Rent a Trolls!!! They've Got F&^%ing Rent a Trolls?

[kpete]

Rent a Trolls!!! They've Got F&^%ing Rent a Trolls?
by LunkHead
Tue Jul 17, 2007 at 07:07:24 AM PDT

For this campaign season, it looks like someone is offering the services of trolls and sock puppets for hire.


I have wondered about this, kpete



much more including clients at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/17/9137/01266

[Buzz Clik]

1. snark.

I find this amusing.

[bryant69]

2. Who can forget the DU Wolverines

Why would they pay people when some are willing to do it for free.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[yardwork]

3. I've seen this going on for years, not just on DU

In fact, DU's moderators do a superb job of keeping most of these guys off our boards. I've seen professional trolls literally take over other boards.

[opihimoimoi]

10. Thye DNC had a Board in early 01...it got killed after only a few months...

[ProfessorGAC]

21. David Brock Admitted This In "Blinded By The Right"

You're right. It's been going on for years.
The Professor

[Cerridwen]

4. Coming to you out of Falls Church, VA - see partial Whois info

Admin Name:Alan L Locke
Admin Organization:WINNING CAMPAIGNS Magazine
Admin Street1:217 S Virginia Ave.
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Falls Church
Admin State/Province:Virginia
Admin Postal Code:22046
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone: [phone]
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX: [phone]
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:[e-mail]



Not that I'm the least surprised. I'm surprised he's being so blatant about what many have suspected for years.

edit for wayward smilies

edit again to add info from "About Us" page at winningcampaigns.org

Alan Locke
221 South Virginia Ave
Falls Church, Virginia 22046
United States

Phone Number: 703-534-5645
Fax Number: 703-534-1008
E-Mail: [e-mail]

[Senator]

59. A Bit of "Who Is" from the Whois -- A William (CIA) Colby Crony

From the now-defunct winningcampaigns.org website:

ALAN L. LOCKE
Publisher
Alan L. Locke is publisher of WINNING CAMPAIGNS, the largest direct circulation monthly magazine serving the political world. He is also a principal of EJM Consulting, a full service political consulting firm specializing in political training and campaign management with offices in Washington, DC and Falls Church, VA.

He was Vice President of Operations and Consultant/Director of Political Training at Campaigns & Elections magazine in Washington, DC for eight years. Mr. Locke has also been publisher of Business Magazine, a chain of business-related magazines with circulation in excess of 100,000 in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

He was associated with the late Ambassador William Colby, former director of Central Intelligence for the United States. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the National Leadership Forum on Global Affairs.

He has been involved in a number of political campaigns on national and local levels including presidential, gubernatorial and down ballot. His clients have included Campaigns & Elections magazine, the National Leadership Forum on Global Affairs, Congressional Quarterly, Inc., KCI Publishing, Inc., the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, the United States Naval Reserve and the United States Coast Guard.

He is a national speaker on Media Relations/Crisis Management and Political Campaigning and Management Techniques. He has been called upon as an analyst of the American political scene and on foreign affairs for international political, business and academic leaders. He has served as a television guest commentator on political matters for a national financial newsletter.

Mr. Locke has been an editor and columnist for several newspapers and has also served as Director of Public Affairs for The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Management and Marketing Techniques, Media Relations and Public Relations at Boston University, Boston, MA; Trinity College, Washington, DC; Suffolk University School of Management, Boston, MA; The Washington (DC) Center and Northern Virginia Community College. He is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in Public Relations.

He also recently wrote a letter for some GOP mayoral candidate.

---

[seafan]

5. They're called "BlogWaterUSA". You heard it here first, lol!

Rent a Trolls

[Nikki Stone1]

20. Rimshot!

:D

[DesertRat]

6. I find their client list puzzling

Girl Scouts, American Cancer Society, Florida Hospice? They need "professional blog warriors?"

[blondeatlast]

8. No kidding! :"Florida Hospice"?

All I can figure is that they put them to use for fund drives--otherwise... :wtf:

[peacebaby3]

38. Maybe they need them because of the Terri Schiavo attacks.

If they were involved at all or just by association with the drama over the Schiavo incident they were probably being attacked themselves.

The Girl Scouts have been attacked by the fundies because they had some little link to a group that is pro-girl, pro-choice.

I'm just guessing.

[blondeatlast]

49. Ah--hadn't thought of that. Makes sense indeed. Thanks. nt

[Occulus]

9. Isn't that interesting

I think this is something for the research forum. Deserves a Kos diary, too. edit: I didn't see it already has one! Oops!

