Protests: International Standards 2016

Protests: International Standards 2016

by Susan Basko, esq.

The expert panel of OSCE ODIHR has issued Human Rights Handbook on Policing Assemblies, its latest guidebook on international standards for protests. You can download a pdf of the guidebook HERE.   Previous versions in earlier years have leaned toward vague and euphemistic wording and idealistic expectations.  This 2016 version is more specific and useful, perhaps because of the addition of 10 panelists from police departments worldwide.

On this panel from the U.S., there is Ralph Price, General Counsel of the Office of the Superintendent from the Chicago Police Department.  Chicago has an excellent recent track record of large protests with no major trouble.  Chicago has also been able to hold huge non-protest events with only minor expected problems.  These events have included the November 2016 rally and parade for the Chicago Cubs World Series win, which the City of Chicago estimates had an attendance of 5 million people, making it the largest gathering ever in the United States and the seventh largest gathering in world history.  By any measure, this makes the Chicago Police experts at handling crowds. This sort of real world expertise helps make this new guidebook quite useful.

Note: OSCE ODIHR stands for Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. OSCE has 57 participating nations on 3 continents of Europe, North America, and Asia.

In this guidebook, "assembly" specifically means a protest of some sort.  This guidebook lists "meetings, rallies, pickets, demonstrations, marches, processions, parades and flash mobs."  Glaringly absent is almost any mention of camping or tent protests, which have been prevalent worldwide over the past 5 years.  Page 13 of the guidebook makes this statement, but fails to call it "camping," and fails to mention tents: "Though they (protests) are usually of temporary nature, they may also last for considerable time, with their semi-permanent structures in place for several months." After this brief mention, the topic of camping as a protest is dropped.  In fact, since the Occupy protests, camping protests have become popular worldwide.

Also missing is any mention of a sit-in, which is a short or long term residence inside a building.  Another term used for this is occupation.  For example, in January 2016, armed protesters at the Maleur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon took over a lodge-like park office building that was closed for the season.  This was called an occupation, an armed occupation, a stand-off.

Camping and sit-in protests involve the occupation and exclusive use of space meant to be shared by others. These protests are often highly effective at galvanizing dissent and thus, may be highly useful to a democracy.  They are also where law enforcement most needs to be guided and restrained.  If you have been paying attention to the recent police actions against the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allied protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline that proposes to send oil through several U.S. States, you have seen protesters sprayed with water in freezing temperatures, attacked with chemical weapons, and injured with projectiles shot from guns. The "No DAPL" protesters have a huge groundswell of support and appear to be holding ground on land that rightly belongs to their tribe.  Yet, stories of abuse by law enforcement against the protesters are cropping up daily.  The photos and videos are hard to deny.

Flash mobs are also listed in the "Types of Assemblies"  (pg 15), but are only minimally addressed thereafter.  This may be because a peaceful flash mob will usually be over and gone before there can be any police response.

Another topic that is missing from the guidebook is the manner of making arrests.  This is glossed over.  In the U.S., there has developed a widespread practice of police forcing a person to the ground to arrest the person.  This has led to many cases of injury and to physical abuse committed by police.  The arrestee is often ordered or forced to the ground, usually for no apparent reason.  Often, a police officer places a knee into the back of the person on the ground.  This surely causes injury to anyone and has been known to cause severe injury and death. Numerous videos show multiple police officers piling onto a person on the ground. Many videos show the person on the ground being kicked, beaten, or even shot (though shooting is usually in individual encounters and not in protest situations.)  The method and manner of arrest is an issue of dire, immediate importance in human rights with regard to policing.  The guidebook would have been far more balanced if the panel had included those who plan and participate in protests, rather than such a theory-only based panel.  It is way past time for any groups interested in human rights to address the manner and method of making an arrest.

Another topic that is missing is the widespread practice of targeting peaceful leaders for arrest.  Again, including panelists with real protest experience would have been useful.  Leaders of protests are often "picked off" by police in what are essentially random kidnappings.  Again, there is often video to show that such arrests come about with no provocation or need.

Another major topic that the guidelines do not address is the jamming or other interference with wifi or phone signals, and/or the use of stingrays to gather data from devices.  These actions by police to sabotage personal and journalistic media and communications should be prohibited.

 Thus, I suggest that in future versions of such OSCE ODIHR guidebooks on policing for protests:

1.  That additional panelists be included to reflect a more well-rounded viewpoint, including those who plan and participate in protests;
2.  That camping protests be addressed;
3. That sit-in or occupation protests be addressed;
4. That the specific method and manner of arrests be addressed and that police be prohibited from requiring or forcing any person to lie on the ground;
5. That the practice of targeting peaceful leaders for arrest be prohibited.
6. That police should be prohibited from jamming or interfering with wifi or phone signals or from using stingrays to gather data.

