Annie Jacobsen

It is absolutely paranoid to suggest that everything is...

One would believe, at least I certainly believe that I have a faculty up here, to be able to take information and try and discern what might be misinformation and what isn't, and then also be willing to stand corrected.

That's a very important part of it.

And that goes back to my tribal problem is once you have a horse in the race and you become convinced, and I am hearing a little convinced voice,

from you that, you know, then I believe you lose your ability to be able to go, oh, wow, maybe I was wrong.

Maybe this—and again, I'm not condoning what the administration did whatsoever.

I'm just listening to Benjamin and saying that is, to my eye, a much better source.

I'm a

are saying they're certainly family members because their opinion is going to be legitimately, you know, heartfelt and not propagandized.

An influence operation.

Just so atypical.

What were these bots pushing you to post it on?

You were persuaded by the bots before you realized they were bots.

Well, I think the point that you're making, which is very important, has to do with, you know, memetics or popularity.

In other words, we don't know the outcome of the situation yet.

We don't know if the Hezbollah sleeper cells will be activated.

Are they waiting to see whether what they do will be welcomed or will be demonized?

And I think that there's a profound influence in social media today

And that isn't true in this administration and previous administrations about the rise of pushing public opinion.

I mean, to your point, that's what you worked on at the agency or you at least saw happen.