The billionaire GOP patron behind Trump's social media bot army

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

A GOP donor who once had ties to IBM is the man behind the millions of Twitter bots President Trump counts on as followers who could be employed to target voters with misleading or fake news on social media.

In order for it to work, the scheme relies on the quiet guidance of Robert Mercer, a reclusive Republican mega-donor and staunch Trump supporter, sources told the Daily News.

Mercer, who during the campaign with help from his daughter Rebekah, played a below-the-radar — but integral — role in raising money for Trump and connected him with critical figures like Stephen Bannon.

 

He’s a former computer scientist who, decades ago, helped build the technology at IBM that the computer giant would later use to create its Watson super-computer. He also helped other companies like Apple form the basis for its Siri platform.

Trump Twitter bots, numbering in millions, could be used for evil

Trump, meanwhile, has accrued among his 30 million Twitter followers — 15 million of which are actually bots that experts have told the Daily News could be “weaponized” to spread fake and misleading news stories that favor the White House or distract from the scandals it now faces.

But with the subtle introduction of advanced technology, by individuals familiar with artificial intelligence, their effectiveness as it pertains to targeting users and interacting with them could escalate rapidly.

“Fooling humans into doing things in the electronic realm turned out to be really easy,” said Simon Crosby, the chief technology officer at a firm called Bromium, pointing to well-documented campaigns that are thought to have influenced the 2016 presidential race and the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom.

 

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/billionaire-gop-patron-behind-trump-social-media-bot-army-article-1.3236933

[IAMX 3,055]

So which is the part where it shows proof Mercer did this?

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

1 hour ago, IAMX said:

So which is the part where it shows proof Mercer did this?

Mercer has done quite a bit,  which this are you talking about? Brexit? Trump? 

The Quid for the pro quo is big. 7 billion in unpaid taxes for Renaissance Funds if the IRS does not lean their way on the"basket options" tax dodge. Mercers status as a billionaire hangs in the balance. 

[Dashinka 24,493]

4 hours ago, IAMX said:

So which is the part where it shows proof Mercer did this?

Agreed, the story was quite short on fact and quite long on conjecture.

[IAMX 3,055]

9 hours ago, ccneat said:

Mercer has done quite a bit,  which this are you talking about? Brexit? Trump? 

The Quid for the pro quo is big. 7 billion in unpaid taxes for Renaissance Funds if the IRS does not lean their way on the"basket options" tax dodge. Mercers status as a billionaire hangs in the balance. 

So.. there's none.. again.

 

Seeing a trend here?

Edited June 11, 2017 by IAMX

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

7 minutes ago, IAMX said:

So.. there's none.. again.

.

Seeing a trend here?

none what? you did not define this.   The article speaks for itself, but there is more information for those who choose to dig

The article highlights the (known) connections between Robert Mercer and the Trump campaign along with some unique capabilities that Cambridge Analytics has developed.  No secrets or crimes, just information.  It is also now know that Mercer is an owner of Brietbart which we learned when Breitbart applied for White House press credentials.  

 

Edited June 11, 2017 by ccneat

[IAMX 3,055]

5 minutes ago, ccneat said:

none what? you did not define this.   The article speaks for itself, but there is more information for those who choose to dig

The article highlights the (known) connections between Robert Mercer and the Trump campaign along with some unique capabilities that Cambridge Analytics has developed.  No secrets or crimes, just information.  It is also now know that Mercer is an owner of Brietbart which we learned when Breitbart applied for White House press credentials.  

 

Yes the article speaks for itself.. zero proof.

 

The claims here have the authenticity of the comet ping pong claims.. they strung together a ton of "information" and "connections" too, and it was just as factual in the end. 

 

Hence why I rely on "proof" rather than arbitrary "connections". All this stuff you cited is meaningless to the assertions made in the title.

Edited June 11, 2017 by IAMX

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

Just now, IAMX said:

Yes the article speaks for itself.. zero proof.

 

The claims here have the authenticity of the comet ping pong claims.. they strung together a ton of "information" too, and it was just as factual in the end. 

 

Hence why I rel y on "proof" rather than arbitrary "connections". All this stuff you cited is meaningless to the assertions made in the title.

 I have no idea where you are coming from, what is counterfactual in the article?   

[IAMX 3,055]

3 minutes ago, ccneat said:

 I have no idea where you are coming from, what is counterfactual in the article?   

The title is clearly non sequitur to the evidence presented. I'm not going to teach you how to critically think so I guess we'll leave you thinking this is what constitutes proof. Pretty comical though to say the least.

Edited June 11, 2017 by IAMX