Democrats to Use Pentagon-Funded AI System to Target Pro-Trump Narratives Online
by ALLUM BOKHARI
BREITBART.COM
4 May 2020
Democrats have converted an AI project that was initially funded by the department of defense to combat propaganda from ISIS and other extremists, into a tool to track down and counter Trump supporters on social media. The “Defeat Disinfo” group is being advised by retired Army General Stanley McChrystal.
The project is called “Defeat Disinfo,” a creation of entrepreneur Curtis Hougland. It was initially funded by the Pentagon’s top-secret DARPA research agency, when the goal of the technology was to identify and counter online narratives from Islamic extremists. Founded by technology entrepreneur Curtis Hougland, it is still advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who led U.S. forces in Afghanistan until 2010.
Now Democrats are using the state-funded technology to defeat Trump.
As initially reported by the Washington Post:
A new Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is planning to deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State propaganda in service of a domestic political goal — to combat online efforts to promote President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, Defeat Disinfo, will use artificial intelligence and network analysis to map discussion of the president’s claims on social media. It will seek to intervene by identifying the most popular counter-narratives and boosting them through a network of more than 3.4 million influencers across the country — in some cases paying users with large followings to take sides against the president.
According to the Post, retired army general McChrystal stopped short of endorsing Trump’s opponent, Joe Biden, even though he is advising a digital effort to defeat the former and elect the latter.
The retired general told the Post that “his interest in the PAC is about ensuring the accuracy of information leading up to the election.”
Even before his retirement, McChrystal was known for involving himself in civilian politics. He was removed from his post as head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2010 after violating a major military taboo by publicly criticizing his civilian bosses in a Rolling Stone interview.
A spokesperson for Facebook told Fox News that if users are being paid to post content, they would have to disclose that funding.
“Our policies require creators and publishers to tag business partners in their branded content posts when there’s an exchange of value between a creator or publisher and a business partner,” said the Facebook spokesperson.
