It's a fundamental weakness that only representative governments have, and authoritarians would simply be stupid not to target it. It's very inexpensive to operate in the modern information space.

I mean, we got all these checks and balances in the first place because our systems are fundamentally very vulnerable. If you'd like a story on a less-secure system, look into the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

I mean, in the craziest of crazy scenarios, we could wind up with civil wars. Wouldn't there be some folks out there that'd just love to see that? You think they can't make bots, produce content, hire cheap labor?

[–] Pili@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh yes, voter manipulation is very concerning. Even the simple fact that foreign powers can legally finance a candidate for another country's presidential election is absolutely crazy to me.

But I think there is something even worse than that:

When participation is so low that barely 50% of electors cast a vote, with one category of people (the elderly) being massively over-represented.
When there is no possible recourse if the majority of electors isn't satisfied with their options, and blank ballots aren't even accounted for.
When the main platforms where campaigning happens are all owned by and handful of billionaires, who can choose to present in a good light the candidates that will be the most favorable to them, and do the opposite for others.
When political campaigns are funded privately (and as I said, sometimes even by authoritarian foreign powers), those who favor billionaires being again at a massive advantage.

The game is so strongly rigged, I'm surprised that the general population still widely considers us democracies. Starting by reforming our electoral systems would do a lot of good and would be a lot simpler than trying to stop social media bots in my opinion, even though we should also tackle that issue.

[–] Candelestine@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Main problem is election reform would permanently destroy one of our political parties in its current state, and they are fully aware of this. They will burn our country down with us inside before they let it go, so it is wise to proceed with caution.

I don't think the rest of the world wants to see not Russia's nuclear arsenal dispersed, but ours.

Fighting a foreign power, however, rings straight to a huge strength of my country at least, the good ole US--our love of righteousness, competition and victory. This leaves a gap in their strategy, where they intended to inflame tribalism, but that can be turned definitively against them at the drop of a hat.