Among the positive highlights of the guidebook as the topics relate to the protesters or those engaged in the assembly , I have found these things (These are being numbered for use in referencing them; they are not in any order of importance.)

1. Freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right and, as such, is considered one of the cornerstones of a democratic society. (pg 12)

2. That protests often block traffic or cause inconvenience: "Many assemblies will also cause some degree of disruption to routine activities; they may occupy roads and thoroughfares or impact traffic, pedestrians and the business community. Such disruption caused by the exercise of fundamental freedoms must be treated with some degree of tolerance. It must be recognized that public spaces are as much for people to assemble in as they are for other types of activity, and thus the right to assemble must be facilitated. (pg 13)

3. That there must be a balancing act between the different people wishing to use the space: "Where peaceful protest interferes with the rights and freedoms of others it will often be the responsibility of the police to balance respect for of those rights with the right to freedom of assembly." (pg 14)

4. That there is a human right to peaceful assembly, but not to engage in violence against property or people:  "The right to assemble is a right to assemble peacefully. There is no right to act in a violent manner when exercising one’s right to assemble. If an individual acts violently while participating in an assembly, then that individual is no longer exercising a protected human right. However, violent acts by isolated individuals do not necessarily affect the right to assemble of those who remain peaceful." (pg 15)

5. Even if the protesters fail to comply with regulations (such as local regulations that may require a permit) police should still facilitate the protest:  "It should be noted that even though an assembly organizer or individual participants may fail to comply with legal requirements for assemblies, this alone does not release the police from their obligation to protect and facilitate an assembly that remains peaceful." (pg 15)

6. What is "peaceful assembly"?   "Peaceful Assembly: An assembly should be deemed peaceful if the organizers have professed peaceful intentions and the conduct of the participants is non-violent. Peaceful intention and conduct should be presumed unless there is compelling and demonstrable evidence that those organizing or participating in that particular event themselves intend to use, advocate or incite imminent violence. The term “peaceful” should be interpreted to include expressive conduct that may annoy or give offence, and even conduct that temporarily hinders, impedes or obstructs the  activities of third parties. 2 An assembly should be considered peaceful, and thus facilitated by the authorities, even if the organizers have not complied with all legal requirements. Lack of such compliance should not be an excuse to inhibit, disrupt or try to prevent an assembly." (pg. 14-15)

7. What is not "peaceful assembly"? "Assemblies that incite hatred, violence or war, aim to deliberately restrict or deny the rights of others or aim to intimidate, harass or threaten others, in violation of applicable law, are not considered to be protected assemblies. Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law, and that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.” (pg 15)

8. If some of the protesters are violent, police should deal with those individuals and not deny the whole group the right to assemble: "If individuals or small groups of people engage in acts of physical violence during an assembly, the police should always ensure that their response is proportionate and focuses on those who are engaged in violent behaviour rather than directed at the participants in the assembly more generally. This is true whether the violence is directed against the police, individuals, property, people within the assembly or those perceived to be in opposition."  (pg 18)

Example from recent news: Such a situation was seen at a recent protest in Portland, Oregon, after the 2016 presidential election.  A very large protest took place.  A small subset of individuals came armed with bats and metal bars, and broke windows on shops and smashed the windows and metal on cars.  The Portland police were heard on videos telling those not engaged in the violence to separate themselves from the violent protesters and go protest at a different location where peaceful protests were being held.  The police then declared the area a riot and stated that all present were under arrest.  Overall, it appeared that the Portland police did a good job of protecting the rights of the peaceful protesters while being able to arrest a significant number of the violent protesters.

9. Costs of Policing should not be charged to protesters or organizers.  Insurance coverage should not be required: "The costs of providing adequate security and safety (including policing and traffic management operations) should be fully covered by the public authorities. The state must not levy any financial charge for providing adequate policing. Organizers of non-commercial public assemblies should not be required to obtain public-liability insurance for their event." (pg 21)

NOTE:  I would like to see this expanded to say that a City should open its available public restrooms for use by those in an assembly or protest.  Other nearby facilities, such as park benches, picnic tables, public transportation stations and bus stops, drinking fountains and water spigots, electrical outlets, bicycle racks, and other existing facilities should be open and their use not denied to protesters.

10. Police should not interfere with or restrict media journalists.  No distinction should be made between media organizations and independent journalists.  People should be allowed to video or photograph the police.  Police should not confiscate or damage cameras, cell phones, or other equipment of the journalists. (pgs 33-34)

11. That police officers may never act as agents provocateurs: "That officers must not act as agents provocateurs and may never instigate, participate or incite illegal actions within the assembly." (pg 71)  This topic is limited to a single sentence, but should instead be printed in huge bold letters taking up an entire page.  There are many stories of police acting as agents provocateurs and trying to incite violence or entrap protesters.  It is heartening to see this despicable practice prohibited by OSCE ODIHR.

