The Sad State of Russia's Social Media Knock-offs (insider.com) 75
What happened after Russia blocked 80 million users of Instagram? Reuters reports:
A black and white, melancholy alternative to Instagram that asks users to post sad pictures of themselves may launch in Russia this week, its creators said, to express sadness at the loss of popular services such as the U.S. photo sharing platform....
Although people can still sometimes access [Instagram] using a Virtual Private Network, domestic alternatives have started appearing, the latest being 'Grustnogram', or 'Sadgram' in English. "Post sad pictures of yourself, show this to your sad friends, be sad together," a message on the platform's website read.... "We are very sad that many high quality and popular services are stopping their work in Russia for various reasons," Afisha Daily quoted Alexander Tokarev, one of the service's founders as saying. "We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other."
Insider looks at the larger landscape now for Russia's social media apps: Rossgram joins a slate of Russian versions of major platforms that seek to mimic larger and more popular social media companies, resulting in a landscape of Russian knockoffs that often struggle to attract users while raising questions about how much access the Kremlin has to users' data.... Russia has been trying to coax internet users to turn to its own versions of popular sites, such as YouTube knockoff RuTube, for years. Authorities this year offered online creators the equivalent of $1,700 a month to move their content to RuTube, according to Coda Story, attempting to make up for its minuscule audience.
A 2021 report by the Levada Center, an independent polling organization, found that YouTube is used by 37% of Russians, Instagram by 34%, and TikTok by 16%. But some native platforms hold influence too. Out of Russia's 70 million active social media users, according to research by Linkfluence, a market research platform, 83% use a social media platform similar to Facebook called VKontakte, and 55% use another called OdnoKlassniki. According to Alyssa Demus, an associate international and defense researcher at Rand corporation, Russia has long been building up an ecosystem of alternative social media platforms. But people tend to be more skeptical and cautious when using them out of fear that the government is involved in their operations and users' information isn't secure.
"Either Russia has a hand in the building of the platform from this start, or they strong arm or co-opt whatever is popular later," Demus told Insider. "I know there's significant use of platforms like WhatsApp or others that are believed to be encrypted for that very reason — so that there can be open communication without the fear of reprisal." Russia has also enacted laws to exert influence on non-Russian social media platforms, including passing legislation stating companies need to place their servers for Russian accounts on Russian territory. "Presumably so they can then sort of meddle and do whatever kind of surveillance they need to," Demus said.
Demus adds at one point that "anything Russia touches has the potential to land you in jail."
But the article also notes that younger tech-savvy Russians are using VPNs to access sites blocked by the government — ultimately resulting in a kind of "generation gap" where they're less aligned with pro-government rhetoric from state-controlled media.
Although people can still sometimes access [Instagram] using a Virtual Private Network, domestic alternatives have started appearing, the latest being 'Grustnogram', or 'Sadgram' in English. "Post sad pictures of yourself, show this to your sad friends, be sad together," a message on the platform's website read.... "We are very sad that many high quality and popular services are stopping their work in Russia for various reasons," Afisha Daily quoted Alexander Tokarev, one of the service's founders as saying. "We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other."
Insider looks at the larger landscape now for Russia's social media apps: Rossgram joins a slate of Russian versions of major platforms that seek to mimic larger and more popular social media companies, resulting in a landscape of Russian knockoffs that often struggle to attract users while raising questions about how much access the Kremlin has to users' data.... Russia has been trying to coax internet users to turn to its own versions of popular sites, such as YouTube knockoff RuTube, for years. Authorities this year offered online creators the equivalent of $1,700 a month to move their content to RuTube, according to Coda Story, attempting to make up for its minuscule audience.
A 2021 report by the Levada Center, an independent polling organization, found that YouTube is used by 37% of Russians, Instagram by 34%, and TikTok by 16%. But some native platforms hold influence too. Out of Russia's 70 million active social media users, according to research by Linkfluence, a market research platform, 83% use a social media platform similar to Facebook called VKontakte, and 55% use another called OdnoKlassniki. According to Alyssa Demus, an associate international and defense researcher at Rand corporation, Russia has long been building up an ecosystem of alternative social media platforms. But people tend to be more skeptical and cautious when using them out of fear that the government is involved in their operations and users' information isn't secure.
