60 votes to repeal and Mitch McConnell going around saying he's gonna end social security and Medicare.

        Here's the problem:

        The moment the GOP actually tries or does end any of the programs you mentioned, the voters will simply hand them their ass and we'll return to Team Blue for X number of years until, they too, do something similar and the cycle repeats. Both sides like to induce hysteria on various issues ( 2nd Amendment, Immigration, Health Care, Terrorists, Russia, etc. etc. ) and folks just keep eating it up. Folks are so brainwashed by their " team " that they have never figured out there really isn

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          why the hell did you post this AC??? You should own it and be proud to have realized it.

        • In fact, they're so much alike they may as well just be Team Fucking Purple for all intents and purposes.

          It's been this way forever and it's not likely to change as long as we have a two party system.

          Indeed. There should also be Team Fucking Green too. They should then fight for an entire fucking cycle.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:33PM (#57565403)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • the decides who lives and who dies. 45,000 Americans die every year from treatable illnesses. 20 million folks die globally from hunger and thirst in a world where the only reason they have to die is logistics and getting people to pay for it. We're at war with 8 countries and have been at war for 94% of our life as a country.

        Politics isn't a dumb sport, it's what defines ever aspect of your life from cradle to grave.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          dont forget the opiod epidemic. More people are now dying from that than firearms (including suicide) and car accidents combined. In 3 years its going to be the single highest rate of death on the whole graph.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by epine ( 68316 )

          20 million folks die globally from hunger and thirst in a world where the only reason they have to die is logistics and getting people to pay for it.

          The other reason is people who insist on putting the word "only" in front of political logistics, despite all evidence to the contrary—as in, the "only" reason we get cancer is because human metabolism sucks at self-repair.

          You do realize that the phrase "all the king's horses and all the king's men" is satiric, don't you?

          The "only" reason they couldn't pu

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 )

        wow thats probably the best analogy I have seen to summarize what partisanship has become. IMO senate and representative positions should be like Jury Duty. I should go to the mailbox, open my mail, and go "well shit! Ive got Senate duty this year". The problem with this career politicians is that they know where all the bodies are buried.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by SirAstral ( 1349985 )

      Centrist here, I see a lot of complaining about people on the right not taking their own to task while the same problem appears on the left. If you want to have standing when you call people on the right out you really need to be free of guilt yourself. If you think that what I just said is a bunch of BS then you are only going to prove that you are guilty of what I said.

      As a centrist I watch both sides endlessly accuse the other of the very things they are guilty of themselves. Each time one of their o

      • you're setting an unreasonably high standard so you don't have to bear the burden of the results of being "centrist". Don't fool yourself. You can't stay neutral here, any more than the UK could in WWII. You'll get dragged into the violence sooner or later on one side or the other.

        America got a temporary reprieve when the wars distracted us long enough for the ruling class to rob us blind. But they're out of wars. Iran was the next one and looks like that's a no-go. The rich and powerful always use the

        • Centrists aren't normally separate or neutral, instead we believe in compromise solutions that address all the major concerns that different people have, instead of just trying to pass by force with 50.00001% something that 49.999999% hate.

          Instead with compromise, you can get a policy that 45% of people like, and only 20% hate. The goal isn't to make a perfect world, just to make it suck less.

      • Re:If this were Obama Fox News would be losing the (Score:5, Informative)

        by Xylantiel ( 177496 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @09:38PM (#57565931)
        No you can take your false equivalence and shove it. I've always thought political parties were a bad idea, and nobody is a saint, but the degree of lying and cheating that people in the current US republican party will stoop to is unacceptable in a civil society. Your one example shows your argument is hollow. The GOP was all for repealing the ACA because it sounds good in a campaign slogan but didn't do it because they have no real alternative policy, just talking points. That's a concrete promise that was broken. Then you say some random squishy crap about Obama not sticking to "hope and change". Nothing concrete. On the same issue, the democrats ran on revamping healthcare, and that's what happened. Not single-payer, but the ACA was a concrete improvement to the status quo that could be put into law at the time despite an obstructionist opposition party. One of the main motivations for the ACA was getting the healthcare part of the national economy and national debt and deficit more under control, something the GOP claims they want to do but never do. Your claim that both of these are parties saying one thing and doing another is simply false equivalence.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      As long as you're equally critical of everyone, you'll get no criticism from me. However, let me really get you thinking about these recent random acts of violence. First we had a guy sending 'pipe bombs' that didnt have a snowballs chance in hell of blowing up. I mean zero chance. The only reason there was any sort of black powder in them was probably to get the dogs to hit on it. I know you're younger, but there was a real mail bomb terrorist when I was younger named Ted Kackzynksi, alias Unibomber. He wo