12. Policing Strategy:  Part II of the guidebook, which is pages 42-125, deals with the police planning and strategy.  Topics include the use of water cannons, chemical agents, impact round (less than lethal weapons), and firearms.  Notably absent is discussion of the use of a sound cannon or LRAD.   If you are involved in planning protests or in giving legal advice or assistance to those who do plan protests, you should read this entire section.  It will give you a picture of the details of planning, infrastructure, and expense that go into running a police force that can properly handle public assemblies. (pgs 42-125)  It can also help you understand the rights of protesters and how to protect them from harm.  Although each city in the U.S. and each city worldwide all have different specific laws regarding public assembly, there is a commonality to the approach.  This guidebook is an attempt to get the OSCE member nations all on the same framework of respect for human rights in peaceful assemblies.

NOTE: My personal observation has been that the more organizers and protesters or participants in public assemblies are aware of the laws, rules, regulations, and practices of the police and city, the more likely the protest is to be peaceful.   The more people can engage in peaceful protest, the better the democracy.  Protest and assembly are basic human rights that lead to better government.

So, too, the more aware that people are of the possibility that there may be people who show up at a peaceful protest with the intent of disrupting it with violence or chaos, the more likely the peaceful ones are to separate themselves from the violence.  Knowledge is a powerful thing.


More about OSCE:

The OSCE has 57 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America:

• • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Armenia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
• • Holy See
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
• • Romania
  • Russian Federation
  • San Marino
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Tajikistan
  • the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  • Turkey
  • Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Uzbekistan

 



About my involvement with OSCE ODIHR: Susan Basko, the author of this article, is a lawyer in the United States of America. Among other things, she assists those who want to plan a protest.  She is open in helping people from the wide spectrum of political and personal viewpoints.  IN 2012, she assisted OSCE ODIHR in a study of protests throughout the world, with her expertise being lent to the U.S. protests taking place in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland, California.  Ms. Basko was invited by OSCE ODIHR to participate in a summit of leaders and activists from around the globe.  That meeting was held in Vienna, Austria. Ms. Basko contributed by making proposals for international laws to require nations not to interfere with internet or phone signals during a protest.  That proposal was accepted by the assembly and became part of the recommendations for laws sent to the 57 participating nations.  Ms. Basko sees OSCE ODIHR as the organization making the biggest impact worldwide to protect the human rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the media.

Oakland: Seed Pods and 8 Felonies. A set-up?

Oakland: Seed Pods and 8 Felonies.  A set-up?

by Sue Basko

Update:  This is a comment from: http://hellaoccupyoakland.org/how-a-seedpod-led-to-400000-bail-and-eight-felony-charges/  Govinda, who was arrested,  thanks Kevin Seal for writing such a good article about his plight, and tells of the great work by his lawyer in getting the ridiculous charges reduced. And -- I'm still asking - Who were the two girls?

Govinda

Thank you for writing this wonderful article. About me. To update you…. I’m free. My wonderful Pro-bono lawyer Howard Williams, got my charges reduced to one misdemeanor assault. And I took the deal. So, I’ll have probation for 3 years, which is not So bad.

Anyways…..hope to see you all at GA tomorrow.

 ********

*********

A story out of Oakland has it that a man named Govinda was at the January 28, 2012 protest that resulted in hundreds of arrests.  Govinda's mother says that he told her that at the protest, he met two girls.  Police were firing tear gas.  Govinda showed seed pods he had in his hand to the girls.  He threw the small seed pods at a police line, was arrested, charged with 8 felonies, and is being held for $400,000 bail.  Now he wonders where the two girls are.  I think the "two girls" are probably undercover law enforcement agents.  

Please CLICK HERE to read the excellent story written by Kevin Seal, a songwriter and musician.

THIS IS MY REPLY:

 Did Govinda ever throw things at the police before?  Or did the "two girls" encourage him to throw things, perhaps by flirting with him or daring him?  If that is the case, the "two girls" are probably "two undercover law enforcement officers" of some sort.

WHY is this probably the case?  Mom says her son has been to many protests.  She says  an undercover officer at a recent protest tried to spook her son by saying his name and address.  Govinda was a prime target for set-up.  So "two girls," which is every man's delight -- show up near him at a protest, talking with him. What did they say?  Did they ask him to throw something?  Did they flirt and make it seem like they would like him better if he threw something? Did they make it seem like he was their hero if he threw things?   He throws seed pods, and 8 police officers file felony reports.   The reports were being given special attention - with IMPORTANT written across the top.   Where are the "two girls"?

