Ron Paul - It's Slightly Less Real Than I Thought
| Thu Nov. 1, 2007 10:19 AM PDT
This is interesting. It appears that a portion of Ron Paul's online buzz is fake, and actually illegal. According to the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Spam Data Mining for Law Enforcement Applications project (quite a name, that), which looks at hundreds of thousands of spam emails a month and recently got its hands on some Ron Paul forwards, some of the email support for Paul is coming out of spambots.
The university project received Paul emails with subject headers like "Ron Paul Wins GOP Debate! HMzjoqO" and "Ron Paul Exposes Federal Reserve! SBHBcSO." According to Wired:
The e-mails had phony names attached to real-looking e-mail addresses. When lab researchers examined the IP addresses of the computers from which the messages had been sent, it turned out that they were sprinkled around the globe in countries as far away from each other as South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Nigeria and Brazil.
More after the jump:
Continues Below
Continued From Above
"The interesting thing was that we had the same subject line from the same IP address, and it claimed to be from different users from within the United States," [project head Gary] Warner says.
One e-mail was designed to look as if it came from within a major Silicon Valley corporation, he notes. But when the researchers looked up the IP address, the computer from which the note was sent was actually in South Korea.
The emails, which actually include portions of Ron Paul's platform and recite many of the Paul talking points, apparently have been laundered through something called a botnet, which is illegal. The campaign has denied any knowledge of the phenomenon.
Okay. So here's the thing. The massive amount of support Ron Paul gets in the comments section of blogs across the internet can't be faked. (It was so extreme that Redstate.com went all Judge Dredd on its users and banned newbies from discussing Paul.) The money raised and the event turnout can't be faked.
So the well-intentioned Paul supporter who was trying to get his (or her) man's word out through this botnet operation probably did Paul more harm than good. The very real support Paul is getting can now be wrongfully dismissed as no more than internet shenanigans.
Comments
These messages were only found within the last.. what 4 days? How do they explain the support prior to these spam messages getting out only in the past 4 days?
Surely if any spam was released, they'd know it immediately, and not so late after Ron Paul has had such an overwhelming internet support. Either security is just way too late, or this is after Ron Paul has achieved a large internet support base.
Jonathan Stein, sir, let's put on our critical thinking caps and consider that this may have been a smear tactic to make the Ron Paul campaign look bad (or to get youtube videos yanked by linking to them, which worked).
It's fascinating how many blogs have uncritically picked up on the "Ron Paul's support is fake, I knew it!" meme.
Are his 60,000 meetup members spam? His $12 million raised in the past 6 months (and rising quickly)? How would these spam e-mails have helped him win all but one of the post-debate polls, many of which were text message?
Ron Paul's support is real and growing. In fact, on Nov. 5th, you'll see how strong it really is!
This little story about a bit of spam has little truth.. be careful what you publish.
How can you explain the monumental donations coming into the Ron Paul candidacy.. Millions per month, 2.5+ million in October alone.. and the average donation is about $88.. you do the math..
And November 5th will be millions in a single day.
Welcome to the rEVOLution!
Better be careful what you publish.. SLander charges can be expensive.
The problem with all this now is that i do not believe it at all. They have been saying this for almost a year but yet all of a sudden after raising 5 million they found a botnet that is untraceable? Give me a break;
If you didn't pay your taxes and went to the amazon jungle they would find you trust me. But they found an untraceable botnet.
If this is the best you people can do your in big trouble.
This is called smear tactic because he is gaining so much attention. These botnets can not vote in polls as they tried to make it seem as if they can and they for sure can't vote in text message polls, so lets stop the crap smearing shall we?
I didn't even support Paul untill i started to see all the negative press he was getting that was enough for me to take a long look at him and he has my vote.
J. Stein writes:
["The very real support Paul is getting can now be wrongfully dismissed as no more than internet shenanigans."]
As if that HASN'T Been the position of the Republican establishment and the press from Day One??!??!!