I'd be amused if I weren't alarmed.

edit #2: isn't this as much as an admission that this organization will commit a broad denial of service attack against the designated blog?

[WilliamPitt]

17. The mayhem of online Group Dynamics isn't restricted to political sites.

And hey, folks on the sites you list vote, too.

Astroturf grows best in the back yard.

[yardwork]

31. I saw it first on true-crime boards.

Defense attorneys started using professional bloggers to influence public opinion very early on.

[mopinko]

23. terry schiavo? nt

[nashville_brook]

36. biz is an off-shoot of Guetzloe's Orlando-based PR firm -- i BET these businesses have NO IDEA

what they've signed up for. he's prolly offered the services to his existing clients so that he can list them as a client base. his real market is RNC political campaigns.

here's what we should do is contact these businesses -- especially HARBOR BRANCH! -- and let them know how their PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM is soiling their image. RENT-A-TROLLING (ratting) is WORSE THAN SPAMMING. no business can afford to be associated with this sort of crap. if i were the marcomm person at any of these businesses, i'd be FURIOUS to learn that my organization is being used to market HIS political organization in such a way.

it's outrageous.

[EVDebs]

44. Tax write-offs perhaps ? How do you finance gov't ops underthetable ?

[Marrah_G]

7. This is why I will never be rich

Now why the hell couldn't I have thought of something like that dammit!

[havocmom]

27. meh, even if you thought of it, your ethics would probably get in your way

Ethics are the reason I'll never be rich. I thunked up a whole lotta stuff way before some creep actually implemented it all.

I figure somebody can take away anything you get, EXCEPT your good name. That you have to give away yourself. So, I will keep my ethics and live frugally ever after.

[Marrah_G]

33. True

damned ethics always getting in the way!!!

[19jet54]

11. It's about the money...

... it is always about the money - they could GAF about the subject matter! CIA wanna be's...

[EVDebs]

26. Army PsyOps guys in Ft Gordon gotta have sumthin' to do on free time nt

[19jet54]

30. Hey

I went to school there (Ft Gordon) too

"Signal Corps"

[EVDebs]

42. ... --- ...

And probably many NSA guys/gals also attended school in the SigInt end of things there. Too bad they're in the toxic mindset that eliminates any progressive urges and simply follows all bad orders to the letter.

Lotsa free thinkers there at the Fort ? I'll bet they're very TALON-ted people.

Domestic Military Intelligence Is Back
http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/cifa_domestic_military_intelligence_is_back.htm

If domestic ops are supporting the R party and not the D party, who's gonna break ranks ? The military is 2/3rds full of R's and most of the officer corp too. Umday itshays Upidstay astardbays.

[Alcibiades]

53. It's not quite 2/3rds

But I'm shocked at how bad it is today-from the december 2006 Military Times Poll:

1) How would you describe your political views?

Very conservative 8%
Conservative 37%
Moderate 37%
Liberal 7%
Very liberal 2%
Decline to answer 9%
2) In politics today, do you consider yourself a:

Democrat 16%
Republican 46%
Independent 22%
Libertarian 2%
Other 3%
Decline to answer 11%

[EVDebs]

60. That's not what a 2004 Military Times poll said, "About 2/3rds..."

Plus GOP was caging military's votes seemingly 'at will' according to Palast's research. And everyone knows about the Iraq views of those talking head ex-Gens the media puts up there during the runups to war (cheerleaders)

Guys who speak or spoke up got whacked in oh so many ways; I don't need to tell you this stuff now do I ?

Maybe you can tell me all about USMC Gen Smedley D. Butler and those guys in the '30's Bonus Army March on Washington DC. Who pulled what triggers on those guys ? Let's see, we got MacArthur, Eisenhower, Patton...America's Tienanmen Square.

Very conservative very destructive.

"About two-thirds of the active-duty U.S. military approve of President George W. Bush's overall performance, while the same percentage of officers consider themselves Republicans, according to an unprecedented poll released here Tuesday. "

Military More Republican, Conservative Than Public – Poll 2004
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2513919.php

also at

http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2003_side1.php

You see heads half empty, I see them 2/3rds empty.

[Alcibiades]

64. More empty than that, even

I was just going by party ID, the lopsidedness of which really shocked me.

[EVDebs]

61. 2006 Military Times Poll shows Question 11 support for Bush 52% still

http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2006poll_iraq.php

[Alcibiades]

65. It's been good business

If you don't get your balls blown off, some folks are getting six-figur reenlistment bonuses. For an E-5, that's real money.