I try very hard to warn protesters about this sort of thing.  ANYONE who urges you to throw anything at a protest is most likely an undercover law enforcement agent or infiltrator of some sort.  We have a right to protest, but we do not under any circumstances have the right to throw anything at anyone. 

NEVER throw ANYTHING at a protest.   Strongly question the motives and real job  of anyone who tries to get you to throw anything or who comes up with a philosophy on why you should throw things or who makes fun of or labels those who warn you not to throw things.  Never, for any reason, throw anything at a protest.

  SEE:  AGENTS PROVOCATEURS

Hijacking a Protest: How to Prevent It

Hijacking a Protest: How to Prevent it

by Sue Basko

See also: Counter-Protesters and Counter-Demonstrators
See also: Fake Profiles Used for Spying, Cyberstalking, Crowdturfing, Site-Fluffing  

See also:  Agents Provocateurs: What and Who They Are 

There are three main forms of hijacking in protest.  First, a group may try to hijack your protest to use it for their own purposes, or to discredit you and your group.  Second, an organization or group may try to hijack a person and use them for their purposes.  Third, a website, facebook, or comments section may be hijacked by those trying to subtly undermine the purpose of your group or to stem the flow of useful communication or to discredit those contributing productively. 

All three of these forms of hijacks can be largely prevented with one simple rule: 

Know who you are dealing with.  

This was taught to me many years ago by a man who had decades of experience in activism.  He looked at a flyer for a protest march run by a long list of groups with acronym names.  “Who are they really?” he asked.  Don’t associate until you know who they really are, he warned me.  He was right.  Years later, at one point, I failed to heed his advice, and found myself in a bad experience from which I had to extricate myself.  Do your research.  Know who is whom and what is what before you agree to go to any meeting, event, or protest.   

Let’s go through each of the forms of hijacking:

I) Hijacking your protest.  This happens when other groups come to your protest and take over leadership, or when they show up with inappropriate signs, flags, or banners.   They may show up with a sound amplification system and begin shouting things or lecturing on things that are inappropriate to your message.  They may pass out flyers for their own ideas or events.  They may break your protest march into splinters, leading parts of your group off from the planned route.  They may bring drums and drown out your planned speakers or turn your event into a noisy fracas.

What you can do: 

1) Issue invitations only to individual people or leaders that you actually know.  Tell them your plans.  Tell them what you do and do not want participants to bring  or do.  Tell them specifically what is not acceptable.  This is not so much to instruct them, but to make it clear that you do not welcome hijackers.

2) If people volunteer to help, don’t accept everyone.  Check them out and be sure you actually want their help.  Have them show up at one meeting and decide if you want further contact from them.

3) Train your own group in how to march closely, how not to follow an infiltrator leader, how to maintain order.  That takes a lot of discipline and practice.  It is worth doing.  If someone shows up and tries to lead marchers into the street, or off onto a bridge, or down a different route, make sure in advance that your people are smart enough not to follow.

4)  Police and lead your own group.  Have group officials who have special T-shirts or hats.  Station them at the entrance to your event and make sure they have the power to ask people to leave or to call police to remove people.  That is where it is helpful to have a permit.  Tell them your permit does not include their group or message or activity and that therefore it cannot take place at your event, and that if they do not leave, you will call police.  And then do so.

5) Have your group officials tell people who arrive with inappropriate signs or flags or other such items that those things are not part of your event and that they must stow them.  Plan in advance to have a storage space for such items.  Do not let anyone carry such items saying them will keep them, but not use them.   If they insist, tell them their activities are not included in your event or on your permit and that they must leave or you will call the police.  And then do it.   Your permit is for you and your group and not for anyone that happens to come along.

6) If you are marching, have your special officials with easy-to-see T-shirts or hats stationed along the route.  In advance of the march, tell your participants that these people will have correct information and not to follow others.

7) Publicize your agenda, activities, performers, speakers, route, timetable.  Publicize the tone of the event.  Publicize what is acceptable and what is not. 

8) Bigger is not always better.  It is better to have a smaller activity of people on-message than to have a larger group with mixed messages or with bad behavior.

9) Caution and train your participants in advance that if someone is doing something disruptive or illegal, not to follow.  Step back and get away.  Make it abundantly clear that your group is not associated with those actions. 

Example:  Years ago, it  used to be very common for serious groups to plan anti-war protests and for the whole thing to go quite well till the last few minutes.  At that time, a few people from some fringe revolutionary or anarchist group would sprint in and do something to bring disrepute on the whole group, such as burning a flag.  And mainstream media would always use the dramatic photos of these few fringe people doing their sideshow.   That is one reason it is SO important for your participants to step back from such  actions — because you do not want it to appear in photos and videos as if your people are watching in approval. 