"Either Russia has a hand in the building of the platform from this start, or they strong arm or co-opt whatever is popular later," Demus told Insider. "I know there's significant use of platforms like WhatsApp or others that are believed to be encrypted for that very reason — so that there can be open communication without the fear of reprisal." Russia has also enacted laws to exert influence on non-Russian social media platforms, including passing legislation stating companies need to place their servers for Russian accounts on Russian territory. "Presumably so they can then sort of meddle and do whatever kind of surveillance they need to," Demus said.
Demus adds at one point that "anything Russia touches has the potential to land you in jail."
But the article also notes that younger tech-savvy Russians are using VPNs to access sites blocked by the government — ultimately resulting in a kind of "generation gap" where they're less aligned with pro-government rhetoric from state-controlled media.
Here's an idea (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe they could all migrate to Truth Social!
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Perhaps the take-away here should be that Russians are less vulnerable to foreign fake accounts and bots posting fake^W true news, which means that their own government's fake news goes pretty much unopposed.
Re:Here's an idea (Score:5, Informative)
Perhaps the take-away here should be that Russians are less vulnerable to foreign fake accounts and bots posting fake^W true news, which means that their own government's fake news goes pretty much unopposed.
No, it's more that if you express regime critical opinions in Russa you either disappear after a 'visit' from some enthusiastic regime supporters or somebody coats your door knob with nerve gas. Either way, it ends badly for you.
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And if they don't react fast enough, some have reported neighbors leaving manure on their doorstep after expressing an anti war opinion (worst kind of freedom fries).
Re:Here's an idea (Score:5, Insightful)
It is no accident that Donald Trump has consistently been friendly towards Putin, much to the dismay and surprise of Republicans in 2016. But he didn't back down, and today Trump's followers continue to think he--and Putin--are great leaders. They're just being quiet right now because they know their view is suddenly very unpopular.
So "Truth Social" is indeed appropriate, I'm guessing Putin would approve.
Re: Here's an idea (Score:5, Informative)
Where is the former alleged president condemning the atrocities in Ukraine? Where are his supporters pressuring him to reconsider being the Great Putini's Poodle? Where is his remorse for attempting to withhold defensive weapons for Ukraine until they started an investigation Biden's son so they could use it in TV ads? Where are Conservatives telling us they made a mistake being the Great Putini's stooges the last several years?
The Republicans are just like Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter series, always ready to pick up a shred of "evidence" taken out of context and twisting it to mean something other than it does.
Re: Here's an idea (Score:1)
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They stopped supporting him. Thats what happened. I know TDS is strong with you, but the reality is that hardly anyone has been paying attention to him. If you gave his campaign even $5 back in 2016, you are listed as a supporter and you cant unsubscribe from email, you cant end the SMS messages even after sending STOP a dozen times. So he gets ignored. Its just people with TDS that seem to be convinced he has as many supporters as he claims.
Polls contradict your view https://www.realclearpolitics.... [realclearpolitics.com]!
Re: Here's an idea (Score:2)
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The same polls that had Hillary winning?
The error in the 2016 presidential election by this particular pollster was 1.3% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
I dont know about you but Im so sick of polls I deliberately lied to these fuckers all the fucking time just to see them get shit wrong. The rest of the time they conveniently shift just to get people to get scared or overconfident. Nobody is that wishy-washy and if they are then a pole doesnt fucking matter anyway
I believe you're grossly overconfident in your predictive ability.
Re: Here's an idea (Score:2)
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Your link is beyond the realm of fake news. Its a poll based on fake assumptions built on further fake assumptions. Its like a poll on who will win the NCAA championship between Duke and KY before they even get through the first round of games. Its not really a measure of Trump supporters, Biden supporters, Duke fans, or Wildcat fanatics. its a poll in an imaginary universe where those _might_ be the only 2 options. Its not a measurement of what you think it is. Pence had more traction than trump does right now. Because Pence actually understands the constitution and knew that once each state sent their electors to washington in December 2020, it was over. Nothing else matters, IAW the constitution, other than each state sends their electors, and the electors cast their vote. Every other aspect of the election is an overdressed dog and pony show orchestrated within each state by each state. The authority is derived by the state, for the state, to choose their manner of appointing electors. Any gripes or bitches to the contrary should be directed at each states legislatures one is a resident of. Anyone unable to grasp this is unfit to hold the office.
