Technology is being used to obscure and sway public opinion
This is merely one example, so what it was used for is really not relevant at all. What is relevant though is that we have long seen how bots can drum up intelligent looking comments to social media posts, giving the impression something is supported (or not).
We've also seen photos as well as videos being faked for sensationalism, and that have affected whole countries by going viral on Facebook.
The natural progression is to do the same with petitions to imitate public expression. I'm not sure if this is actually worse, as it can impact pending legislation and other official processes.
I just saw a video on YouTube today that claimed the CEO of Lenovo made a statement in November 2024 that they were ditching Windows and installing Linux on 60% of their consumer laptops. It sounded very factual and specific, but the real fact is, the CEO never said actually that at all.
We're actually getting to a point where technology is rapidly losing its trustworthiness. Are we going to have to go back to physical interactions, handwritten letters, paper newspapers, etc? I suppose one can't just wind the clock back in reality, but we have to question more and more now whether what we see is really real at all.
The media, outside of the USA, is often still looked up to with regard to their verification of facts and polls, yet the irony is they have been struggling to survive in the age of technology. We want everything for free, and we have all sorts of YouTubers and TikTokers now posing as news channels (paid for by ad revenue, rage-baiting and click tracking).
Times are changing, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Maybe age verification will solve it ;-)
See
Barrage of Emails From AI Politics Platform Defeats Clean Air Initiative
A zero-emissions regulation was defeated thanks to the efforts of CiviClick, a platform offering AI powered astroturfing.
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