When rightwing-tinged nerd sites began heralding the thousands of signatures being added weekly to Change.org’s petition to fire Amber Heard from Aquaman II, some of us who tend to think more critically smelled a rat, er, a bot. Even before outlets like Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Times of London covered the suspected astroturf campaign to discredit the Queen Mera actress, The Geekbuzz put it out there in a series of articles and tweets revealing the history of such practices and how easily automated petition signers could be bought. For the first time, though, there’s a video that shows the technique in action.
Youtuber and Information Technology expert Robart Lio posted a video yesterday that shows bots signing the Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2 Petition on Change.org. It uses VPNs, Gmail accounts, and Russian IP addresses to sign it multiple times. No one is stating or implying every signature on the petition is fake, but the hallmark of a good astroturf campaign is to create the illusion of widespread support of something that doesn’t actually exist.
Here’s the video:
The bot’s Russian origin is a crucial aspect of this story. Adam Waldman, Johnny Depp’s attorney who was barred from his upcoming libel case in the United States, is a former lobbyist for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire, and Kremlin insider. It’s believed by some he was involved with or has insider knowledge, of the 2016 hacking of the US election.
I didn’t know i was a boot !
I didn’t know my friends where boots !
?
Boots? No, you’re bootlickers.
Ok how about I show you all the comparable evidence of followers that are bots on her IG account and her petitions against depp. Not enough How about i show you the audio recordings against Amber showing her mocking depp and saying ” I wasn’t punching you, I was hitting you ” and her throwing bottles at him to the extent that his finger tip was cut off by it. Why do I bother though because somehow no matter how many facts there are against your perfect Amber Heard, you will somehow see no flaw in her, even though she was arrested for Domestic Abuse against her former girlfriend.
Ok how about I show you all the comparable evidence of her petitions against depp.
YES! Let me grab my popcorn!
How about i show you the audio recordings against Amber showing her mocking depp and saying ” I wasn’t punching you, I was hitting you”
Ah, the recordings that keep getting passed around, the ones illegally leaked, missing about an hour’s worth of audio, and were part of the reason Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman was barred from the upcoming VA trial.
and her throwing bottles at him to the extent that his finger tip was cut off by it.
Wait. Do you have actual evidence of this? Well, shit! I’ve been waiting for this. Come back with that evidence (and not tabloid statements and pics that actually don’t show HOW Depp’s finger was severed. That isn’t evidence.)
Why do I bother though because somehow no matter how many facts there are against your perfect Amber Heard
Facts? What facts?
even though she was arrested for Domestic Abuse against her former girlfriend.
That’s another one Deppheads keep throwing out like it’s totally new information. Just in case there’s someone left who hasn’t heard that charge, Heard was nicked for misdemeanor assault in the fourth degree, a charge that essentially means unwanted physical contact. YOU could be charged with the same misdemeanor if you did something as innocent as tap me on my shoulder to get my attention. The charge was dropped and her record expunged.
Depp, on the other hand… wow, what a long record of assault and vandalism. Decades worth.
Next?
It’s funny how the “youtuber” was only created 2 days ago. You haven’t mentioned if the person was doing it to show if it could be done etc. You say “you think more critically” but you don’t. You’ve jumped onto something that was created 2 days ago.
Check your sources first before jumping on something like this.
It’s funny how the “youtuber” was only created 2 days ago.
Why is that funny?
You haven’t mentioned if the person was doing it to show if it could be done etc
I haven’t shown what underwear he was wearing at the time, either. It’s hardly relevant, though. The Times of London has previously shown it has been done.
You’ve jumped onto something that was created 2 days ago.
So?
Check your sources first before jumping on something like this.
I did…