10) Be loud and clear.  Tell certain people and groups they are not welcome.  Make sure everyone knows you do not associate with those groups or people.   

If you are with a group that plans to go "help" another group - ASK Are we welcome?  What do you want us to do?  Should we bring signs?  What should they say?  If you walk in and take over leadership of a protest, you may think you are a helper, but you are probably a hijacker.   It is probably best never to bring your own megaphone, drums, chants, signs, flags, or banners to a different group's protest.  Go as a guest and follow what they do.

II) Hijacking a Person.  Fringe groups will often try to hijack a  person.  How?  They will tell you they are having a press conference and ask you to speak at it.  Often, the only press present is their own internal group.  Or they will do the same with a website or blog – either asking or using without permission. Or they will make sure you get arrested and then use you as their pawn, their poster child.

Keep in mind that if you let yourself be hijacked by a political group or cause, you can end out arrested, in prison, accused of terrorism, etc.   Make sure you are making your decisions.  Do not fall for a group mentality, because that is no excuse. In fact, in the eyes of the law, you can be held accountable for  what others in the group do.

1) Ask questions, lots of detailed questions. 

2) Don’t get hooked into a cult of personality.  Most fringe groups revolve around a leader who is larger than life.  If it sounds like a cult, and acts like a cult – it is a cult. 

3) Sometimes a group will use a person as their pawn, “poster child,” or martyr.   For example, a group may conduct a  protest in such a way that it is sure to result in arrests.  Then they use the arrested people as examples of protest martyrdom.  

I strongly encourage anyone who is being told to engage in “civil disobedience” or trained in such, to seriously question if this is civil disobedience or if it is merely acting in such a way that assures being arrested or brutalized.  Don’t let people guilt trip you into this type of thing.  Don’t let peer pressure or group dynamics be used on you to convince you to do something that you know is not what you want.  

Some people believe that the way to “grow a movement” is by provoking confrontations with police.  Others know that the surest way to discredit a group is by provoking confrontations with police.  In any case, confrontations with police are, I think, almost always ultimately counterproductive in that they marginalize you, your group, and your ideas.  

Think very carefully when persuasive, smooth, group-think people try to lead you into such activities.   It is okay to challenge such people and in fact, the survival of your group probably depends on you doing so.

People trying to convince you to get arrested will tell you that civil disobedience was used in other past movements, such as the Civil Rights movement.  True Civil Disobedience was used, but pointlessly being arrested was avoided.  What's the difference?  Civil Disobedience is when a person intentionally disobeys an unjust law.  This is usually done by a carefully-selected front person, in concert with lawyers and financial backing.  If you are being arrested for walking into traffic, that is not Civil Disobedience, that is just being arrested for walking into traffic.

4) If you have gotten sucked in, get out.  Do not let anything or anyone lure you to stay.

III) Hijacking your website or comments forum.  Right now, group websites, facebooks, and comments are being overrun with posters with an agenda to discredit a group, discredit valuable contributors, or to lead a counter agenda.  This is especially true in the Occupy groups.  MANY of these are paid trolls or are fake profiles.  Please see my blog post about fake profiles – these are being used by individuals, organizations, and even by the government.  Many fake profiles are obviously fake, though some are not.

What to do: 

1) Don’t allow comments on a site if you do not have time to moderate them.  Give an email so people who sincerely want to contact you are able to do that.

2) If you allow comments, moderate them.  If a poster is using a fake name or fake profile, do not allow them to post.   

3) Be wary of people who do not  identify themselves as fully as others do.   Newspaper and magazine Letters to the Editors and guest Op-Ed sections always required a name, address and phone number.  The speed of the internet makes such verification difficult.  You should still attempt to verify and cross-check each and every participant.  If you notice people trying to discredit useful participants or posting things that are likely to scare off useful participants, delete and ban those users. 

4) Check other sites nationwide.  If the same profiles show up all over posting the same negative stuff, you know you are onto a troll.

5) If a facebook profile is obviously fake or obviously a front for a political trolling organization, do not allow it to post.

6) If “likes” come from people not otherwise posting, or from profiles that seem suspect, delete them and block the users. 

7) Do not allow personal attacks. 

8) Read my blog post about Fake Profiles and download and read the linked study from the University of California Santa Barbara.  It will make you more aware of how fake profiles are used.  You will be better able to spot it when it is happening.

9) Less is more.  It is better to have 2 intelligent comments than a flurry of trolls.   

10) Negative commenters often use mean, juvenile tactics.  Personal attacks, racism, and sexism are common. 

