USAF Counter Blog quells dissent online

POSTED BY: piratenews
UPDATED: Saturday, January 10, 2009 23:42
VIEWED: 856
PAGE 1 of 1

PIRATENEWS

Friday, January 9, 2009 8:22 PM

...NOTIFY HQ.... to send a hit squad to "rectify the situation".

Just like Pat Tillman and General Patton. And the entire nations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Quote:
Air Force Creates "Counter Blog" Response Plan To Quell Online Dissent

Detailed flow chart orders officers to respond to negative material

The US Air Force has announced a “counter-blog” response plan aimed at fielding and reacting to material from bloggers who have “negative opinions about the US government and the Air Force.”

The plan, created by the public affairs arm of the Air Force, includes a detailed twelve-point "counter blogging" flow-chart that dictates how officers should tackle what are described as "trolls," "ragers," and "misguided" online writers.

Wired blog Danger Room summarizes how the chart lays out a range of possible responses to a blog post:

Airmen can offer a "factual and well-cited response [that] is not factually erroneous, a rant or rage, bashing or negative in nature." They can "let the post stand -- no response." Or they can "fix the facts," offering up fresh perspective. No matter what, the chart says, airmen should "disclose your Air Force connection," "respond in a tone that reflects high on the rich heritage of the Air Force," and "focus on the most-used sites related to the Air Force."

Another option offered by the chart is to "monitor the site for relevant information and comments" while reporting back to HQ.

Of course, the type of bloggers that Air Force officers will be able to respond to may be limited due to the fact that the Air Force actively blocks access to just about any independent site with the word "blog" in its web address.

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/01/usaf-blog-respo.html
www.infowars.net/articles/january2009/090109bloggers.htm

US Army Field Manual FM 3-05.30 Psychological Operations
www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-30.pdf

Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth: The Rules of Disinformation
Includes The 8 Traits of A Disinformationalist
www.whale.to/m/disin.html
www.proparanoid.net/truth.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism

RUE

Friday, January 9, 2009 8:28 PM

About a month ago I got a call from a 'survey' company.

By the questions, it didn't take long to figure out it was bought-and-paid-for by the AF. Apparently they were trying to figure out how they could polish their image, aside from air shows, and they were also gaging public response to replacing billion-dollar-jets as out-dated, with even more expensive ones.

Maybe recruitments are down and they're getting negative messages about their expensive toys.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

SIGNYM

Friday, January 9, 2009 8:42 PM

[joke] As an AF commander, I'd like to point out that PN's post is factually incorrect. The AF has no intention of monitoring or correcting internet postings. We value the opinions of all citizens, and the freedom of speech in which they reside. In any case, we have too much real work to do to become involved in the thousands of posts per year which refer to the AF, which has a proud tradition of serving our God and our country with honor. [/joke}

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Let's party like its 1929.

PIRATENEWS

Friday, January 9, 2009 8:45 PM

USAF needs to worry how their pilots can avoid replacement by teenagers flying Xbox UAVs.
http://mattb79.blogspot.com/2008/02/uav-xbox-skills.html

Air Force, Xbox LIVE hook up to feature recruiting message of "Horror/Comedy"
www.rs.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123122790
http://airforcelive.blogspot.com/2008/11/air-force-and-xbox.html

DREAMTROVE

Saturday, January 10, 2009 5:35 AM

I hope everyone caught that the internet's principle security SSL was hacked by someone using stacked playstation 3s. I think the situation is hopeless.

On the above Air Force guide to internet posting, while it may look nefarious, it's probably really just a generally good guide to web behavior. The USAF is probably more concerned with how it looks online than about the content. And yes, John, I know you're an officer of the USAF and you have had related content removed. I don't think this is the same animal. It's just the Air Force not wanting its guys out there behaving the way the Pentagon's guys would on an internet forum :)

KWICKO

Saturday, January 10, 2009 5:52 AM

Quote:
It's just the Air Force not wanting its guys out there behaving the way the Pentagon's guys would on an internet forum :)

You owe me a keyboard. This one now has Pepsi all over it. :)

Mike

"It is complete now; the hands of time are neatly tied."

DREAMTROVE

Saturday, January 10, 2009 6:04 AM

Quote:
You owe me a keyboard. This one now has Pepsi all over it. :)

If that's factually true, I actually have a whole stack of them. So many people had complained to me of dead keyboards I bought a wholesale lot.

KWICKO

Saturday, January 10, 2009 6:48 AM

Nah, I'm just funnin' ya. If you owed me a keyboard, you'd also owe me a new MacBook, since they're all of a piece. :)

It DID make me giggle-snort, though.

Mike

"It is complete now; the hands of time are neatly tied."

DREAMTROVE

Saturday, January 10, 2009 11:42 PM

Thank you, I suspected as much. Humor, something I need to work on :) Subtlety is key.