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Buried. Page 7 at least.

        I don't know which papers you are reading but on the news outlets I frequent it was headline news for multiple days. The BBC lead it with on their prime time news programming more than once, discussed it at least.

        NOBODY is even talking about this premeditated murder

        There was extended debate about if the UK should continue to supply arms to SA, and if our political leaders should attend the "Davos in the desert" meeting. I seem to recall Trump making a slightly bizarre statement about it too.

        I'm thinking that maybe it was the right leaning news outlets in the

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 )
      Mexicans can't vote. It's very telling you think they can, though. Or read Slashdot. Seriously, you should get a translator and ask Mexicans what they think of Americans one day. You'll get an earful.

      I also like how you can read minds. That's a remarkable ability shared by many on the Left. When Black Lives Matter murders five police officers it doesn't reflect on them, but some nutcase has a Trump sticker and that obviously means it was planned from the top.

    • The absolute best thing that could happen to the US is compulsory voting.

      Make it a requirement to be on the electoral role once you are over 18 and make it a requirement to vote.

      Blah blah blah what about my freedom to not vote blah blah blah rights about me blah blah blah it's a free country I shouldn't have to vote if I don't want to. Simply put it's not a free country, try not paying your taxes and see how free the country really is. In the end, as citizens, we get privileges and in exchange we pay cost

    • Trump, the model American Fascist (Score:5, Insightful)

      by TiggertheMad ( 556308 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @01:24AM (#57566583) Journal
      They're coming for you and you're not going to be safe in your gated communities. Vote. And Vote for whoever has the best chance of taking down Trump and company. Or the violence is going to get worse. A lot worse.

      Well, it was the instability of Germany in the 1920s that allowed the Nazi party to come to power. The communists has just overthrown the Czar in Russia, there was massive inflation and economic instability, mass unemployment, and the fascists were having weekly street riots with the communists. The Nazis stepped in, and offered to mop up the filthy communists, Jews and foreigners who were causing 'problems', and the German people ate it up.

      Fascism is about national strength, militarism, xenophobia, and authoritarian solutions. Some of the first attacks Trump made when he came to power were on scientific programs, and he wants to start having military parades. In the 1920s the Nazis had their own newspapers and loved to attack any news that wasn't their own, sometimes go so far as to break into offices and smash other people's presses. The parallels between now and the 1920s are disturbingly similar.

      Go read about the early history of the Nazi party, from 1920 to 1933, and think about what is happening now.

  • Nope (Score:5, Interesting)

    by iggymanz ( 596061 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:23PM (#57565349)

    read the article, no source within the article says Trump admin is actually doing that. A bunch of other studies and models referenced.

    • he owns everything the Pentagon does. That's what it means to be the Chief Executive.
      • That's what it used to mean. Now the generals ignore him and he doesn't seem to care.

      • irrelevant point, there is no source in that article that says the Trump administration is doing what is claimed. Instead innuendo and extrapolation done from reports of other things.

        In short, no proof.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 )

        quote Harry Truman... 'The buck stops here!' he was famous for it.

        • Yeah, but it would only seem to apply narrowly to types of situations where responsibilities are being bucked. Why would it automatically extend to all other types of action?

          At this point, we don't even know if it is true. And if nobody ever even admits they're doing it, nobody will be trying to buck the responsibility up to their boss!

        • Sure thing. If you give Trump a buck, based on his track record as a "business man" (translation: con artist) he will surely lose it into some scheme that ends with bankruptcy. But the amazing thing is that a new buck will magically enter the system from some unlikely source ... like mafia or foreign powers.

