(Newswire.net — November 26, 2016) — We live in a digital era, and every era has its wars. Amid the ongoing digital world war, the winners are the same as in any other wars – those with greater army and better tactics.
So, which country has a greater digital army?
North and South Korea
North Korea has thousands “Trolls and Shills”, these are Internet commentators, whose job it is to steer topics on social networks and spread propaganda online. Most web content is censored in the country which is led by Dictator Kim Jong-Un. However, the North Korean “digital soldiers” are very active.
It is estimated that North Korean commentators posted over 40.000 comments in 2012 alone. On average, that is one post per person every other day.
Given that North Korea is digitally behind its main opponent South Korea, its commentators are actually very skilled. Posting as S. Koreans, they attack the government, protect the opposition and launch hoaxes. Their favorite topics include is S. Korea advanced or paranoid? Their success is often followed by a clash of the opposition and the government.
Turkey
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan also understand the power behind social networks very well. He felt it after the opposition managed to organize mass protests using social networks, so he searched for ways to control it.
In 2013, the Turkish government hired over 6000 people to improve the government’s image by searching and replying from “a different angle” on comments against Erdogan. Favorite topics include the Kurds, Russians, Arabs and Israel.
Israel
Israel has had PR issues since its independence. Given the issues Israel has, it is not surprising that its government has a constant urge for improving its image. Israel’s military even has its own social network accounts, including Pinterest.
The state of Israel proclaimed its independence in 1948, and has had a dispute with neighboring Arab countries ever since. Although the war with Palestine is officially “on hold” the digital war is constant. The Israeli digital army explains on a daily basis over social networks why Israel has the right to do what it does. Favorite topics: Palestinian propaganda, “friendly” neighbor Israel, justification of the use of brutal force.
Ukraine
Since Ukraine’s NATO-backed opposition overthrew the pro-Russian government in the Maidan revolution in 2014, the new Ukrainian government is in constant need to justify its actions. The new government fuels an anti-Russian environment by accusing Russians of any atrocities they can come up with.
The extent of Ukraine’s digital army, employed by the government, is unknown, but there are more than 13.000 followers on its Twitter account. Over 90 percent of its digital propaganda is focused on justifying the actions of the government and blaming the Russians for all the bad that are happening in the world. Its website i-army.org is full of stories from the doping of Russian athletes to posting “evidence” of Russian involvement in any world crisis today.
Russia
Russian trolls on the other hand, have been famous since the beginning of this century. It is believed that there are entire companies that employ trolls to tackle anyone who dares to speak negatively about Putin’s government or the Russian president personally.
According to some not confirmed data, those companies employ several thousand of people who are obligated to post at least 50 comments on social networks per day.
After Finish journalist Jessikka Aro dared to write about them, social networks ignited with comments against her. Ironically, that only confirmed the work of Russian commentators.
China
One of the world’s superpowers with largest digital army is, of course, China. The existence of the Chinese “Wumao Dang” (The 50 Cent Army), is not a secret. The name comes from the 50 cent per comment (half a juan) that this group receives for their work. It has been noted that comments escalate after protests or after Chinese Communist party announcements.
If any issues against the Chinese government or the officials are raised on any social network, the Chinese digital army set to work diverting the topic, rather than engage in defending the stance, according to analysts.
The estimated number of Chinese involved in its digital army varies from 300.000 to 2 million people. The favorite topic: Why democracy isn’t functioning.
Western countries are one of the leading in digital activity, however, although in a developed society where being critical towards a government is allowed, trolls and shills are often used to cover the truth. Every Western country has developed its digital troops, but Britain and America went further.
Edward Snowden’s files lifted the veil of secrecy off the western digital army that operates in the US. and the U.K. British news source, The Guardian, reported the existence of an army unit for “non lethal warfare” called “Facebook Warriors” apart from the already existing small army of internet commentators in the U.K., paid by the government. Their job is to improve the image of the police, Mi5, banks, and various political structures, even by opening fictive social network group pages. Favorite topics: Sex, drugs and wars.
Wikileaks and Snowden files slammed Western democracy beyond reparation. They actually revealed that democracy is a manipulation tool for the masses. The NSA eavesdropping scandal in the U.S. was just the tip of the iceberg.
It is not known how many people the US government employs to comment on their behalf; however, the Democratic Party accused the Russian digital army in helping Trump win the elections, which would mean that U.S. commentators lost the most important online battle and let Trump change the Democrats domination of the White House.
The truth behind the magnitude of digital soldiers may never be revealed in full, however, the whole world is at digital war.