this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2025
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The Russian state media network RT was one of the first outlets to broadcast graphic footage of the assassination last week.

Russia and other foreign adversaries have pounced on the assassination of Charlie Kirk as an opportunity to spread propaganda aimed at aggravating U.S. political divisions and painting America as an unstable country on the decline, according to researchers.

Soon after the news broke about Kirk’s murder, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin voices on social media suggested that the United States was poised for a possible civil war and that dark conspiracies — possibly involving elements of a “deep state” — had played a role in the murder.

Chinese state media portrayed the attack as yet another example of a troubled society in decline, plagued by political disorder and gun violence. State media posted video of lawmakers arguing in Congress and highlighted U.S. experts discussing a climate of violence.

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[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 82 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I mean... USA is painting itself as an unstable country on the decline just fine, no need for external help.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 38 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Oh for sure. But Putin et al sure are enjoying pouring gas on the fire.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Trump is the best president for a country like Russia to serve it's imperial interests. Trump is already doing his job of dividing the usa, he is the only one to blame

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 2 weeks ago

trump has been working with the russian since the 80s.

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So the people who voted for him are completely excused? LMAO

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

Then we just got a few more to blame.

And there are even more than that.

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes, I'm sure there was no foreign interference up to this point.

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com -3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Definitely less than all the interference of the USA in every country of the world, but what is your point?

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That, despite your earlier statement, they already have external help to be on the decline.

The US has never existed in a vacuum. Even from the beginning, when the French helped during the American revolution, there have been foreign interests helping or hindering based on their own needs.

Even if "whattabout" the US's own interference in other nations and cultures... they learned from others. No country on this earth has been without interference one way or another. To imply otherwise is ignorant at best, though more likely disingenuous.

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

My point was: which country hasn't seen some sort of interference? Yet not all of them are such a shithole like USA.

But hey, keep telling yourself whatever keeps you going through the day, I know it must be rough.

[–] jimmy90@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 2 weeks ago

Your dad's neck just exploded

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 34 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Americans really underestimate how much China and Russia are contributing to US decline. They have full information control in their countries and they see information freedom as weakness. These countries literally have professional trolls that go to office 9-5 just to disrupt the internet. These aren't just few hundred bots - it's millions of professional provacoteurs and liars.

[–] stickly@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If you're old enough to remember the internet as it was 15-20 years ago it's fairly obvious. Even in the early days of social media a narrative wouldn't spread a fraction as quickly or with as much explosive rhetoric. In a week after a major incident we might get 4 or 5 waves of conflicting or compounding narratives.

You can imagine our social discourse as a massive pool of competing ideas going back and forth; a large disruption might cause a sizable wave. You'd expect rebound waves (opposing ideas) from the opposite fringe to naturally counteract and disperse the original and each other, keeping the water choppy but level.

With a larger network (ie: Twitter in 2025 vs Twitter in 2008) you'd expect to see more inertia and more stability, the fact that we don't is damning. Forcing the mass uniformity of rhetoric that we see these days (massive waves sweeping across hundreds of millions on multiple platforms) is not something that could be orchestrated by anything less than state actors. It takes the planning and coordination of both the initial narratives and responses.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Yup I'm a daily internet user since the 90s and I grew up in Soviet Empire and it's so obvious how gamed the internet is today. I love internet and would never trade it for China's intranet or similar but the world needs to wisen the fuck up and treat this trolling like any other weapon. Just because its information and not physical gas or nuclear bombs doesnt mean it's not damaging.

The problem here is the hubris of everyone involved "they run information campaign against us well ours will be better!" It's fundamentally idiotic way of approaching mass information the same way governments approach geopolitical information as in "tit for tat, if you leak our shit well leak yours etc" when this doesn't work at the scale of the web.

There will be a day where the camels back will be broken but I'm afraid it'll be too late and we all end up either in a war or isolated, dystopia networks like China or Russia.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

i think china is new on the scene, but russia has been using troll farms for the last decade+, it drastically increase when trump got elected his first term.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

China is definitely not new.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Good thing the US would never do that. Or other awful things like overthrowing democracies and installing fascist dictators.

Not trying to justify any of this, just pointing out the reality that all the major players are actively destabilizing each other.

Could you imagine the world we could build if we weren't wasting so much time and energy fighting imaginary others.

[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

If we could stop being dicks to eachother for like 5 minutes and spend our money on something other than espionage and bombs, we'd probably have interstellar travel by now.

[–] WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today 3 points 2 weeks ago

Impossible. Psychopaths always get priority elected over normal people. They just break-through easier.

It's like meta-gaming, in that non-psychopaths are basically non-viable.

When was the last time you heard of Muhamad Mamdami?

[–] Son_of_Macha@lemmy.cafe 1 points 1 week ago

It's all about greedy bastards getting rich.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world -4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ugh americans with their "but its both sides" is exactly why you guys are so fucked rn.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That's what you took from that?

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes, this falacy is my biggest pet peeve "all sides are bad and resistance is moot".

We get better gradually not through some silver bullet policy. Call out all mistakes, be it US, China, Russia etc. - we absolutely have the power here to resist all injustice and nothing should be justified.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

All sides are bad if you are comparing superpowers for sure, but that has nothing to do with resistance.

Yes, things can get better through incremental changes and that is also the most realistic way to fix our many problems. I completely agree.

[–] Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Magats are doing that pretty well by themselves

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago

Indeed but I think it’s still good to separate them from trolls a little bit cos the magats live amongst me and I have to actually encounter them

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 7 points 2 weeks ago

I would be surprised if china and russia dint pounce, they are usally the ones in all these social media platform sowing propaganda. r/cons is ran buy russian-based mods.

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

Why do you think we're in this mess in the first place

They're not going to just stop when it's been working so well

[–] grapefruittrouble@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago

don’t they already do this with almost any “news”? you should assume any story has been hijacked by disinformation promoting either extreme side of an issue.

[–] Unpeeled3828@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

LMAO Russia. Americans might look inwards once in a while.

[–] lemmyknow@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago

Ah, yes. Russia, as usual. US is best and would never do anything wrong. Maybe if people started eating bananas sideways, they'd finally woke up and realise who done it for real. They tried blaming DEI from day one, and y'all thought that wasn't it. Well, guess what? Honestly, I don't even know what to say. And for those about to rave… we salute you. Cuz there ain't nu'n like it hot. May June July.

[–] Son_of_Macha@lemmy.cafe 1 points 1 week ago

Just go on to Tiktok and look at the comments, Russian bots are all over it

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world -4 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Do you think the west doesn't do the same?

[–] synae@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Yes the west is also exploiting his death to cause division

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 2 weeks ago
[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world -4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Russia has nothing to do with nazis living, breathing, and somehow still existing in the US for centuries. It's time to stop pretending we're going to get along because of democracy or some constitution. They've already proven they don't really give a damn about either and will neglect every law they can so long as they can paint the world in their nazi image.

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Russia is a Nazi regime mate, wake up!

[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

KKK are just nazis. KKK are just remnant civil war era racists who lost and have always been around.