I'll give you one very real thing you can put in your bong and smoke, and that's Ron Paul's fundraising numbers.
They're going UP, doubling in the last quarter vs. the previous one, with a $million-two$ raised in the last week of the quarter, against an initial goal of half-a-mil. While his challengers all saw their fundraising decline.
And That Ain't SPAM!
J. Stein writes:
["The very real support Paul is getting can now be wrongfully dismissed as no more than internet shenanigans."]
like that hasn't been the position shouted by the republican establishment and the media from Day ONE??!!??!!
let's recall that Ron's fundraising numbers doubled in the last reporting quarter, vs. the previous one, with a $million-two$ raised in the last week against an initial goal of half-a-mil.
no amount of spam will do THAT for you!!
Submitted by bill watson (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 11:49 AM PDT.
this is stupid. someone sent out spame with ron paul in the subject line. now its being misconstrued to make it seem like there's a fake criminal network out there. why don't you go after the ceo of pfizer for all the viagra spam we get? just as ridiciulous.
This spam bot is how you get a youtube video banned and removed for violation. (Don't believe me check it out and you will see that the video's are banned.)
One has to wonder why a video of Ron Paul questions the Federal Reserve Chairman gets banned?
If this is a supporter that did this, he/she blew it but if it not a support then it is usually prudent to remember that he who point one finger has more pointing back at him.
You may be surprised to know just who found the span bot.
Now I have commented on maybe one other Ron Paul post because I am located in Canada and didn't want people accusing Paul's supporter, of whom my wife is one and she is American, of spamming because of being outside the US. I would like to remind you that Paul's message is resonating with many more than just people in the US.
Whenever reasonable people hear his message they listen and they ask why we don't have a politician in our country that stands tall like this man does.
Think of how tall he stands when there are people around who when they hear his message find that it resonates to them. There are Ron Paul meetup groups around the world.
Submitted by AXJ (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 11:57 AM PDT.
AXJ-Latinos for Dr. Ron Paul are doing a great job of getting the message out in Spanish to 1 million potential votes for Dr. Ron Paul. http://ronpaul.meetup.com/928/?gj=sj21
I agree. I think that this had to have been done by someone looking to sabotage the campaign, and of course all the media outlets are more than happy to help in that noble endeavor. Unfortunately for them all, the support for Ron Paul is massive, tangible, and growing.
The only thing real here is the author's desperate attempt in grasping onto anything which itself is wishfully attempting to negate Dr.Ron Paul's REAL popularity.
Fact of the matter is, botnets are unable to donate the 5.3 million that had been donated to Mr. Paul's campaign in the third quarter.
Shame on you.
Ron Paul 2008!!!!
Submitted by Matt Letten (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 11:59 AM PDT.
You can draw whatever conclusions you want from this recent tactic from a Giuliani supporter who published the Article for her employer, Wired Magazine. People Will see how FAKE Ron Paul's support is on November 5th, and at the polls shortly after that.
The researchers found EMAILS were spammed, but provided no hard evidence that bots were used to rig the poll results.
Here at UC Berkeley I know that Ron Paul is real. His name is chalked all over campus and the nerds are rallying behind him. We are coming to take the system, to long have socialist retards and warmongers governed this country. We want change, and we will spam the election to get it.
Submitted by Eric Ferguson (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 12:03 PM PDT.
Two wrongs don't make a right. As a Democrat, I hate how these things get twisted into smears, like Kucinich saw a UFO and Gore invented the internet, so I won't be a hypocrite by jumping on Paul for spamming over this little evidence. I'll reconsider if there's actual evidence he knew about this. I don't doubt this will be twisted to smear him, but I won't be joining in.
And MJ has acted responsibly by pointing out the lack of evidence that Paul knew.
The sole fact that Fox News picked up this story immediately and is running with it says a lot.
I've been checking google news out for months now on any new developments in RP's campaign and the numerous events he's participated in- this is the first time Ive seen Fox News have an article up on Ron Paul for 3 straight days...immediately following a very successful appearance on Jay Leno...