Consider betting on political outcomes; you'll either become very wealthy or learn some important lesson about yourself.
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I believe you're grossly overconfident in your predictive ability.
That's rather generous, I'd say he's Batshit Qrazy.
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Those polls show Biden vs Trump. Those polls are skewed because Biden is not very popular.
Here is a better one [realclearpolitics.com]. It seems the best thing that ever happened to Trump was getting banned from social media. As soon as people hear him, they don't like him. But when he's quiet, they forget.
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Those polls show Biden vs Trump. Those polls are skewed because Biden is not very popular.
Here is a better one [realclearpolitics.com]. It seems the best thing that ever happened to Trump was getting banned from social media. As soon as people hear him, they don't like him. But when he's quiet, they forget.
Your linked poll says Trump is at a 45% favorable, my linked poll said 45.4%, I don't think 0.4% is much of a "skew" but mostly within the margin of error. As Trump getting banned from social media coincides with jan 6 I think it's hard to make connections as to which of the two events has affected his approval rating more (without additional data) I'll just note that directly following jan 6 there's a significant dip in approval.
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It's important to distinguish between Trumpism and Conservativism. Donald Trump never was a conservative. The Heritage Foundation is an example of a conservative organization that never went for Trump. https://www.heritage.org/Under... [heritage.org]
Many major Republican figures, such as George W. Bush [usnews.com] and Karl Rove [foxnews.com] have condemned Donald Trump in relation to his response to the 2020 election, the Capitol insurrection, and policy matters. Whether you agree with the policies of past Republican Presidents or not, Donald Trum
Mind reading (Score:2)
Trump's followers continue to think he--and Putin--are great leaders
Got any proof to back that up or are you talking out your ass again? Post a link or it never happened, as youre fond of saying. Sucks to be outed for hypocrisy eh comrade? The fact is that these imagined trump supporters of yours are actually a ton of veterans who are already doing way more than you are right now to help people in Ukraine. What have you done besides launch baseless allegations? Wheres your plane ticket? Wheres your donations?
The troll is imagining what other people think, then pointing out how bad that is.
It's a standard Liberal argument: imagine what other people think, and then whip your side into a fury about it.
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today Trump's followers continue to think he--and Putin--are great leaders.
You should use the mind reading powers you think you have for better uses then trying to read Trump follower's minds.
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Errr. . .they have minds? I thought they were just automatons; feed a nugget of misinformation in and out pops the misinformation suitably embroidered with extra BS.
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I was going to call out that joke but decided it was such low hanging fruit that no one would be petty enough to jump on it.
I guess my expectations were too high.
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My own family is full of Trump-followers. I think I have a pretty good idea of how they think. And I can read and listen to what Trump-followers say. It's not a mystery.
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Ya, well, the atrocities in Ukraine committed by Russian troops might have something to do with the right-wing nuts remaining quiet. It won't last though, sooner or later they'll twist those atrocities into "justifiable actions (homicides) in defense of the Motherland (Fatherland) caused by NATO expansion, Dark Magic, and gum disease". They aren't the brightest sparks in the fire.
They already did (Score:2)
Have you seen the content on truth social. It's either insane people or entirely Russian propaganda or both
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I tried. The app says it has put me into a login queue with an estimated access time of 19,817,328 seconds. The Truth will be stale by then!
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But "melancholy" can be an adjective, so the editors usage is fine.
melancholy adjective
Definition of melancholy (Entry 2 of 2)
1a: suggestive or expressive of sadness or depression of mind or spirit
sang in a melancholy voice
b: causing or tending to cause sadness or depression of mind or spirit : DISMAL
a melancholy thought
2a: depressed in spirits : DEJECTED, SAD
b: PENSIVE
Source [merriam-webster.com]
Not for various reasons (Score:1)
Your country is invading another country and slaughtering innocent people by the thousands, and your reaction to it is that of a petulant child. Fuck Putin. Fuck Russia.
