Russians may have egged on the 'Last Jedi' fan backlash against Kelly Marie Tran

Some movie-goers were upset that a white male was not a central heroic figure in 'The Last Jedi.'

ASAM NEWS

THE SUPPOSED fan backlash that chased Kelly Marie Tran from social media may have been the work of Russian trolls and non-human bots in support of right wing and racist agendas, concluded a study from the University of Southern California.
Salon reports the study by researcher Morten Bay analyzed tweets aimed at ridiculing Kelly Marie Tran, the first women of color to be cast in a lead role in theStar Wars franchise.

“The study finds evidence of deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments,” Bay writes. “ The likely objective of these measures is increasing media coverage of the fandom conflict, thereby adding to and further propagating a narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society.”

According to the South China Morning Post more than half of the tweets analyzed came from non-human bots with a number being Russian trolls. Some 960 twitter accounts were analyzed by Bay.

Bay concluded only about 10 percent of the tweets he analyzed came from legitimate Twitter accounts.

In December 2017, AsAmNews reported a fan page was taken over by racists who posted bigoted messages about Tran.

The Russian cyberwarfare campaign that used some fans' criticism of The Last Jedi as a launching pad for more insidious motives. The online vitriol had a common thread with Russia’s earlier Facebook disinformation campaigns, initiated during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. 

“Some [trolls] were less focused on politics of party or specific issues and more on identity politics, posting anti-feminist or anti-homosexuality messages, and tweets of a racist nature were also frequent among the accounts in this category,” the study explains in order to sow discord among Americans.

The Last Jedi’s director, Rian Johnson, retweeted the paper, writing “what the top-line describes is consistent with my experience online”.

He added: “And just to be totally clear: this is not about fans liking or not liking the movie – I’ve had tons of great talks with great fans online and off who liked and disliked stuff. That’s what fandom is all about. This is specifically about a virulent strain of online harassment.”

The best answer to fan criticism, Russian or otherwise, is to produce a sequel starring Kelly Marie Tran. She'll be back in the Star Wars: Episode IX when it hits theaters on December 20, 2019.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

Aziz Ansari used in fake Russian ad; Extent of Russian abuse of American social media is frightening

One of the fake ads Russians posted on social media featured actor Aziz Ansari.

AZIZ ANSARI had no idea that his picture was being used in a fake ad posted by Russians attempting to make an impact in the 2016 presidential elections.

Representatives from Facebook, Google and Twitter were in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday (Oct. 31) to explain to Congress how Russian sources used their respective platforms to try and spread misinformation during last year’s presidential election.

The three companies took questions from U.S. senators, many of whom seemed skeptical of the power and influence that companies like Facebook have over the U.S. electorate.

Included in some of the presentations and questions from members of Senate Intelligence Committee were some of the ads and posts that Russia used to try and stir up social unrest, confuse voters, sow division or dissuade people from voting.

One of the tweets depict a Photoshopped image of actor and comedian Aziz Ansari encouraging voters to submit their vote for president via Twitter, which is not a legitimate way to vote in a U.S. election. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called it “a deliberate misleading of people.” Twitter says it took down this tweet, “and all other tweets like it,” but could not say how many people may have tried to vote via Twitter.

Ansari is one of the creators and the lead actor in Netflix's critical hit Master of None. He could have been used to target Muslim or Asian/American voters who are new to the U.S. electoral system.

It just goes to show, as a word of caution, never post a picture of yourself with a blank white square. It will be Photoshopped every time.

Facebook has turned over some 3,000 ads from Russian sources to Congress, and Twitter found thousands of fake accounts that were later removed. Senators used some of the ads and posts from those fake accounts to hammer home their frustration with the social media platforms of Twitter and Facebook.

The effectiveness of the misinformation and ads could not be determined but it does show the concerted effort made by the Russians to influence U.S. voters, especially those who rely heavily on the Internet for infromation. A few hundred votes one way or the other or not voting could sway a district or a state.

"You must do better to protect the American people and, frankly, all of your users from this kind of manipulation,"Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-NC, told attorneys for the tech giants at a hearing on Wednesday Nov. 1.

"I don't think you get it," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA. "What we're talking about is a cataclysmic change. … What we're talking about is a major foreign power with the sophistication and ability to involve themselves in a [U.S.] presidential election and sow conflict and discord all over this nation."

