J
janishere
Guest
I was telling a friend about this forum who is a bit of a whizzkid with computers and internet life. He told me that there are people actually employed by government and government bodies (e.g. and in particular Department of Work and Pensions, Local Authorities, NHS, County Councils) not just to spy on forums but to register as genuine members of the public and provide disinformation. They are called "Ringers" meaning that they are not what they appear to be.
These "Ringers" then sow disinformation for the purpose of scaring ordinary members of the public on forums on the internet with the purpose, so they hope, of deterring them from actions which may not be in the interest of the ringer's employers, i.e. Government, Local Authorities, NHS, DWP et al (such as pursuing their legal or human rights).
Disinformation was most notably used in World War Two against the enemy, but it is used in peacetime too against perceived "enemies of the state".
This may come as a shock to some, but unfortunately it is true and the subject has been aired in the media on occasions.
My friend says he has reason to believe there may be ringers on this forum. It is very difficult to discover the true identities of such people, everyone here being necessarily anonymous.
All we can do is be very wary, especially when a poster appears to be trying to deter us from doing something by scaring us or tries to distract from the subject in hand in a thread with some trivial matter.
I am curious to know what others of you think about this.
These "Ringers" then sow disinformation for the purpose of scaring ordinary members of the public on forums on the internet with the purpose, so they hope, of deterring them from actions which may not be in the interest of the ringer's employers, i.e. Government, Local Authorities, NHS, DWP et al (such as pursuing their legal or human rights).
Disinformation was most notably used in World War Two against the enemy, but it is used in peacetime too against perceived "enemies of the state".
This may come as a shock to some, but unfortunately it is true and the subject has been aired in the media on occasions.
My friend says he has reason to believe there may be ringers on this forum. It is very difficult to discover the true identities of such people, everyone here being necessarily anonymous.
All we can do is be very wary, especially when a poster appears to be trying to deter us from doing something by scaring us or tries to distract from the subject in hand in a thread with some trivial matter.
I am curious to know what others of you think about this.