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Swaztika-Nazis are cowards. Got it.
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Yeah yeah, fuck you too buddy. [Z]
[Z] <JAVELIN<=-
*BOOM*
Re: Not for various reasons (Score:1)
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"For various reasons" has always been shorthand for "We didn't do nuthin' wrong".
It actually being used properly is rare.
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All evil is ultimately banal and ordinary. Even with the extraordinary evils that have taken place, there's very little that is not commonplace and few actions are actually abhorred.
When America did the same in Iraq, Bush's popularity went up to 90%. There were very, very few convictions for war crimes. This was one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] -- and I wonder how many of the far-right in America would have let all of them off.
Serbia slaughtered Bosnians in their hundreds of thousands. They had rape c
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I think they see in Ukraine a symbol of defense of their values -- call them modern Western values -- they believe Ukrainians share with them, or could/would share. From that perspective you are right, because focus on defending one's worldview is unrelated to, and historically at odds with, compassion.
Re: Not for various reasons (Score:2)
Sad State of Addiction (Score:2)
"We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other."
Translation: We're as addicted to narcissism as everyone else is.
And if this is somehow a success financially, then hold on for the ride when social media marketing starts bringing back the dead. Oh, you'll click on that ad when it's a lost-but-familiar face staring back at you. They know you will.
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I read this as being more ironic than literal, but who knows?
I'm not saying *this* one will be a success, but in suppressed populations, they use "code" to talk to each other. Who knows... maybe protesting against the the war will be standing in front of a derelict building, looking sad. Support perhaps will be standing in front of fresh laundry - looking sad. I'm reminded of old newspaper adverts offering "french polishing services" or "lunchtime plumbing jobs", or how a pampass grass meant you were a swin
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...in suppressed populations, they use "code" to talk to each other.
Really?
I'd like for the kids to point on the doll where Suppression hurt them so badly, that they turned an eggplant into a dick.
Nihilism, not narcissism (Score:2)
"We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other."
Translation: We're as addicted to narcissism as everyone else is.
And if this is somehow a success financially, then hold on for the ride when social media marketing starts bringing back the dead. Oh, you'll click on that ad when it's a lost-but-familiar face staring back at you. They know you will.
Nietsche predicted that the death of God would lead to rampant nihilism and the rise of totalitarianism. His famous statement "God is dead" reads in full as "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?"
His point was that with the rise of scientific thought we have removed all the value judgements in society. Science tells you about the world, but not how to act within it: that was normally the domain of religion (example: 7 deadly si
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His point was that with the rise of scientific thought we have removed all the value judgements in society.
He was a fucking idiot, and quotes like this are why he is popular with fascists; the only reason he's ever brought up at all.
It isn't like he was humble enough to check with a historian, "Say, all the wars are from when countries don't listen to religion, right? The bible thumpers have strong values, right? They're principled and moral?"
Ex squeeze me? Putin banned FB and Instagram (Score:2)
and also banned google news.
FB, Instagram and GN didn't decide on their own (or even decide under pressure) to stop access to Russia. Russia *banned* them.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
and also banned google news.
FB, Instagram and GN didn't decide on their own (or even decide under pressure) to stop access to Russia. Russia *banned* them.
First, I do think that the Russian regime is doing terrible things in Ukraine and in other places. But even so, there is no need to lose all nuances when describing issues.
FB did decide to restrict/ban some (government controlled) Russian news outlets from the platform and refused to stop putting fact checks on posts from them. And Russia responded by banning FB due to discrimination of Russian news outlets. Furthermore FB and Instagram decided extra-ordinarily to allow incitement to violence against Russia
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I am pretty sure that the US government (and all other governments) would also have taken action against a foreign social network which allowed the users to incite violence against US military personnel during a conflict.
[Citation needed]
https://uscode.house.gov/view.... [house.gov]
Take a look at 2387 and 2388. And I have no doubt that you have more laws on the books that makes this illegal.
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Moving the goal posts and whataboutism.