[jmowreader]

66. That's not where SIGINT school is

All military SIGINTers come from either Fort Huachuca, AZ, Goodfellow AFB, TX, or Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL.

They USED to come from Fort Devens, MA, but that base is closed now.

[MagickMuffin]

12. Where do we sign up....?!?!?

After all if we can't beat 'em, then we should join 'em and bleed 'em dry.:rofl:

Sheesh their website is sooooooooooo slow. About like thier brain waves.

[treestar]

16. We should do the same thing to them

We would really be able to confuse their boards totally and even steal most of their followers.

[EVDebs]

43. V

[progressoid]

28. Yeah! I'd sign up but I bet they pay as slowly as their site runs.

[treestar]

13. They're usually so obvious

They can easily be refuted, too.

The RW thinks their talking points cannot be responded to. Which is really stupid. Every oone of their "arguments" has an obvious answer. They actually think we are too stupid to figure it out.

[redqueen]

62. It's projection...

they never seem to imagine that others aren't as stupid as they are.

It's funny... but more sad, really.

[baby_mouse]

14. Tee-hee!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

15. "Blog Warriors"

That's is too funny. A troll is a troll is a troll. Always has been and always will be.

I assume they're the irritating vermin you run into on the internet who only know their assigned talking points which they repeat ad infinitum. However, it always becomes obvious that they're little more than a paid advertisement w/o the added benefit of a disclaimer.

[Moochy]

63. Ye shall know them by their abandoned subthreads!

:-) When you have successfully demolished their republican talking points, Whoosh! they disappear to spread their deceit elsewhere.

[cboy4]

18. We promise to be nice to you if you come visit us.

boo-hahahahahaha

[gatorboy]

19. Heh!!

[robinlynne]

22. jesus!

[blondeatlast]

24. Here's the site (It's deadly slow to load???):

http://www.winningcampaigns.org/

[zabet]

25. It has been going on for a while...

the last forum I posted in before coming here (which by the way I love),
I swear the 20-some percenters had multiple accounts and the hate they
spew got very tiresome. No matter how many times you prove them wrong on
anything, their answer always comes around to...It was Clinton's fault!!!

[baby_mouse]

29. This is the most ridiculous business idea I've ever heard!

How can they POSSIBLY hope to measure their success rate?

OTOH, pretty good racket if you can get enough gullible Republicans to sign on.

[unpossibles]

32. The 82nd Chairborne finally has a way to Stand For Freedom

and all that jazz...

[formercia]

34. The domain is registered to Alan L. Locke

Alan L Locke

217 S Virginia Ave

Falls Church, VA 22046-4129

[phone]

There are two Alan lockes in Falls Church VA, one is 43, the other 69 and only one address listed.

Could it Be? 43 and living with mumsy and pop?

It figures...

[Dragonbreathp9d]

35. wow, so fuckin blatant about it

[tanyev]

37. It's disturbing how obsessed they are with military language and images.

I'll bet none these "warriors" have ever even seen the inside of a recruiting office, much less a battlefield.

[peacebaby3]

39. He has all of his personal info on the site. Name, address, phone number, e-mail,

and bio. I just glanced at it, but it looks like some sort of magazine he publishes.

Here's his bio:

ALAN L. LOCKE
Publisher
Alan L. Locke is publisher of WINNING CAMPAIGNS, the largest direct circulation monthly magazine serving the political world. He is also a principal of EJM Consulting, a full service political consulting firm specializing in political training and campaign management with offices in Washington, DC and Falls Church, VA.

He was Vice President of Operations and Consultant/Director of Political Training at Campaigns & Elections magazine in Washington, DC for eight years. Mr. Locke has also been publisher of Business Magazine, a chain of business-related magazines with circulation in excess of 100,000 in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

He was associated with the late Ambassador William Colby, former director of Central Intelligence for the United States. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the National Leadership Forum on Global Affairs.

He has been involved in a number of political campaigns on national and local levels including presidential, gubernatorial and down ballot. His clients have included Campaigns & Elections magazine, the National Leadership Forum on Global Affairs, Congressional Quarterly, Inc., KCI Publishing, Inc., the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, the United States Naval Reserve and the United States Coast Guard.

He is a national speaker on Media Relations/Crisis Management and Political Campaigning and Management Techniques. He has been called upon as an analyst of the American political scene and on foreign affairs for international political, business and academic leaders. He has served as a television guest commentator on political matters for a national financial newsletter.