Also, I fail to see how this revelation affects or could have manipulated/fabricated somehow
- the cell-phone text voting upsets
- the millions of dollars in donations Ron Paul receives each month
- all those pesky straw poll victories the media doesnt seem to want to talk about
Frankly I find this whole story (essentially, "Unofficial Ron Paul supporters spamming on Internet!") quite a bit less newsworthy than Hillary Clinton being aligned with a convicted felon and 15-year federal fugitive embezzler who's in an orange jumpsuit right now to the tune of almost a million dollars. I also find it less newsworthy than the fact that Rudy Giuliani- running on his "heroism" and "expert handling of 911"- is reviled by the NYPD and FDNY (you know...the people who actually did the rescuing) as an opportunistic coward who took nearly every WRONG step possible that day and in preparing for such a possibility, then exploited the entire event as a photo-op and springboard for further political ambitions.
Tell me if you can why these stories are inferior to some computer dweebs unaffiliated with RP's campaign spamming?
Definitely a smear job. Ron Paul doesn't do this, us supports don't do it. You're falling for it, it's sad.
look at our communities:
ronpaulforums.com
dailypaul.com
ronpaulnation.com
etc.etc.etc.
We are real. The 5.1million dollars is real. The 2000 supporters at his rally is real. don't fall so easily to such a false fact.
Ha ha ha. They must think that these comments are being left by robots as well.
Ron Paul supporters are very active and strong. There could be a few misguided individuals that are doing the wrong thing but that should not change the debate. If the media would focus on the POLITICAL ISSUES, then the supporters would not need to try so hard to get out the Ron Paul Revolution message
Ron Paul 2008!!!!!!1111
Of course we're fake, I was created in the Ron Paul Supporter Artificial Animation Laboratory just last week. I was programmed to look and act just like a Berkeley college student, with carefully coded knowledge of politics and economics to shill for Ron Paul.
Get the hell out of hear with the donkey crap!!! how in the hell did he get 5.4 million last quarter and another 2.6 so far this quarter. stop going by what those retards say and use common sense. and on the 5th this nov you guys can jam this story up your ass!!
Umm, the fact that the very first line of the email basicly says "Vote Ron Paul unless you want the government to put computer chips in your children" makes me think that this not an attempt to promote Paul but rather discredit him. Also the fact that the emails link to popular youtube videos of Paul which are then promptly removed because they violate youtubes terms of service seems to be even more evidence that this is an effort to hurt Paul and not to help him.
Please CITE the law that makes email ILLEGAL. Besides that this is a SMEAR job, it is also a sign of DESPERATION. Ron Paul is real, that is why they are ATTACKING him. They feel THREATENED that they will lose control if people find out the TRUTH.
Submitted by Botboy (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 12:39 PM PDT.
Lies, lies, lies... omfglol skdskj sdj 3434kj jsdd3
Spam is something that comes in a can and tastes like mystery meat. Ron Pauls' candidacy is real and it won't be stopped. Or maybe I'm just imagining all the signs in yards, and the large crowds that show up at his campaign speeches? Maybe he spammed $ 2.5 million in contributions in OCTOBER?
Why don't you go have lunch with Hannity or better yet CNBC and talk about debate polls? HA HA HA . Maybe you can cry on each others shoulders.
Guess what? If you think you've had enough of Ron Paul now, wait a few weeks, his name recognition is going up
and that means MORE contributions for him.
Ever notice now that the people have an honest candidate the rest of the bozos are starting to talk about the Constitution? DUH!!!
Too late bozos you're fired!
This "story" is everywhere but then again so are Ron Paul's supporters. Rest assured that wherever this bologna is spewed out, there we will be. You guys just can't believe that (in America's eyes) you are unbelievable. Americans are waking up and smelling the rat and the more the more this stuff is put out the more it's easy to see. You people know this is not news but in order for traffic to flow through your repugnant sites, you post any thing you can on Ron Paul. Remember, there is no such thing as "bad publicity" especially when it comes to someone as morally impeccable as Dr. Paul. This is all you "have on that hack Ron Paul"? Some phantom spammer? Sad.
