You can usually tell the posts that get brigaded when the top comment or two will have far more upvotes than the rest of the comments in the thread. A lot of times there's also a circle-jerk'y chain of comments under the first one that looks like something out of /r/funny, complete with shitty puns and jokes and with everyone agreeing with the top comment.

It's seemingly gotten a lot worse over the last 6 months or so too. And I don't think it can all be explained away simply by "useful idiots".

Good points. I am also sure that the useful idiots are just a small part of the equation.

Yes and no,

Some thought crime enforcement communities are really well developed and have a cult like following of useful idiots. So much so that as long as they are managed and directed appropriately the majority of the leg work is carried out by the cult.

Others are less developed and probably require much more hands on guidance to ensure that the focus doesn't stray.

Which is /r/conspiratard?

Not as developed as SRD and SRS but more developed than stalkerwatch or isrconspiracyracist

Some thought crime enforcement communities are really well developed and have a cult like following of useful idiots

It's interesting that you say this. It could easily apply to this subreddit, any of the racist subreddits, etc. It isn't just "them." People in general tend to seek out like minded people, then follow the lead. It's just most of those same people (including you) tend to only see it in "them" and not themselves.

That is a truly fascinating point of view and I would agree with you if the modus operandi here was to find people elsewhere on reddit who aren't thinking enough like us, then invade their space and troll the ever living shot out of them.

It's to counteract anyone realising r/conspiracy has been right a lot. A few years ago, we were called nuts for saying the U.S. was torturing, spying on civilians, drug running and destabilising nations. Now, everyone knows they are true.

Yet no apology, no recognition that while some stories here were wrong, a serious number were not just right but too conservative in the horrors they foretold.

I don't think that it's as much as they don't want us to be right but they don't want to be wrong.

I would say there are 3 outcomes to this scenario:

1. they knew it all along and were playing for the system independently

2. they work for the system

3. they were wrong and it's some ego thing and admitting wrong is hurtful to their psyche

But what it amounts to is that anyone not willing to consider that the authoritative figures in this country are not actually looking out for the best interests of their constituency, and could indeed be involved in a coverup, cooperation of malfeasance, illegal financial gain, or any other nefarious actions with others (guilty of conspiring), are living a complete and utter lie.

wait, you think /r/conspiracy were the first people to post about the NSA or Echelon?

No, I said no such thing

oh, then what was /r/conspiracy right about

This sub is a place for sceptics and crazies. We have people posting stories that range from believing the moon is hollow and 'the Jews did it' to others highlighting abuse at Guantanamo and police violence. That's a fair range of issues and some are bound to be more evidence based than others.

I'm starting to think that there is no need for the government to pay shills, they just brainwash them with TV and corporate news from infanthood and these dummies do it on their own time.

If you can't understand why that post would be on this sub then you probably don't understand a lot...

There is actually a term for people like this "useful idiots".

The government shills are just there to keep throwing fuel on the fire. Reddit is like a damn breeding ground.

Yep. Lately I've been dismayed at how much glee these people seem to take in shooting other people's opinions and ideas down.

It's like the idea of having an open mind is completely dead. It's like they are scared of even entertaining these ideas, they have such a strong emotional reaction despite there being no vested interest at all. The interest comes from their perception of needing to fit in with the rest of the herd. It's sad.

I saw a great post about this earlier. Here it is:

They have a 'adulthood wist' complex, where being condescending and arrogant to us "silly children" reinforces their personal concept they might actually come across as a "mature adult".

My guess is that most of them are late-teen early 20s with a strong desire to prove to themselves and the world that they really are adults who must be taken seriously.

It seems to manifest in many people in many ways. Strident atheism comes to mind. /r/conspiracy, as with Christians, are a soft target because it's a fairly safe bet that there's enough people around to join in their derisive circlejerks.

