Never mind why, just Like this post ASAP

Exercise your power and influence. ‘Like’ this post on every social media platform you can find. ReTweet this post until your Enter key breaks. And Share it often. That’ll show the world how cool and smart you are.

Advertisement

Also, to be perfectly honest, a lot of Likes and Shares, according to the algorithms of social media, will elevate the importance of this post and make HotAir even more important.

Apparently such motives were part of that lame Russian attempt to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election by harnessing and subverting the influence of social media.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating all this Russian business. As one result, the Justice Department indicted 13 Russian organizations and individuals the other day for trying to spread deep political, social and racial divisions in American society.

The Russian efforts reportedly cost around $1 million a month from 2015 through the 2016 election. However, they went largely unnoticed by most Americans because — News Flash! — as reflected on social media U.S. society already has deep political, social and racial divisions that play out through mean and false messages. So what are thousands more toxic tweets, Shares of fake news or false rumors? C’mon in, the water’s filthy.

Have you Liked this post yet?

You’ve heard of show trials where dictators put some poor opponent on trial for alleged offenses, although the verdict was determined before the judges first sat down. Well, these new Justice Department charges are show indictments. That’s because none of those indicted are within reach of U.S. authorities. So, there will be no real trials.

Also, perhaps you noticed the indictments, which got D.C. media excited for an entire afternoon, came on a Friday, not prime time in Washington.

Advertisement

Friday is when government releases news it would like you to miss because you have a life that doesn’t involve government. No one knows for sure outside Mueller’s team (or they’re not supposed to anyway), but if these charges are indicative of the cases he’s got after all this time, as Hyman Roth said so dismissively, it’s “small potatoes.”

The indictments also note there was no knowing collusion by any Americans. That’s the part President Trump Liked.

Still, the news incited the chatterati class. Noted rich person Mark Cuban used social media to opine:

The quickest way to reduce the impact of bots and trolls is to remove the number of likes and retweets shown on Twitter posts and likes on FB. They are easily gamed by bots, but are seen as indications of authority.

Ignore him. You noticed the Share boxes atop this post, right?.

Holly Schroth, a business school lecturer who specializes in the social psychology of interactions, added:

Twitter and FB likes give the trolls/bots the ‘illusion’ of authority and normative social influence pressures increase conformity of opinion by users.

You’ll want to belong to this elite group of readers. So, don’t forget the Like thing now.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement