| Revision as of 17:49, 13 September 2009 editNanobear~enwiki (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled12,272 edits →Controversy of the Tygodnik Powszechny: per laudak's argumentation on the talk page. this is WP:SYNTH.← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:35, 15 September 2009 edit undoPiotrus (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Event coordinators, Extended confirmed users, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers286,447 edits no consensus to remove, and this is very obviously about Russian web brigadesNext edit → | ||
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| {{Quotation|Does the Team "G" prowl expanses of the RuNet? Quite probably. Moreover it's likely to prowl, why wouldn't it? But in exactly the same manner there's the Team "E" from the opposite camp, represented by the anonymous Independent Customers' Association that prowls, honestly fulfilling its agenda and entering released funds. But how are these "teams" related to real life?! Absolutely no way. Both of them are here at work while we, the ordinary inhabitants of the RuNet, live here.'' <ref name=golub/>}} | {{Quotation|Does the Team "G" prowl expanses of the RuNet? Quite probably. Moreover it's likely to prowl, why wouldn't it? But in exactly the same manner there's the Team "E" from the opposite camp, represented by the anonymous Independent Customers' Association that prowls, honestly fulfilling its agenda and entering released funds. But how are these "teams" related to real life?! Absolutely no way. Both of them are here at work while we, the ordinary inhabitants of the RuNet, live here.'' <ref name=golub/>}} | ||
| ==Controversy of the Tygodnik Powszechny== | |||
| In 2005 Russian website ] published a Russian translation of ]'s article "Let's talk sincerely about the Ukraine"<ref>Marian Kaluski, "Let's talk sincerely about the Ukraine", , </ref>, pretending it was an article of the Polish newspaper ], while actually the article was merely published at the forum of the newspaper<ref name="kaluski">, April 2005, (Russian translation)</ref>. | |||
| The event caused the uproar of the ]'s staff, who called it a "disinformation operation". The same day, the network of the newspaper allegedly stopped working owing to "a mass hacking attack". The newspaper accused Russian officials: | |||
| {{Quotation|According to Polish specialists in Russian affairs, it was a model example of “the network war”, so to say “an electronic assault” on our communication system, without which none of newspapers can work. Or perhaps it was only a warning – an actual assault would simply blast our whole network. | |||
| It could have been also performed to probe the timing of a response, as experts tell us. Then, the Russian secret service made a test on us, the first such one in Poland. “The network war” has been being successfully employed in the area of former USSR countries, where the Internet plays a crucial role as the only independent source of information, free of official authority’s control (the web played such role during revolutions in Georgia as well as the Ukraine, and now – in Byelorussia). | |||
| The same source claims that at least a dozen of active Russian agents work in Poland, also investigating Polish internet. Not only do they scrutinize polish websites (like those supporting Byelorussian opposition), but also perform such actions, as – for instance – contributing to internet forums on large portals (like Gazeta.pl, Onet.pl, WP.pl). Labelled as Polish Internet users, they incite anti-Semitic or anti-Ukrainian discussions or disavow articles published on the web. <ref name="Tygodnik"> , ], 13/2005</ref>}} | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 17:35, 15 September 2009
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Internet operations by Russian secret police. (Discuss) |
The web brigades (Template:Lang-ru ) are alleged online teams of commentators linked to Russian security services that participate in political blogs and Internet forums to promote disinformation and prevent free discussions of undesirable subjects. Allegations of the existence of web brigades were made in the article "The Virtual Eye of the Big Brother" written by Anna Polyanskaya and published on 30 April 2003.
An article "Conspiracy theory" published by Alexander Yusupovskiy on 25 April 2003 in Russian Journal criticized Polyanskaya's theory of web brigades as an attempt at creating myths by Russian liberal thinkers in a response to the massive "sobering up" of the Russian people. A point was made that the observed behaviour of forum participants may be explained without a theory of FSB-affiliated brigades.
It was mentioned in the 2007 sociological research of large groups in Russian society by the RIO-Center, the belief in the existence of web-brigades is widespread in RuNet. Authors say "it's difficult to say whether hypothesis of existence of web-brigades corresponds to reality", but acknowledge that users professing views and methods ascribed to members of web-brigades may be found at all opposition forums of RuNet.
The expression "red web-brigades" (Красные веб-бригады) used by Anna Polyanskaya as a title to her article is a pun with "Red Brigades".
Polyanskaya's article
This alleged phenomenon in RuNet was described in 2003 by journalist Anna Polyanskaya (a former assistant to assassinated Russian politician Galina Starovoitova), historian Andrey Krivov and political activist Ivan Lomako. They described organized and professional "brigades", composed of ideologically and methodologically identical personalities, who were working in practically every popular liberal and pro-democracy Internet forums and Internet newspapers of RuNet.
The activity of Internet teams appeared in 1999 and were organized by the Russian state security service, according to Polyanskaya. According to authors, about 70% of audience of Russian Internet were people of generally liberal views prior to 1998–1999, however sudden surge (about 60-80%) of "antidemocratic" posts suddenly occurred at many Russian forums in 2000.
Criticism
Alexander Yusupovskiy, head of the analytical department of the Federation Council of Russia (Russian Parliament) published in 2003 an article "Conspiracy theory" in Russian Journal with criticism of theory of web brigades.
Yusupovskiy's points included:
- He thought that officers of GRU or FSB have more topical problems than "comparing virtual penises" with liberals and emigrants.