It's incredibly pathetic, especially as someone slightly older who used to be a little bit that way at the same age, deluded essentially into thinking that the rapid spurt of intelligence and self-awareness that particularly guys experience in late adolescence has, in fact, enlightened them.

Thankfully, I quickly grew out of it once I realised I didn't know shit. These guys aren't so lucky.

Yep, there really is a profile for these types on reddit and they almost always match it when I check their user history.

Late teen early 20's looking to fit in in any community they can, get a feeling of power by shitting on other people's opinions. What's an easier target for them than conspiracy? They see our ideas made fun of every day in the media and by celebrities. What easier band wagon to jump on?

have such a strong emotional reaction

Isn't that the idea though? If a population were to be rational, then they would examine the lies and insist on transparency.

If a population is emotional and irrational, then you can drive them through fear.

Maybe you blow up a building and blame it on terrorists.

Maybe every movie you make has good guys in military uniforms and bad guys wearing traditional muslim clothing.

Maybe you put up the shittiest woman candidate you can find in one election so that, in the next, your candidate looks competent.

Maybe you put things out there like "If you don't vote for Obama, then you're racist."

Maybe you radicalize a couple guys in Australia to distract from your agenda.

These are all things that we do not know the truth about and there is no verifiable facts that prove these things to be one way or another. Yet, in the brainwashed and molded minds of most of the population, there is only one possibility: Why would the government lie to me? We are the good guys!

Nobody likes to admit they were a sucker. I used to be one of them.

Right. They're "TV trained".

Why rely on TV and corporate news when the people here create a good enough caricature of conspiracy theorists to make any reasonable person laugh in your face? No discretion is used when labeling the latest events as false flag operations or calling out playful posts as veiled attempts by our government to brainwash us into complacency. There's a reason that this community is looked at as a joke and it isn't the government's doing, it's the result of how desperate people are to apply some bullshit explanation to every possible thing under the sun. Everything is a conspiracy and everyone is a shill (keep beating that one into the ground, it really strengthens all of your arguments). There is so much nonsense here that the sub is turning into a zoo to house lunatics while everybody else stops by to see how the crazy people live and to be thankful that they get to leave and not suffer from such extreme paranoia.

For someone with a 6 month old account you sure have a poor grasp of how Reddit works.

I think the real problem is the average reddit user who comes here is completely unable to decide for themselves and decipher the difference between people who post stupid shit and reach for anti-establishment explanations and the good posts backed with facts and dates and names and connections.

There is a lot of good material in here and then there are the aliens/ghosts/crab people folks who come here with there stupid shit, either on purpose to discredit this place or because they are truly stupid.

The fact is, this is one of the last subs where you can get real news, real opinions and people are allowed to say what they want. /r/conspiracy is a joke because the reddit community is filled with special interest groups, liars and fools who have their comfort zone and this place doesn't fit in that zone.

Posted this

It would be great if we could stop voting jokes comments up to the top of comment sections as well

on a 11 hour post with 81 comments and I get downvoted within and hour........

This place ebbs anf flows between good anf bad. It has been 'bad' for way too long now

One very telling sign of a brigade is when you get multiple new comments in a row of people shitting on the thread.

That usually means that on some obscure subreddit, the thread has been linked and random users are using it to flood in and mock our subreddit.

Hitting anywhere on the first few pages of /r/all causes this too though, the amount of commenters saying 'I forgot I was browsing all' when shitting on threads happens is noticeable and must account for a moderate amount of this. I sort of wish they'd taken us off /all as well as the frontpage as it would limit this, but then there's the people who might just think 'wow, I didn't know that' and look into things as a consequence.

I thought this sub is already off /r/all ?

From what I can tell we can reach r/all just not the first page of the reddit "front page".

This is correct.

No, the shitposts are still allowed, the good posts seem to not make it. Not even joking.

Usually the most upvoted submission makes it to /r/all but it seems that /r/conspiracy has less submissions show up on the front page than other subreddits.

