this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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Can we stop trying to beatify this psychopath? It's possible to be against violence and still condemn Kirk and his violent legacy.

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[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Oh my god!!!! He was a psychopath!!!!

I love that psychopath is included in this article.

Of course, the main purpose of posts by Russian trolls is to incite arguments among different groups or ideologies: conservatives versus liberals, pro-life versus pro choice, pro-immigrant groups versus border wall enthusiasts, etc. Researchers say as outrageous as much of this content appears to be, Americans can’t help but to click.

After analyzing over 2,500 of these Russian posts, researchers discovered they generated clickthrough rates as much as nine times higher than the norm in digital advertising campaigns. In a rather poor reflection of human nature, it seems that controversy, lies, and fear mongering do very much equal clicks.

Interestingly, ads that used flat out racist language didn’t do well, but posts that were threatening or contained verbiage like “terrorist,” “sissy,” “idiot,” and “psychopath” did do very well. Ads that invoked fear and anger performed the best, according to the research team.

https://studyfinds.org/study-russian-trolls-supremely-effective-at-exploiting-american-fear-anger-online/

[–] TipRing@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You should gander through my post history before levying accusations.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works -4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don't know what your intentions are, you could have just been brought into it unknowingly. I apologize if you're not on that side. Your post still has the same outcome.

[–] TipRing@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Look, your heart is in the right place, but your entire premise is built on a single word choice in my post about a man worthy of every ounce of scorn I can muster. Take a step back and realze that me being angry about mainstream media outlets like NYT and MSNBC falling over themselves to honor this vile man isn't evidence of anything more than that. You have misread this situation.

[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So? What the hell is your point?

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

That in using the word psychopath in their argumentative comment, they got you to click the link just like the Russians... Maybe

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca -2 points 2 days ago

Oh boy, another one with Russia Russia Russia brainworm. Take some responsibility for your own country's despicable culture and downfall.