US Gov. Software Creates ‘Fake People’ on Social Networks to Promote Propaganda

Kaye Beach

Feb. 19, 2011

The request issues from the Dept. of the Air Force.  I cannot for the life of me think of a legitimate use for such software.

This is not the sort of thing  that you expect to see in a “free society”

2/20/11 *UPDATE* For  a bit of insight into this mess read Kirby Plessas of Kirbstr’s Brain take on it.  (Hint-The CEO of HBGary, Aaron Barr is a dirty dog and an arrogant one who got his comeuppance to to boot!)

What HBGary Federal CEO, Aaron Barr, taught me about corporate ethics

The man at the center of this, HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr, was a former Navy SIGINT officer. The average citizen may not know what that means, but those of us who were in the military and particularly those of us who also were SIGINT (in my case, I was a SIGINT analyst, a non-commissioned officer), know that there are very strict legal barriers on what can and cannot be done by the government, especially when it comes to collecting information or intelligence on US citizens. This is called Intelligence Oversight (here is a pretty good US Army PPT Briefing describing it And those involved in SIGINT were reminded of it over and over and over. And I bring this up because, to me, it makes Aaron Barr look even worse.

He explicitly knows what is illegal for the government, and he suggested things that would break the law anyway.

Read More

US Gov. Software Creates ‘Fake People’ on Social Networks to Promote Propaganda

Sean Kerrigan

• Social Media Examiner

The US government is offering private intelligence companies contracts to create software to manage “fake people” on social media sites and create the illusion of consensus on controversial issues.

The contract calls for the development of “Persona Management Software” which would help the user create and manage a variety of distinct fake profiles online. The job listing was discussed in recently leaked emails from the private security firm HBGary after an attack by internet activist last week.

Click here to view the government contract (PDF)

According to the contract, the software would “protect the identity of government agencies” by employing a number of false signals to convince users that the poster is in fact a real person. A single user could manage unique background information and status updates for up to 10 fake people from a single computer.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: US Gov. Software Creates ‘Fake People’ on Social Networks to Promote Propoganda – National Social Media | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-national/us-gov-software-creates-fake-people-on-social-networks-to-promote-propoganda#ixzz1ERQ6rU9a

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Also Read:

Spy games: Inside the convoluted plot to bring down WikiLeaks

 

Black ops: how HBGary wrote backdoors for the government

Check the handiwork of HBGary and Palantir in a powerpoint originally named “The Wikileaks Threat” which I am giving a new name to- GET WIKILEAKS and their little friends too!