There is a lot of astroturfing on reddit. The people behind it don't like it when their propaganda psyops are debunked in subreddits like this. Look at the names of the people arguing with you. How often have these people come into r/conspiracy and commented before. Most of these names are completely unfamiliar to me.

Disable votes

This might not be such a bad idea actually.

Yeah, I just noticed that the good comments are being downvoted, we are like the playroom of these sock puppets.

This is r/conspiracy you really shouldn't be too surprised by this.

The #1 link on vanilla reddet.com right now = This connection is untrusted.

Is is possible for you to quote the comment you referred to within a new comment? Is the connection untrusted page a way to censor the comment?

frankly i dont count the votes all to much, plus in a way all the good stuff getting downvoted keeps it out of the eyes of those we don't want the attention from

maybe we should make up our own code and cryptic word signs to know which topics to keep an eye out for regardless of its vote count?

It's pretty obvious to see who is an outsider of this subreddit. The word choice and tone make it clear.

Yep. That is a classic thread hijack.

Yes, there is a large amount of strange pro-statist activity happening. It's almost like there's a pro-government agency specifically used to effect online conversation... cough, cough JTRIG cough, cough

Nothing we can do but call them like we see them.

What is this divide and conquer?

No, valid observation.

What is the conspiratorial element of this post?

And are these the comments you have a problem with?

God-for-fucking-bid someone have a sense of humor and make it relevant to the season and what's in the news. I laughed, and now I'm moving on.

this is /r/conspiracy you really shouldn't be too surprised by this

.

And people wonder why the content here is getting worse and worse. Because the people posting real content are getting chased away by this kind of treatment.

So is this real content then?

I'm just failing to see the conspiracy for the original post in question, the one that was posted in /r/funny?

Sorry if I am sounding like a blithering idiot here, I need some clarification is all!

The observation is that bad-publicity reddit posts about CIA torture are deleted and good-publicity reddit posts about CIA torture are allowed to thrive on the front page.

That speaks volumes about the narrative that this website is obsessed with having control over. And since it is all being done under the illusion of "democratic voting", then it creates something called "social proof".

So whether people see the severity of this or not, millions of people are literally being brainwashed by this controlled narrative. And that is disturbing to those of actually paying attention and watching this happen in front of our eyes.

So we are damn sure going to speak up about each incident, because some people will also then notice the larger pattern that we notice.

The observation is that bad-publicity reddit posts about CIA torture are deleted and good-publicity reddit posts about CIA torture are allowed to thrive on the front page.

But that's not true. There were plenty of torture-related posts with high scores and visibility over the days when the report was released. What would be the point in taking down only a few?

If that's the starting point of the theory it's incredibly flawed.

Yes, there were initial reports because when it hit the mainstream media, people were probably flooding the website about it, just like when Ferguson was big news and that flooded the website.

But the people who run reddit do not want this info to become a "trend". So they are doing their best to keep it isolated to that original release.

They want people to move on and forget about it. Or to forget about the severity, or specific details, etc...

Even a brief swing through /r/news /r/politics /r/worldnews and /r/inthenews shows that this story is alive and well.

Unfortunately, most people on this website just click for the front page. This site is like the #1 internet newspaper and people just grab it and skim what is right in front of them.

Ok right now the front page of /r/all has these two

• The media treats Dick Cheney like the royals on vacation. He should be in jail

• Dick Cheney Defends Torture of Innocents

Sign out of your account and then type in reddit.com to see what 90% of the people see. I have recently heard this page called "vanilla reddit".

Fair point on reddit.com.

Just to come back to something from before

But the people who run reddit do not want this info to become a "trend". So they are doing their best to keep it isolated to that original release.

That's how news works. A long-awaited and prepared report is never going to be a trend, as you call it. We had solid weeks of coverage on the Snowden/NSA stuff because in detail and scope it was quite surprising. Absolutely none of the torture news was very surprising at all. It was never going to be a long-running story with continuous updates.