11) On Comments sections about Occupy protests, there is a series of trolls/ fake commenters posting Comments that say that Occupy protesters “pee” or “poo” on the ground (yes, often using such juvenile wording), or are “dirty.”  These posters are trolls, probably paid trolls, trying to appeal to readers of limited education and social depth.  OR they may be used to poison a comments section by scaring off intelligent, productive contributors.  Whichever it is – these are the kind of comments that you delete and block the user. 

12) On the chat or social networks Comments that run with live streaming video of protests, I have often seen posters who should be removed off the chat and banned much faster than they are.  These are often people posting lurid, vile comments about sex or about defecation and urination.   Sometimes they post links to unrelated topics, even to sex sites.  Anyone running live streaming should get a friend to volunteer as a moderator and the first such comment, ban the person.  Such Comments poison the flow of intelligent communication exchange. 


ALSO BEWARE: The other night on TimCast's OWS stream, several sincere-sounding trolls kept posting saying to donate to Tim -- and posting a link to an account that used Tim's name but was not his account. In other words, trolls came onto Tim's stream to try to divert donation money away from him.  Have a moderator!  Tim told the viewers that the links were not to his accounts.   They persisted in posting the links.  Finally the moderator stepped in.

13)  Keep in mind that there really are counter-organizations paying people to be troll Commenters on facebook, youtube, livestream, websites, news comments, and other locations.  It’s for real.  

-- 

Fake Profiles Used for Spying, Cyberstalking, Crowdturfing, Site-fluffing

 Fake Profiles Used for Spying, Cyberstalking, Crowdturfing, Site-fluffing

by Sue Basko

See also: Agents Provocateurs: What and Who They Are
See also: FBI Infiltrators in Protest Groups

Fake profiles have long been used for things such as spying on ex-friends and voting for a favorite band. Now fake profiles have stepped up to doing real work for real pay for the masters who control them.  I was recently cyberstalked by a person/entity using a mob of fake profiles, so I can give some insight into what they do.

A recent paper by researchers out of University of California Santa Barbara describes astroturfing as such:  “Astroturfing refers to information dissemination campaigns that are sponsored by an organization, but are obfuscated so as to appear like spontaneous, decentralized “grassroots” movements. Astroturfing campaigns often involve spreading legally grey, or even illegal, content, such as defamatory rumors, false advertising, or suspect political messages. Although astroturfing predates the Internet, the ability to quickly mobilize large groups via crowd-sourcing systems has drastically increased the power of astroturfing.”  The UCSB group coined the word crowdturfing for when a crowd of fake profiles is used to start rumors, give positive or negative reviews or comments, or to gather real people as followers for a point of view. 

The HBGary Federal group was reportedly using fake profiles to discredit people who opposed a Republican business organization.  In turn, Anonymous hacktivists cracked open the list of subscribers to HBGary publications.  

Fake profiles have been rampant online with the Occupy movement, where so much organizing has taken place on facebook.  There were many fake profiles that were obvious, at least obvious to me, as agents provocateurs, probably government agents exhorting violence, to see if they could catch any in agreement.  Generally, people just ignored these, because Occupy was and is about nonviolent protest.

It became confusing to sort out who was who because there were also the usual armchair anarchist trolls, some who come complete with their own small army of fake profile friends who agree with every word they say.  A lot of this was obvious, because the friends would only appear at the same time and place as the main troll.  Since I am a lawyer and was providing legal information to many Occupy groups on how to conduct peaceful, legal protest, I found myself being harassed quite a few times by the pseudo-anarchist trolls and their fake best friends.   They would agitate for violence, but for the most part, no one was interested.

The profiles that were obviously law enforcement agents provocateurs never bothered me, because they were / are there for the basically legitimate purpose of seeing if any mass destruction was/is planned.

The law enforcement agents post the same types of hooks over and over.  They post that there are no limits to the First Amendment and no permits needed.  They outright propose specific violent actions.  Most people have learned to ignore them and not even reply.  The law enforcement agents simply move on to other pages and post trying to locate sympathizers there.     

Then there are the fake profiles that put in friend requests on facebook.  The fake profile friends come to spy on your facebook page.  According to reports, Aaron Barr at HBGary was busy making pretty girl fake profiles.  At one point during the height of the Occupy camps, a bunch of pretty girl profiles invaded.  One activist man shouted on his facebook in all caps: ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS ARE FAKE PROFILES!  It was true.  Men were readily confirming them as friends.  Others were accepting the pretty girls because they were already “friends” with people they knew.  I got a few of these requests, but rejected them.  I think the male equivalent is the profile that is some version of the Anonymous mask.  Of course, a lot of these are real people, but it is also a convenient fake profile. 