Feinstein stressed that social media companies bear ultimate responsibility for the material that gets posted on their sites.

"You've created these platforms, and now they are being misused. And you have to be the ones to do something about it -- or we [Congress] will," she said.

Ads sponsored by phony organizations and paid by the Russians may have popped on your social media feeds:

If you would like to view some more fake ads used against the U.S. election system, go to Medium.

A letter to my loyal readers in Russia

TO MY RUSSIAN READERS:

Cпасибо!

I want to thank my Russian followers for their loyalty for reading my humble blog, Views From the Edge.

Once again, you have shown that my blog is interesting enough for you to seek it out. Your readership has spiked my numbers and I appreciate that. In fact, recent metrics indicate that, once again, you have outdone my readers from other countries, including those from the U.S.A. 

My blog's metrics show readers in Russia: 785 vs. readers in the U.S.: 777. Well done!

I'm still not certain why you Russians are attracted to my blog. Is there an interest in AAPI affairs? In the world of blogging, Views From the Edge is only a tiny, tiny blip with only a few hundred loyal readers every day. Other bloggers have larger and more influential audiences.

Reader metrics for Views From the Edge, Oct. 17, 2017

I only hope that as you Russian readers go through the Edge that you realize that it is only through the U.S. Constitution that I have the right to express my views even if at times, they are critical of this country and its leaders. 

RELATED: Why are Russian readers reading my blog?

From what I have read, citizens of Russia do not have that same guarantee. Some of the leading opponents of your president have been jailed or killed for expressing critical views of Vladimir Putin.

In case you haven't heard, here are just 10 of your fellow citizens  that we know of who have suffered that fate:  Boris Nemtsov, Boris Berezovsky, Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova, Sergei Magnitsky, Natalia Estemirova, Anna Politkovskaya, Alexander Litvinenko, Sergei Yushenkov and Yuri Shchekochikhin.

You can read more about these Russian citizens, who died violently or in under suspicious circumstances, in this article by the Washington Post. I can't even count how many outspoken critics of Russia or Putin have been jailed or mysteriously disappeared.

I know my country is not perfect. (And since you consistently read Views From the Edge, you know that too.) There are a lot of shortcomings that the Edge points out, especially in regards to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the abuse of America's economic system by the wealthy elite, the health care system needs improvement to care for more of our citizens at an affordable price, the inequality and injustice that exists in some of its institutions, the privileges accorded to its white citizens ... oh, I can go on and on.

But, thank goodness that I can point out these imperfections without fear of being jailed or disappeared.

I can continue to encourage others to work towards making America a better country by living up to its ideals or bring attention to issues that the mainstream media tends to ignore.  In my little way, I like to think I can help build up the country to the values it likes to espouse instead of tearing it down.

As you report the contents of this blog to your superiors, (I hope they enjoy all the pop culture references.) Someday I would like to think that you and your countrymen will be able to speak up against inequalities that exist in your country, its foreign policy that includes interfering with the U.S. elections, how your country is fostering the racial divisions in my country and the exorbitant wealth being accumulated by Putin and his cronies.

Ordinary citizens in both of our countries, like you and me, must take a stand, speak up, vote out the crooked politicians and fight for basic human rights. At the very least, can you please tell your hackers to stop interfering with our elections? We are very capable of screwing up our own country, thank you, without the assistance of Putin's computer people.


Apparently, I can't stop Russian readers from checking in, for whatever reason. Blogspot appears to be unable to do anything to stop views from Russia.  I only hope that your hackers are not using the Edge as a way to hack other systems. That's not very nice.

 Спасибо за прочтение

Even though your readership skews my metrics, thanks for putting Views From the Edge on your reading list (I think). I hope you learn something useful about my country and its people. God bless, America! (but, not Donald Trump) and God bless Russia (but not Putin).

_______________________________________________________________________________

Why are the Russians reading this blog?

I'M NOT SO VAIN to think that this blog is so important that it could change the world. But, apparently, the Russians love my little contribution to the bubbling cauldron of babble online. On some days, Views From the Edge gets more views from Russia than any other country.

In the Big Picture, Views From the Edge barely registers a blip on the world of the Internet. Hardly anybody knows of its existence.