Mr. Locke has been an editor and columnist for several newspapers and has also served as Director of Public Affairs for The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Management and Marketing Techniques, Media Relations and Public Relations at Boston University, Boston, MA; Trinity College, Washington, DC; Suffolk University School of Management, Boston, MA; The Washington (DC) Center and Northern Virginia Community College. He is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in Public Relations.

[EVDebs]

45. A domestic PhoenixProgram "He was associated with the late Ambassador William Colby..."

[peacebaby3]

48. Yep, interesting.

Also, "served as Director of Public Affairs for The Association of Trial Lawyers of America."

BTW,

"While there is a lower class I am in it; while there is a criminal element I am of it; and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

One of the greatest quotes ever, especially for someone like me that does indigent, criminal defense work.

I love EV Debs!

[EVDebs]

51. Hollywood wouldn't dare make a movie of Deb's or Gen Smedley D. Butler's lives

The closest thing I've seen came from John Sayle's "Matewan". The Ludlow massacre would make a great movie too.

[tblue37]

40. Actually, we have known this for years. No doubt they will

increase the presence of hired trolls, but they have been around for a very long time.

[tblue37]

41. BTW, one of the things PR agents do is post messages on message boards

praising clients' products or linking to pages that sell or praise clients' products. This has been standard for quite a while. And after all, candidates are just "products" being sold to the electorate ("buyers").

[pitohui]

46. how do you get such a job?

it seems to me w. the financial desperation in this country tons and tons of people would be willing to be rent a trolls if they were actually paid

after all i'm fairly crusty as it is and all for free

the most i've ever been paid to post on a site was a free membership (on paid membership sites) and i couldn't go looking for this, it was offered by the site owners, besides, can only think of two sites post internet bust where i've received this, forget about getting paid for my breathless prose!

you hear rumors of people being paid to post but one never meets these people IRL

could be a way to get $$$ for the homebound person especially -- think of all the people pre internet bust who were making money out of their homes w. all the internet coupons and bonuses, i was picking up a couple hundred a month, but i met other ladies who were making much more, unfortunately it all went "poof" and none of it involved being paid to post, more like being paid just to click -- wow, those days seem far away now!


i was picking up some extra money playing online poker but then gov't came in and crushed that too :-(

[spoony]

47. There is little need for them

since their work is routinely done by people who assure us that everything bad on the site is caused by paid interlopers (Cindy/Nancy/Biden/Clinton/Nader lovers/haters, etc. etc. Take your pick). The circular firing squads which ensue are far worse than anything salaried provocateurs could ever do.

[althecat]

50. That is way too cool --- here's the image restored...

[GETPLANING]

52. America Online and Yahoo are infested with them

AOL political chat rooms have had professional trolls for years. Yahoo message boards are constantly spammed with conservative propaganda. They are without exeption all conservatives. The day after each election, they disappear by the hundreds, as their contracts are only for the period leading up to the election. They are very secretive about it, but I have gotten a few of them to talk about it. The AOL chat room trolls get paid hourly, the Yahoo message board trolls get paid one or two dollars for every post, and get paid a dollar for every reply.

[kineneb]

54. mental image of small people living under bridges...

being rented out...

maybe I need more sleep??

Rent a Lawn Troll, anyone?

[Swamp Rat]

55. k&r

[entanglement]

56. Trolls for hire? What is the hourly rate for an experienced troll? What are the benefits?

:crazy:

[KelleyKramer]

57. Well, yeah of course ...

There will always be idiots who are willing to sell their soul

When screwing yourself, and all your friends and family..

It feels a little better when you get paid for it.

There is still the big black hole in your chest that money cannot get rid of.

That is the curse that they chose to screw their family and friends.

Got change for a fifty??

[flyarm]

58. go on AOL message boards you will see plenty of it! they have regualar shifts!!

they used to get 6 cents a post!! the good ones got 9 cents a post!

and then some got screwed and didn't get all their money and posted what was going on..they were pissed..

the rnc was using them big time in the run up to the war...

and some are still going strong!!

they are rent a whores for this administration!..and most posters who have posted for years on the AOL message boards are well aware of them.

fly

[blogslut]

67. I see it all the time in my business

Of course, the whole thing is a bit more out in the open. Companies pay people to post on message boards targeted at the professionals in my field. Most have cut out the whole pay-per-post crap though. The trolls are very easy to recognize and one adult webmaster even made a joke page, categorizing the different troll 'personalities':

http://rentatroll.com/