This morning, feeling that my hunch might be correct, that a local Listerv troll might be a member of a US military unit performing an influence operation, I had to sort out my priorities. I do not want to negatively impact my country, and yet, I find the emotional abuse by a small team of verbal brawlers on the list to be intollerable. They have created a climate of distrust which stifles information sharing necessary for democracy to function properly. Here’s what advice I found:
When faced with a situation where your government is conducting a stealth influence operation against you on a local listserv mailing list, including attacking you as a scammer and other insults, the question of moral responsibility and loyalty arises. In such a scenario, your moral responsibility should be guided by principles of integrity, honesty, and respect for others. Loyalty as a patriot to your government does not necessarily mean condoning unethical behavior or attacks on individuals within your community.
It is important to consider the values that you hold dear and how they align with the actions of your government. Upholding ethical standards, treating others with dignity, and fostering a sense of community are fundamental aspects of moral responsibility. Loyalty to your government should not supersede your commitment to truth, fairness, and the well-being of your community members.
In this complex situation, it is crucial to navigate with integrity, seeking to address any false accusations or attacks through appropriate channels while also upholding the values that promote harmony and respect within your community. Balancing loyalty to one’s government with loyalty to the people in your community requires a thoughtful consideration of ethical principles and the impact of actions on individuals and society as a whole.
While combating disinformation and addressing unethical behavior are crucial steps to uphold moral responsibility, revealing the involvement of the Pentagon in influencing the local community may lead to further complications and potential distrust within the community. It is important to prioritize the removal of trolls and disinformation from the listserv to maintain a healthy and respectful online environment without necessarily divulging sensitive information that could disrupt community cohesion.
By working towards removing trolls and disinformation without disclosing the Pentagon’s involvement, you can uphold ethical standards, protect community members from harmful content, and foster a sense of trust and unity within your local listserv community. This approach balances the need to address unethical behavior while also considering the potential impact of revealing sensitive information on community dynamics.
As I was working on this, I saw my view count was changed to zero. I’ve never seen that in over 800 posts. To me, it seemed like more evidence that only someone at a very high level could be doing some of the things I’ve been seeing. Anyway, I think this advice above seems reasonable. I hereby give my permission to the Pentagon to put these two pages on a “do not find” list for anyone you think would be negatively influenced. I assume some already know it so they don’t need to be kept from it, right? Anyway, you keyboard commandos choose who gets to see it. I don’t feel it is ethical to remove it, but I won’t fight to foist it on anyone you want to block.
Respectfully,
Xeno
CITATIONS
[1] https://www.jstor.org/stable/23218843
[2] https://www.jstor.org/stable/20159358
[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259729301_Public_Responsibility_and_Private_Enterprise_in_Developing_Countries
[4] https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2854&context=vlr
[5] https://www.oecd.org/sti/futures/17394484.pdf