Originally conceived as a conversation starter with my far-flung family, especially the "next generation," the blog has evolved into something more. It is not true journalism, in the traditional sense, i.e.. objective, original content, verified. My one-man operation is too small to be able to encompass all that. Besides, in story selection and writing, my personal biases get reflected in its content (my style preference since I'm my own boss and I write the rules).

A lot of the international attention it might receive, (again, not verified) I believe, is due to the Filipino diaspora. The Philippines 'greatest export is its hard-working people and mainly due to economic and political reasons, Filipino workers in almost every field can be found around the world. 

I imagine a steward on a cruise ship, a roughneck on an oil rig in the Middle EAst, a nurse in Great Britain, a maid in Hong Kong or a nanny in France, feeling lonely for home, might Google "Filipino" and somehow this blog would appear among the listings.

Information provided by Google's blogspot shows that Russia
is more interested on Views From the Edge than Americans are. 

But it is hard to imagine hundreds of Filipinos in Russia checking out the blog for my posts on Hollywood's whitewashing or Addison Russell's divorce proceedings (both topics which I touched on recently.)

Russia is not known for hiring a lot of Filipinos. In 2013, the number of Filipinos in Russia numbered 4,335 according to statistics from the Commission of Filipinos Overseas. However it is estimated by the government body that there are about 8,000 Filipinos in Russia when illegal immigrants are taken into account. 93 percent of Filipinos in Russia are in Moscow.

Most of the Filipinos work as domestic help and over 90 percent of them live in the Moscow area.

For some reason, I'm getting a lot of hits originating from Russia. A hella lot. As far as I know, Russia is not one of the countries recruiting Filipinos to become part of their labor force.

I imagine a Russian computer, programmed to pick up certain words or phrases, stumbling on this blog to evaluate it for ... what? I don't know.

I know what you're thinking - I'm being hacked. I've alerted the folks at Google on that possibility several times but I've not received a response; not a single word. Hello? Is there anybody out there?

The biggest uptick of Russian interest was during last year's Democratic and Republican conventions. Does that tell you anything?

Even though Russian "views" of this blog improve my metrics, I wish I find out more why they are reading this blog when there are so many other sources of information about America and Asian/Americans than this one. 

When I have more Russians than Americans reading my blog, that tells me something is amiss.

Google? Any answers? Bueller? Bueller?

In the meantime, to all my Russian readers out there: 

Добро пожаловать в мой мир!

Five Asian American members of Congress will boycott Trump's inauguration

Rep. John Lewis' long history of civil rights activism was dismissed by President-elect Donald Trump.

Congressmen Ted Lieu and Mark Takano will not attend the inauguration of the 45th President of the U.S.

ON THE EVE of the Martin Luther King holiday, four Asian/American representatives are joining other members of Congress who will not be attending Donald Trump's inauguration ceremonies next week.

Trump's attack against civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) appears to have been the last straw for Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D- Seattle), Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.C.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside). More lawmakers are likely to join the 19 who have already announced their intention to skip the ceremony on Jan. 20.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post did not include Chu, Jayapal and Meng.

In a television interview Friday (Jan. 14), Rep. Lewis said he doesn't see Trump as a "legitimate president" due to alleged Russian interference in the election.

"That's not right. That's not fair. That's not the democratic process," Lewis said about the alleged Russian hacking, which U.S. intelligence officials believe was to help Trump get elected and to discredit Hillary Clinton.

Lewis said he could not attend the president-elect's inauguration in good conscience. "You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong," Lewis said.

In a tweet, Trump dismissed Lewis, a Freedom Rider who was beaten during a 1965 march in Selma and was arrested and jailed repeatedly in opposition to segregation, as "all talk, talk, talk - no action or results."

This is the first time Lewis has not attended the inauguration since he entered Congress 30 years ago.

Lieu released a statement Saturday (Jan. 15) stating he will not attend the inaugurationecause of Trump's rebuke of civil rights activist John Lewis, Sen. John McCain, and Gold Star parents, mothers and fathers of American troops killed in military service.

“I can only hope that Trump will govern differently than he has campaigned. For me, the personal decision not to attend Inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis."

Lieu also wrote in his statement that Trump will be in violation of the Constitution on the day he takes office because of his "massive conflicts of interests he has with his global business holdings."

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