Do we need to worry about Russian troll farms here?

Question

In the last few months, I've noticed a slew of accounts posting anti-vax messaging on any COVID-19 related articles. These accounts will be less than a week old, and you'll see that their only posts will have been the same anti-vax rhetoric.Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it's one that I disagree with, hence why I do not want to link to these examples in fear that I'd be bringing hate on honest actors, but I was curious if anyone knew if HN was falling victim to the same attacks that Facebook is in regards to troll farms?[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Research_Agency [2] https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/16/1035851/facebook-troll-farms-report-us-2020-election/EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that this question might be against HN guidelines. Please feel free to close this thread if that is true.

uniqueuid · Accepted Answer

The guidelines mention that such issues should not be discussed here but instead reported directly:
"Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, bots, brigading, foreign agents and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data." [1]
That said, I'd be interested in learning about any existing documented cases (not just from Russia).
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

octokatt · Answer

Almost certainly yes. Has anyone not seen the uptick?