Look at what the situation was before the report. Obama had signed actions banning the practices, he'd done this years ago. Also the idea that anyone would be prosecuted was also long dead. All the moral arguments vis-a-vis torture were had long ago in the Bush years. We knew from first-hand accounts the kind of stuff that goes on. There was never gong to be a bombshell.

I admit the rectal feeding was a new one but overall this news story was always going to be a one-stop affair. That it hasn't taken over all of reddit isn't evidence of an admin/mod conspiracy, it's just the way a story that has become part of the public consciousness for years already looks like.

I just don't see anything like you're alleging.

You are obviously an informed person, unfortunately most us (me included) are from America where we can literally see the stupidest people on the planet around us all day.

For most of my country, this is all brand new. And as reddit is a majority US site, it is not surprising that they are trying to do damage control. The idea that a hidden hand is doing damage control on this website is disturbing.

You are obviously an informed person, unfortunately most us (me included) are from America where we can literally see the stupidest people on the planet around us all day.

I think you're doing the country a disservice. Allow me to assure you that stupid people are indeed everywhere. Also I've spent many years of my life stateside and I think you're selling them short. Then again it's your country so you probably know better.

For most of my country, this is all brand new.

How can it be, though? We've had Abu Ghraib, Bagram airbase, presidential debates, sheets of TV and newspaper coverage, Zero Dark Thirty, the constant debate on Guantánamo, etc etc. Say "waterboarding" to someone and they know exactly what you're talking about and who it's being done to.

And as reddit is a majority US site, it is not surprising that they are trying to do damage control.

This wouldn't be the most surprising thing in the world, no, I just don't see it happening here and now

The idea that a hidden hand is doing damage control on this website is disturbing.

It's a disturbing idea, yes. Where we probably disagree is whether it's a disturbing fact

I don't think that Americans are inherently more prone to be stupid than anywhere else on the planet. But I do believe that there is a conspiracy (big surprise) within the country's leadership to make the people ignorant. So I guess ignorant is a better word than stupid.

Also, if I was a dick in the past Tchocky, I'm sorry about that. Sometimes it takes a moment to realize someone's intentions. And I was wrong about you having bad intentions for the sub. You are just a guy who also has strong opinions and many of them happen to clash with mine. But that is healthy, to have people like you around.

So keep doing you brother.

Also, if I was a dick in the past Tchocky, I'm sorry about that. Sometimes it takes a moment to realize someone's intentions. And I was wrong about you having bad intentions for the sub.

Apology accepted, don't worry about it. Sorry if I was brusque or dismissive. I get a lot worse from /r/conspiracy posters than I do from you.

I just don't know where you were getting it from as I've been saying the same thing all along.

Then again it's impossible to read one's own comments from anothers perspective so why try.

I don't think that Americans are inherently more prone to be stupid than anywhere else on the planet. But I do believe that there is a conspiracy (big surprise) within the country's leadership to make the people ignorant. So I guess ignorant is a better word than stupid.

Ignorant people are a lot easier to organise. I'm just not sure that it applies here. So it goes.

Be well.

The US government and shadow-government (intelligence community) puts far more time and effort into manipulating public perception/opinion via the internet and television than is publicly acknowledged. See the sidebar of /r/MilitaryConspiracy for more information about this behavior.

Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Authorization_Act_for_Fiscal_Year_2013#Smith-Mundt_Modernization_Act_of_2012

The bill purpose is "to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and material about the United States intended primarily for foreign audiences"

Bro, I swear this had better be the last time I have to explain this.

Smith-Mundt does not nor, nor has it ever, had ANY powers regarding propaganda as it relates to the US Federal Government.

The Department of State and the Department of Defense are not subject to anything in the Smith-Mundt act, and never have been or will be, and they have been disseminating domestic propaganda since the thirties.