It's a shame the mainstream media, namely fox and associates, won't pick up ANYTHING positive related to Ron Paul, however, as soon as one idiot supporter does something bad they immediately make it public and put it all on the Ron Paul campaign. Terrible, terrible journalism.
Wake up America, they are trying to pick your candidates for you. Don't you fall for it! Ron Paul scares the elite because he wants to change our direction and give the power back to the people!
Be a part of history! Go to www.ThisNovember5th.com and pledge to donate $100 to the Ron Paul campaign on November 5th.
Submitted by Valerie (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 12:44 PM PDT.
I'm real and I vote and so do the 50+ other members of our MeetUp group in Macon, Georgia. I'm voting for Ron Paul.
Submitted by Adam (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 12:46 PM PDT.
motherjones.com recently wrote quite a negative story regarding the use of botnets and the Ron Paul campaign, but the source of that story has since updated their reporting of the incidents; Will this site do the same?
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/paul_bot
http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=146668
Wired.com corrected Ron Paul Spam story
Maple Brown
Published 11/01/2007 - 2:52 p.m. EDT
Wired.com corrected a spam story about Ron Paul's campaign and clarified that there has been no evidence to suggest that Ron Paul's campaign was involved with spamming.
The story quotes Gary Warner, the University of Alabama at Birmingham's director of research in computer forensics:
"This is clearly a criminal act in support of a campaign, which has been committed with or without their knowledge, The question is, will we see more and more of this, or will this bring shame to the campaigns and will they make clear that this is not a form of acceptable behavior by their supporters?"
It should be noted that Paul's campaign has stated that it had nothing to do with it and that it is possible that the spamming itself could have as easily of come from another campaign or anyone seeking to discredit DR. Paul.
The article also states,
"The finding is significant, because Paul's online support -- as gauged by blog mentions, friends on social-networking sites such as MySpace and popularity in online polls -- has garnered him wide mainstream print and television coverage, despite his relatively poor performance in offline polling."
Wired.com has also reported that Chris Barton of McAfee also discovered the spam.
While somebody without authorization may have spammed either on behalf of Ron Paul or in a futile attempt to injure his campaign. Several indicators suggest that Paul's online and offline support is real.
Paul's campaign has started airing TV spots in New Hampshire and according to Youtube this commercial has been viewed 233,000 times.
The Washington Post, which has one of the largest internet news sites, recently said that Washington Post traffic goes up when they write Ron Paul articles.
Another online indicator, Google Trends, although indirect, still suggest that Paul's support is very real. Google Trends shows that Ron Paul's name is searched far more than any other candidate running for office.
Last week USA Daily learned that Google Analytics shows that Ron Paul's campaign website attracted close to a million people over the last month.
Ron Paul has demonstrated a tremendous level of support across the country generating crowds over a thousand people in various states. Paul raised over 5 million in the last quarter and has raised over 2.6 million in this quarter which still has two months to go. The money a candidate raises is more important than poll numbers.
Ron Paul was even well received by a mainstream audience on Jay Leno Tuesday night.
Paul has generated crowds, excitement, money, and has done well in several straw polls. Even MSNBC's Joe Scarborough commented on Paul's grass roots support and of seeing home made signs as he brought his son home from college. He also commented on how his son told him everybody at his college was supporting Paul.
The only place he has not performed well are in media generated polls which in this election may be proven a lagging and inaccurate indicator of a candidate's support. (Visit the USA Daily Forum to discuss this and other issues.)
Whoever is behind these emails, we don't know if he's pro or anti Ron Paul. But Ron Paul's campaign has nothing to do with this and 99.999999% of Ron Paul supporters wouldn't be dumb enough to do this. The dummies support the other GOP candidates.