  • Else why is this fat bucket of puke being mentioned on /.?
  • If it's not one of his never-ending succession of self-promotional rallies, it's probably a protest.

  • Isn't this unconstitutional? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @07:55PM (#57565519)

    The United States government is accelerating efforts to monitor social media to preempt major anti-government protests in the US

    So basically they want to conduct mass surveillance, predict where protests are being planned and crack down on them with maximum force so his Orange Imperial Majesty's delicate little snowflake heart won't melt form the heat of all that unwanted criticism? I seem to remember having read the following in a document considered so important it is kept in a climate controlled armoured glass box flanked by armed guards:

    "The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed. The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable. The people shall not be restrained from peaceably assembling and consulting for their common good; nor from applying to the Legislature by petitions, or remonstrances, for redress of their grievances."

    Pay particular attention for that last part, "remonstrances" means "forceful reproachful protest" the US constitution literally guarantees the citizen's rights to protest and not be particularly polite about it. The constitution guarantees that the US citizenry's can voice its grievances without having to give a damn about the delicate sentiments of thin skinned and whiny little bitch politicians .

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AHuxley ( 892839 )
      Re "So basically they want to conduct mass surveillance, predict where protests..."
      Thats just the normal police part.
      Think long term over decades and where political people can get work at later if they can hide their pasts.

      Say a person who has the ability to become an engineer, is able to pass most of the US university exams to be able to get most jobs in the US mil/NSA/CIA.
      A smart person who spent years on a political campus with "arts" students who want to spy on the USA and give its secrets away.

  • I saw enough of this crap in the 60's and 70's as the government was sending my friends and relatives off to die half way around the world. This just changed my opinion on assault rifles.

  • Forget the mail bombers and the wannabe apartment shooters and the vehicle attackers, those women in pussyhats are the real threat.

  • Posse Comitatus (Score:4, Insightful)

    by b0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:47PM (#57565713)
    Military and their contractors shouldn't be allowed to behave as domestic law enforcement.

    • Nor should they need to , if domestic law enforcement is sufficiently militarized and outsourced.

  • and the problem is ? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Archfeld ( 6757 ) <treboreel@live.com> on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @12:20AM (#57566461) Journal

    Shouldn't be hard, Where Trump goes a protest will follow, much like Mary, and her lamb.

  • Bringing in the fancy analytics and social media sentiment analysis. Here's a foolproof Protest Prediction Algorithm.

    IF (TRUMP IS PRESIDENT) THEN

    SIGNAL(WIDESPREAD PROTEST)

    END IF

  • At this rate (Score:3)

    by turkeyfish ( 950384 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @02:23AM (#57566707)

    At this rate, worrying about terrorists attempting to overthrow the government hardly seems necessary. The Trump administration appears to be doing just fine destroying what government we have left all by themselves without intervention of any outsiders, whether foreign or domestic.

    No doubt allowing Trump to determine who is and who is not a US citizen by decree will fix everything. After all, who needs a Constitution when "only he can fix it"?

  • Currently:
    The US military is there to monitor and steer social media to prevent mass protests.
    The NSA is there to seed misinformation and monitor what people are thinking or planning.
    The FBI is there to stop the wrong people getting too close to being elected president.
    The Police are there to stop too many black or brown people voting.
    ICE is there to separate families and traumatize children.

    I'm sure there's nothing sinister about any of this and all these roles were explicitly written in the constitu

  • Burn the Constitution (Score:3)

    by sdinfoserv ( 1793266 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @11:54AM (#57569029)
    So the Pentagon is calling the 1st amendment "insurrection"
    "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

    And Lord Trumkin believes he can invalidate the 14th Amendment with a waive of a pen.
    Amendment XIV, Section 1. "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."

    Yet, he's the most popular Republican president with his base in the modern era.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com... [washingtonpost.com]
    Meanwhile the Right continues to deny any and all correlation between the talking head hate site FauxNoise, Trumpkin's rhetoric, and an increase in hate crimes.
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/p... [cbsnews.com]

    vote people, get out and vote.

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