The Modernization act just makes it easier for citizens to obtain previously broadcasted materials for archival purposes.

Isn't that how all of this is supposed to work? Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't people encouraged to upvote comments they find helpful/intriguing and downvote ignorant trolls? Have you ever thought that maybe the comment with the most upvotes got that way because a majority of the people in the thread/sub found it helpful/intriguing?

Have you ever thought that maybe the comment with the most upvotes got that way because a majority of the people in the thread/sub found it helpful/intriguing?

Of course, but believing that at the same time when other evidence points to a downvote brigade is just naive.

people with hidden agendas hire upvote and downvote brigaders, the same as they hire armies, media, etc.

the average person does none of this. their vote counts for 1.

Is there any actual evidence that a downvote brigade occured instead of just the general voting pattern of "This is helpful" vs. "this is a troll"?

• Conspiratard cross-links

• Drastic vote swings from postives to negatives and negatives to positives, all that happened very quickly

• A string of commenters making jokes one after the other

Yeah, I would say there is some evidence, in my opinion.

Conspiratard cross-links

Could be construed as a coincidence.

Drastic vote swings from postives to negatives and negatives to positives, all that happened very quickly

Could be a result of the thread receiving more visitors and thus a larger portion of the sub's population see's the thread and votes on it as they see fit.

A string of commenters making jokes one after the other

So downvote them if you don't think they're adding to the discussion. But this point has nothing to do with vote brigading only that people want to share their thoughts.

I wouldn't consider any points you just brought up as evidence. Merely observations.

One mans observations are evidence enough to him when those observations prove to be consistently right over time, but not all the time of course.

A masterclass in coordinated distraction tactics.

Why can't it be people saying what they think?

Why does everything have to be a coordinated attack?

Well, lets see, because people tend to analyze things based on patterns.

Take your account for example, I see a pattern emerge of a user who goes into every thread to argue against it. Almost as if you are going out of your way to disagree just because it was posted by someone in this subreddit.

I don't hang out in r/piano and enter 100's of threads to tell people that they chose a shitty instrument and should play guitar instead.

I see other people arguing a lot in this subreddit, but I also see them contributing a lot. And so I don't draw any judgements about those accounts, because I don't want this place to be an echo-chamber and dissent should be normal and encouraged.

But when somebody ONLY post dissent, day in and day out....

And its not like we are "crazy tin-foil hatters" for believing that this subreddit is personally targeted by government agencies. That has been PROVEN with hard facts already, despite the uninformed circlejerk that "hurr, nobody cares about you guys".

Take your account for example, I see a pattern emerge of a user who goes into every thread to argue against it.

Ah here you're embarrassing yourself.

Every thread? Houston we have a fucking exaggeration. I've no interest in vaccine/GMO/9-11/Police/FederalReserve/SandyHook stuff so I'm not posting there. Might read a bit but not bothered posting.

I post when I feel like. For some reason this is noteworthy to you. Whereas chaps like /u/Indra-Varuna post horrendous amounts of racist bigoted bullshit and nobody ever asks "why are you here anyway?"

Almost as if you are going out of your way to disagree just because it was posted by someone in this subreddit.

This is a small community that very often has people asking for information. I think it's disgraceful the amount ofrubbish that gets posted in response, so if I see something that's garbage or racist or whatever, I'll most likely comment.

I don't hang out in r/piano and enter 100's of threads to tell people that they chose a shitty instrument and should play guitar instead.

Good for you. I don't tell people what to believe or what to think. If a user has a problem with something I post then that's what the reply button is for. /u/jamescolespardon is a good example - we disagree almost all the time but maintain respect.

Unfortunately most of the time it's stuff like this or this

You've got a bit of a problem with that yourself

But when somebody ONLY post dissent, day in and day out....

I'm going to need a working definition of what you consider "dissent" in a sub that claims to be for "free-thinkers"

Factual information isn't dissent. A reasonable argument isn't dissent. Calling out blatant racists isn't dissent.