By the way, I'm not a computer program!
Smear is a light, polite word. No definitve number or facts have been provided to substantiate these claims and I know hundreds of real Ron Paul Supporters. I, for one, am not a bot.
This is almost a criminal act to try and undermine the democratic process. It's almost like they are taking a cue from the Fake FEMA News conference.
I support Ron Paul now more than ever!
Submitted by Nick Baumann (not verified) on Thu Nov. 1, 2007 12:49 PM PDT.
Um... did anyone read Jonathan Stein's post? He (and Mother Jones) are actually pretty supportive of Ron Paul. He writes: "The massive amount of support Ron Paul gets in the comments section of blogs across the internet can't be faked. (It was so extreme that Redstate.com went all Judge Dredd on its users and banned newbies from discussing Paul.) The money raised and the event turnout can't be faked. . .The very real support Paul is getting can now be WRONGFULLY dismissed as no more than internet shenanigans" [Emphasis mine]. He's pointing out what a stupid story it is, not supporting it. Argh.
These spambots are so advanced that they also helped raise more money than McCain and Romney plus all the other "second tier" candidates combined!
Oh and don't forget November 5th...have your spambot donate $100.00 to the Paul campaign. I think we (and our spambots) can do this.
What this proves is Ron Paul's clout. It looks like we have our first smear campaign against the good doctor. It is a sure sign that anti-constitutionalists are shaking in their shoes. Myself and those that can see past this utter nonsense will still be voting for him. Its crazy to me what people will do to try and move America away from the constitution.Ron Paul is the only Republican running for office, the rest have moved to more non-traditional stances, and Rudy is simply a flat out liberal. What a valiant effort though to try and discredit Paul...all its doing is proving to the world that Dr.Paul has power and could definately win the presidency....they would not be trying to discredit him if they did not think he was a threat. Go Ron Go!!! We are behind you and restoring America to it proper place no matter what smear campaign comes about!!
looks like a organized smear campaign to me. I've never gotten a ron paul spam email yet I get hundreds of viagra and other spam emails every month...not to mention the auto-matead phone calls for political candidates I've gotten ...why no MSM reports on this?
I'm real and I'm for Ron Paul
Laughing out loud here...First does the writer/genius realize that about 99% of the population has no idea what your talking about here. Secondly $10,000,000 + in donations to the campaign must have come from offshore BOT bank accounts. FOTFLMAO!!!!!
Smells like sabotage to me. It could be the work of an incredibly foolish Paul supporter, but either way it's a non-event. The real story is how the media is using it to "prove" that Paul support wasn't real after all. Just like we always said. And more about Britney's crotch at eleven. Don't miss it.
It really seems that journalists are overlooking two other suspects in this story:
1) Spammers who piggyback onto any high-traffic internet phenomenon (like Ron Paul) for a buck,
and
2) Those who have a vested interest in maligning the Paul campaign -- particularly those who have jobs that might be threatened by his presidency.
Think about it!
OKAY. Someone did something stupid. Someone sent out a bunch of spam. Big FREAKIN deal. That doesn't explain the thousands of people in Pauls meetup groups or the thousands of people donating to him. Let me tell you, I get at least 5 pieces of Hillary spam in my mailbox every day. I've also gotten some from Thompson and from Obama. This spam thing is just advertising. Some idiot thought it would be a great idea. It is just more likely to be opened if it looks like it is from a person. Whoa the whole campaign is a fake. Get real, Get over it, there are people that like Ron Paul. Is it really that surprising when you consider American citizens sentiment towards Iraq? Lets see a real news story, like the diplomats that are refusing to serve in Iraq because it is a death sentence.
It seems like that these spam messages are just generated by bots that scan the most popular subjects on the forums and the internet. "Ron Paul Wins GOP Debate! HMzjoqO" and "Ron Paul Exposes Federal Reserve! SBHBcSO." Hmm. Sounds like generated text to me, created by a bot that happened across some websites that supports Ron Paul.
