Info Bots.

I read a few years ago that one of Putin’s main advisors was a performance artist who specialised in confusion. He would do one thing then the opposite so you wouldn’t know what he’d do next. Evidence suggests Putin initially took this on board as part of his policy making. More recently it looks like he’s taken it a stage further. With the advent of multiple social media platforms confusion could be sewn directly in the minds of the west.  Bots' are automated software that send out social media messages that spawn extreme conflicting opinions. Initially false accounts place extreme opinions about for example stray dogs. Some say stray dogs are vermin to be exterminated and others that they should be homed, loved and cherished. Once seeded real people accounts favouring either extreme view are re-tweeted many times over and swamp the conversation. For the undecided it appears people are taking these two extreme views about stray dogs. They ask themselves, ‘Where do I stand?’ and choose the one that appeals to them most and join one or other of the extremes. This strategy empties the middle ground in favour of the two opposing views. The Face Book algorithm that gives you ‘what you might like’ only reinforces each side’s views. The resulting conflict gridlocks any rational progress and the factions for and against Trump and Brexit become a 50/50 split between stubborn bigots. Recent elections and interviews with supporters on both sides prove the point. So whether you’re for or against stray dogs it’s the Bots and their handlers that have won.