- Commenting on the change of attitude of virtual masses in 1998-1999 authors evade any mention of the 1998 Russian financial collapse which "crowned liberal decade", preferring to blame "mysterious bad guys or Big Brother" for that change.
- Authors exclude from their interpretation of events all different hypotheses, such as internet activity of a group of some "skinheads", nazbols or simply unliberal students; or hackers able to get IP addresses of their opponents.
- Authors treat independence of public opinion in spirit of irreconcilable antagonism with positive image of Russia.
Team "G"
An article based upon the original Polyanskaya, Krivov, Lomko's article on web brigades and authored by the Independent Customers' Association was published in May 2008 at Expertiza.Ru website, the term web brigades replaced with the term Team "G".
Sergey Golubitsky, journalist of Russian IT-related magazine Computerra commented on the story in July 2008:
To tell the truth, I experienced the sense of paranoidal disturbance after getting informed of the results of Name of Russia vote and the report of the Independent Customers' Association. That feeling is familiar to everybody who upon having thumbed through the "Popular Medical Handbook" immediately unveils that one has the majority of uncurable diseases, symptomes of which precisely match your physical condition. So, judging by the "mainstream propaganda" points and the list of "major enemies", your old columnist must unambiguously be in service of FSB and join the well-matched ranks of the Team "G". But he doesn't — what's the trouble! And likewise, there are no members of the Team "G" among the vast majority of my friends — writers, artists, producers, journalists, medics (the very intelligentsia that we, as defined by the ICA, have to hate mortally — that is, to hate ourselves...), while they fully share my worldview.
The more, the worse is it. The "mainsteam propaganda" is abundant of the great amount of saddening discrepancies with my believes: so, feeling sincere nostalgia for the USSR and deep distaste (hatred is too strong a feeling for me) to human rights defenders, Yeltsin and the abovementioned list of "major enemies" at the level of names and last names, I'm absolutely indifferent to "independent journalists" (because I'm the one myself), as well as to all tribal definitions of the list — Chechens, Jews, Americans. What the complete nonsense?! Why on earth would I hate all Europeans?! Or to the contrary — love employers or line-crossers of KGB?! Or — love Putin with the modern Rossiyansky authorities?
Does the Team "G" prowl expanses of the RuNet? Quite probably. Moreover it's likely to prowl, why wouldn't it? But in exactly the same manner there's the Team "E" from the opposite camp, represented by the anonymous Independent Customers' Association that prowls, honestly fulfilling its agenda and entering released funds. But how are these "teams" related to real life?! Absolutely no way. Both of them are here at work while we, the ordinary inhabitants of the RuNet, live here.
Controversy of the Tygodnik Powszechny
In 2005 Russian website Inosmi.Ru published a Russian translation of Marian Kaluski's article "Let's talk sincerely about the Ukraine", pretending it was an article of the Polish newspaper Tygodnik Powszechny, while actually the article was merely published at the forum of the newspaper.
The event caused the uproar of the Tygodnik Powszechny's staff, who called it a "disinformation operation". The same day, the network of the newspaper allegedly stopped working owing to "a mass hacking attack". The newspaper accused Russian officials:
According to Polish specialists in Russian affairs, it was a model example of “the network war”, so to say “an electronic assault” on our communication system, without which none of newspapers can work. Or perhaps it was only a warning – an actual assault would simply blast our whole network.
It could have been also performed to probe the timing of a response, as experts tell us. Then, the Russian secret service made a test on us, the first such one in Poland. “The network war” has been being successfully employed in the area of former USSR countries, where the Internet plays a crucial role as the only independent source of information, free of official authority’s control (the web played such role during revolutions in Georgia as well as the Ukraine, and now – in Byelorussia).
The same source claims that at least a dozen of active Russian agents work in Poland, also investigating Polish internet. Not only do they scrutinize polish websites (like those supporting Byelorussian opposition), but also perform such actions, as – for instance – contributing to internet forums on large portals (like Gazeta.pl, Onet.pl, WP.pl). Labelled as Polish Internet users, they incite anti-Semitic or anti-Ukrainian discussions or disavow articles published on the web.
See also
References
- ^ Virtual Eye of the Big Brother by Anna Polyanskaya, Andrei Krivov, and Ivan Lomko, Vestnik online, April 30, 2003
- ^ Conspiracy theory, by Alexander Yusupovskiy, Russian Journal, 25 April, 2003
- Template:Ru icon Big groups in Russian society: analysis of prospects of organization of collective actions., by RIO-Center.
- Template:Ru icon "They are killing Galina Starovoitova for the second time", by Anna Polyanskaya
- Template:Ru icon Eye for an eye by Grigory Svirsky and Vladimur Bagryansky, publication of the Russian Center for Extreme Journalism
- Team "G" (How to unveil agents of siloviks at popular forums in the Internet), May 25, 2008
- ^ Template:Ru icon Between Kitchen and Workshop, by Sergey Golubitsky, July 23, 2008, for Computerra magazine
- Marian Kaluski, "Let's talk sincerely about the Ukraine", (in Russian), (in Polish)
- Open letter by Marian Kaluski, April 2005, (Russian translation)
- Operation "Disinformation" - The Russian Foreign Office vs "Tygodnik Powszechny", Tygodnik Powszechny, 13/2005