Look at the last couple of threads we've interacted on.

I took issue with your wording on a title, saying it was hyperbolic and doing the sub a disservice. Apparently that's dissent.

Corrected a user claiming something fishy was going on with Bundesbank gold transfers. Dissent, it seems.

Tried to explain to you how an aircraft investigation actually works in the real world. Dissent!

Explained airspace structure and how newspaper wording didn't actually change anything. DISSENT!

And its not like we are "crazy tin-foil hatters" for believing that this subreddit is personally targeted by government agencies.

No, you're not insane for thinking that. What you are is lazy for believing straight away that that is what's happening.

Can you point the way to a real conspiracy site, one that is forum based and is fair, with balanced view points and correctly moderated.

Not that I know of, but you're asking the wrong person. This subject tends to attract the racist and deranged, and there's lots of those, so you get a lot of unwanted spamming.

There's plenty of good content here, you just have to be patient and not let the shite depress you.

I'm shocked.....Why thank you, your reply was not what I was expecting, your take on this subject matter was more along the lines how I feel it should be approached, be careful and use discretion, because it is like walking in a minefield, waiting for you to make the wrong step.

What were you expecting?

Don't think there's anything particularly shocking about what I wrote. It's like any other controversial subject - be careful and respectful where it's due.

Everybody sees the same pattern with you.

Propaganda is a art. You use crayons.

Propaganda is a[n] art. You use crayons.

There you go.

I honestly can't believe you fell for that.

I get tired shilling for Big Grammar all day.

Well said.

I see Tchocky as the yin to my yang, baby. He keeps me honest, and forces me to back up my points with sources more than I like, as sometimes I forget how much research the average lurker does here compared to myself and some others, and I sometimes forget that most people don't spend their free time reading legislation from 1871. I'm a strange cat and enjoy that stuff.

Why would this comment be downvoted?

Do you mean mine or Tchocky's?

Yours. I don't see why you'd be at -1 unless somebody downvoted you because you, in a sense, are standing up for /u/Tchocky.

Meh, probably. It's obvious I think that he's got a brigade going now (-7 and counting).

I feel users like him are necessary (to an extent), because without them I could totally see this place devolving into a Alex Jones/David Icke/reptillian circlejerk.

Oh well. The hive mind do what the hive mind does.

Meh, probably. It's obvious I think that he's got a brigade going now (-7 and counting).

If it's brigading then it's permanent. I'm almost always underwater. Ah well.

Yeah. These aren't the droids you and I are looking for I guess.

Cheers.

I'd hate to think I'm forcing you to do anything but I think I see what you mean.

I'm not sure what /u/putin_hates_cats' problem is, but if it goes anything like our previous interactions I'm not expecting much of a response.

Not forcing, but you are making me work harder to better convey my information and my worldview (which of course, I think is important).

I've recently adopted this attitude in other threads and have been called a troll/shill for asking for sources and then just pointing out that they should do that anyway (you could say I am Tchockying them). So I empathize with ya.

Who knows what's going on with putin. Dude hates cats. I think.

I've recently adopted this attitude in other threads and have been called a troll/shill for asking for sources and then just pointing out that they should do that anyway (you could say I am Tchockying them). So I empathize with ya.

Welcome to the party man. Got my very first PM threat today - "Come around my town and I'll be exercising my 2nd amendment right fucker.". Made me smile.

Who knows what's going on with putin. Dude hates cats. I think.

He's grand. I was unnecessarily harsh in tone here. Had a chat further up the thread.

You're a shill because OP said so, OP even has other users that agree with him! /r/circlejerk

"Hurr durr, when I don't understand something that is complex, I have to dumb it down for myself and everyone else".

Are you implying that shills are a complex subject?

Absolutely!

I get tired shilling for Big Grammar all day.

No, I said no such thing