Site-Fluffing is yet another use of fake profiles.  That’s when a new site creates fake profiles to make it look as though the site is popular.  I wrote a review of a site that looks good, but is very bad news.   I was contacted by a person who credibly claims to have made up to 500 fake profiles per day for the site.  That’s fraud on any would-be investors or purchasers.  It’s also fraud on would-be users or users of the site.  A lot of those profiles were obvious fakes.     

The U.S. government is obviously using fake profiles.  A man named Sean Kerrigan has posted a 2010 listing off FedBizOpps.gov that you have to read to believe.   The government has procured software that creates and manages realistic fake personas, “replete with background, history, supporting details, and cyber presences that are technically, culturally and geographically consistent.”:  

0001- Online Persona Management Service. 50 User Licenses, 10 Personas per

user.

Software will allow 10 personas per user, replete with background , history,

supporting details, and cyber presences that are technically, culturally and

geographically consistent. Individual applications will enable an operator to

exercise a number of different online persons from the same workstation and

without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries. Personas must be

able to appear to originate in nearly any part of the world and can interact through

conventional online services and social media platforms. The service includes a

user friendly application environment to maximize the user's situational

awareness by displaying real-time local information.

Then to make those personas seem real, they need an IP address for each persona.  “Individuals can perform static impersonations, which allow them to look like the same person over time.  Also allows organizations that frequent same site/service often to easily switch IP addresses to look like ordinary users..”:

0003- Static IP Address Management. 50 each

License protects the identity of government agencies and enterprise

organizations. Enables organizations to manage their persistent online personas

by assigning static IP addresses to each persona. Individuals can perform

static impersonations, which allow them to look like the same person over time.

Also allows organizations that frequent same site/service often to easily switch IP

addresses to look like ordinary users as opposed to one organization.

Economizer IP Mapped License or equal

Then they need new IP addresses each day for “excellent cover and powerful deniability”:

0002- Secure Virtual Private Network (VPN). 1 each

VPN provides the ability for users to daily and automatically obtain randomly

selected

IP addresses through which they can access the internet. The daily rotation of

the user s IP address prevents compromise during observation of likely or

targeted web sites or services, while hiding the existence of the operation. In

addition, may provide traffic mixing, blending the user s traffic with traffic from

multitudes of users from outside the organization. This traffic blending provides

excellent cover and powerful deniability. Economizer Enterprise Chameleon or

equal

Now – to the story of how I got cybermobbed by a professional, or at least serial cyberstalker, and a mob of fake profiles, and possibly a few real profiles.   I admit I am a target – I have openly provided information to help Occupy protesters know their rights under the law.  I also started and help run a blog written by a man in prison who has autism.  I am a target – and I want to state that I do not think the Cyberstalker gang that went after me is government-related.     The government has no reason to stalk me, since I provide a valuable service to all sides, explaining the law so protesters can follow it.  And the mob of fake profiles that stalked me was obviously fake.  The profiles’ posts were obviously being written by one person, they all showed up together at the same times and places.  There were other telltale signs I won’t share.  

First, I noticed that someone had likely hacked into my Facebook profile, because security settings started to change.  I wasn’t sure, because Facebook sometimes does change settings on its own.  Then, I got a ludicrous private message on Facebook, sent by an obviously fake profile.  I posted making fun of the ludicrous message and the ridiculously fake profile that sent it.  All of a sudden, a different profile pops up on my page, posting inane, nasty messages saying that I did not respond correctly to the private message.  How did “she” even know what the message said or my response to it, if it was not one of her fake profiles?  So I deleted these things and blocked both profiles.  And --- that began the circus.  The whole circus was obviously orchestrated by one person who controls a group of fake facebook profiles with twitter accounts and several blogs, using them to terrorize victims. 

The main leader of the rampage may or may not be a fake persona.  I came across a real man who says he was stalked by the same person for 6 years –and he wrote about this a year before I was also stalked. I remember how he was stalked, because, about 6 years ago, I received some nasty chain emails defaming him.  He is convinced the main Cyberstalker persona that attacked us both is a real person.  I am not convinced, because it would be hard to find a real person who is so totally insane and yet has such good computer skills.  But the ranting insanity seems to be part of the persona that catches people off guard.  The persona used a photo of an older woman who looks like Porky Pig wearing a Dutch Boy haircut and some sort of sailor hat.  When this thing popped up on my facebook page writing nasty posts, I had to laugh first.  (Please tell me that is a fake photo!) 

