I actually consider countering all the lies work.
"High-tech dirty tricks aided by Web laxity; Social media now a key data source" April 03, 2011|By Dan Eggen, Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Although much of K Street spends its time plying the halls of Congress on behalf of well-heeled clients, there is a growing dark side to Washington’s lobbying and public-relations industry: figuring out new ways to undermine and sabotage opponents.
This little-discussed aspect of the influence business came into view in recent weeks with the release of thousands of hacked corporate e-mails, which detail a pair of high-tech dirty-tricks campaigns aimed at supporters of WikiLeaks and foes of the US Chamber of Commerce.
The plans were pitched by three federal contractors to lawyers at Hunton & Williams, a top Washington law and lobbying firm that works for the chamber. Proposed tactics included creating fake personas online to fool chamber critics; planting false electronic documents to undermine the credibility of activists; and using powerful computer tools to “scrape’’ Facebook and other social media sites for personal information about chamber foes, according to the e-mails.
Related:
"Leaked emails from data security firm HBGary show the federal government is offering private intelligence companies contracts to create software to manage “fake people” on social media sites, possibly to manipulate public opinion or create the illusion of consensus on controversial issues."
Newspapers no longer getting it done, huh?
Opposition research and assorted dirty tricks have long been a staple of politics in this country, from a smear campaign — backed by Thomas Jefferson — against John Adams in the 1800 presidential race, to Richard Nixon’s notorious efforts to steal Democratic Party secrets in the 1970s.
But many now say the shadowy political intelligence business has become more sophisticated, as corporations, trade groups, and political parties increasingly turn to computer sleuths to monitor and, in some cases, harass, their detractors. The work almost always goes undetected, and has been made easier with the rise of computer networks and social media sites with relatively lax safeguards....
Government must to be too busy spying on you and creating fake personas to muddy up the issues!
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Can you really ever trust this government again?