I'm seeing on 1420 and by russian social media agents (new accounts- no history) and long term pro-russian accounts (years of varied history) the view that Google, Instagram and Facebook actively *cut off* russia from social media. That was slipped into the post I replied to. It's a flat out lie. They were *banned* by Russia.
Saying the companies left/cut off/ stopped doing business with russia is wrong.
Re:Ex squeeze me? Putin banned FB and Instagram (Score:5, Insightful)
You can't have nuances with an entity that lies and lies and lies.
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Yes.
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Yes, he is.
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and also banned google news.
FB, Instagram and GN didn't decide on their own (or even decide under pressure) to stop access to Russia. Russia *banned* them.
First, I do think that the Russian regime is doing terrible things in Ukraine and in other places. But even so, there is no need to lose all nuances when describing issues.
The problem is it's very difficult to include the nuances without implying that both sides are to blame.
For instance, consider the sentence "Phil and Jim were strangers, Phil was walking down the street and gave Jim a dirty look, then Jim stopped and stabbed Phil in the face".
To be clear this sentence describes a man committing an unprovoked assault/attempted murder on a stranger, the dirty look might have been a trigger but it hardly counts as a provocation.
But by including that "nuance" of the dirty look
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Furthermore FB and Instagram decided extra-ordinarily to allow incitement to violence against Russian military personnel.
This is sure a twisted up way to say they allow people to make statements in support of Ukrainian self-defense. They just had to phrase it like a Zuck to create a bunch of juicy both-sides.
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>>Furthermore FB and Instagram decided extra-ordinarily to allow incitement to violence against Russian military personnel.
Aighearach ( 97333 )
>This is sure a twisted up way to say they allow people to make statements in support of Ukrainian self-defense. They just had to phrase it >like a Zuck to create a bunch of juicy both-sides.
Absolutely.
Russians don't realise this (Score:2)
My Russian friends tell me that back home people see Instagram etc stop working and think Instagram has blocked Russia in a similar way the West is against them per the only information they are getting from their media.
Apart from very few, the public cannot believe how it is their own government that has blocked the flow of information to control them. I was then reading stories about people leaving in Ukraine calling their parents in Russia and having a hard time convincing them that their city is actuall
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Well, remember the four years of Trump. I ran into people who were otherwise smart who would say the dumbest things because it was inconceivable to them that Trump would have ever lied or was not a stable genius. So covfefe, clearly a typo. But no... supporters the next day claiming covfefe was a joke on the liberals and that they fell for it. Because it was inconceivable to them that Trump might have hit 'send' by mistake. Oh, and someone else in the White House used a sharpie to draw on that hurrican
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No one cares. Whether they were banned or whether they left is completely irrelevant to the end user.
Also you're being disingenuous. Putin didn't ban FB, he passed a law which FB chose themselves to not abide by. You could have Facebook and Instagram back online tomorrow in Russia if Facebook and Instagram wanted to do business there.
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Russia banned them.
In Soviet Russia, information is free to want!
None of the jokes work, because they're literally self-sanctioning already.
Selectively-permeable membrane. (Score:2)
I'm worried that (Score:2)
Um (Score:2)
Although people can still sometimes access [Instagram] using a Virtual Private Network, domestic alternatives have started appearing, the latest being 'Grustnogram', or 'Sadgram' in English. "Post sad pictures of yourself, show this to your sad friends, be sad together," a message on the platform's website read.... "We are very sad that many high quality and popular services are stopping their work in Russia for various reasons," Afisha Daily quoted Alexander Tokarev, one of the service's founders as saying. "We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other."
Um, do you seriously not get the joke? You somehow get from that to "the sad state of ... "
It's actually pretty clever and funny.
LiveJournal (Score:2)
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Written like a true self-absorbed product of modern society" I don't care about anyone else, only about myself. And if you think you nice little comfy world will continue to remain nice and comfy, just let Russia and China rule it. That will stop.
Other sad pix (Score:2)
Long waiting lines in the snow for stale state bread
Sad expressions on kids' faces as they watch cartoons that are much worse than the Soviet era
Sad drivers pushing their inferior broken down cars
Sad scenes of workers marching to work with a perpetual frown.
It seems the Putinists want this kind of thing for their own people.
Which one is Edward Snowden using? (Score:2)