Then it got nastier.  This person, who had already hacked my facebook, stole my photos, copied conversations, and began posting things on her own blogs that are run under her own name as well as a few other names.  Then there were twitter attacks.  She was attaching my name to her words and linking it up to her blog.  And she had her fake army of fake profile personas also attacking.  By that time, she had a few real people in on it – though it was hard to tell which ones were real or fake, since it is hard to believe any real people would actually engage in such actions.      

I did what I was told by authorities to do – delete and block, delete and block.  Her fake profiles were swarming all over my accounts online, all sounding suspiciously alike.  There were a few that seemed like real profiles.  As I stated that I had a complaint in to the authorities, the main stalker began to delete some posts.  It is hard to tell which elements of the attack will be retrievable – or how hard the authorities will go to uncover the elements that have been deleted.  If it could all be laid out and seen, it would show a massive online attack obviously controlled and created by one central source. 

The methods of the cyberstalker are to invade, intrude, create, spread rumor.  For the most part, only the most gullible, unthinking people would fall for this sort of thing, and only the nastiest have a will to participate in it.  The idea is to create a mob of only the most vicious, gullible people who do not check their sources and do not think on their own.  It works!  And with such people involved, lives and safety truly are endangered.  The idea is to rile up the crazies – and lead them in an online lynch mob.   This is the agent provocateur online – and it works. 

What You Can Do:  If you want to understand crowdturfing, read the UCSB Study.  If you see things like this online, avoid participating.   Think about things.   During the Cyberstalk attack against me, one of the fake profiles announced on Twitter that I was a lawyer in control of SOPA, the proposed upcoming internet legislation.  Of course, I have nothing to do with SOPA and have not even gotten around to reading the draft of the law.  But that does not keep a fake profile from tweeting my name and announcing such nonsense.  Any thinking person would realize this, but Cyberstalkers, like the one that attacked me, are interested in getting the least thinking people on their side.  That’s how it works.  The whole point is to gather an irrational mob.  Thinking people don’t participate.           

Agents Provocateurs: What and Who They Are

AGENTS PROVOCATEURS: 

What and Who They Are

by Sue Basko  

SEE ALSO: FBI INFILTRATORS IN PROTEST GROUPS
See Also:  Hijacking a Protest: How to Prevent It

I write this from my many years of experience in protest involvement, as an organizer, a participant, as one of the first media activists, and as a lawyer.  I have helped a couple people who have been victimized by agents provocateurs – that is, goaded into activity they would not normally do and arrested for it.   

I also know of  a man who spent 6 months in prison awaiting being charged under the Homeland Security Patriot Act.  He is a white guy in his 20s who went to his first protest demonstration to drive a friend there --   and followed along when things got “out of hand.”  What did he actually do?  He wrote with spray paint on a government vehicle, an SUV.  All the protest “leaders” scrambled for safety and he was left alone, being arrested.  When it comes under Homeland Security (which a lot of acts do), the Patriot Act kicks into action and your normal civil rights do not apply.  Normally, a person can only sit in jail for about 2-3 days and then they either have to charge you with a crime or let you go.  Under the Patriot Act, that is not true.  They can hold you for a long time and never charge you.  There’s a lot of the other basic rules that get ignored.  I write this because you should think very carefully before you act.  You may think of your action as very minor, but it may not be viewed that way by others.  

There are going to be people that do not like what I am writing.  I am telling it like it is, really.

“AGENTS PROVOCATEURS” is the French term for people that come into a protest group and try to get you to do illegal or dangerous things, preferably to get you arrested or to set you up over time.

WHO ARE THEY?  WHY DO THEY DO IT?

 I think Agents provocateurs can be broken into 2 CATEGORIES:

1)  Real agents provocateurs, and 

2) undercover police, FBI, NSA, and Homeland Security.

1) Real Agents Provocateurs -  “Revolutionaries  or “Terrorists”  -  Some people actually belong to a supposed revolutionary or terrorist group.   These groups are real.  The FBI and NSA keep lists of them.  The vast majority of these groups are just a bunch of hot air and usually boring as all get-out, self-important, and often, from my observation, with main members who are on SSI for some mental disability that involves paranoia.  So while they have no job, they have plenty of time to be a “revolutionary” and talk big.  Others are professors or part-time professors with secure jobs.  Others work for non-profits.  Others are retired.  What I am saying is that most of them are not risking much by getting you to do something stupid. 

These folks want “action” – and they mostly want YOU to do the action.  They will lie to you and tell you what you are doing is okay, that it is legal, that nothing will happen, that it is good to get arrested, that it is “civil disobedience,” that you dare  not challenge them or argue with it.   (“Civil disobedience” is something else and is covered a little bit in the Note just below this post.)   

These people are manipulative.  They will challenge you and play an “ism” card to make it so you are supposed to be ashamed to stop them – they will say you are racist, sexist, against people with disabilities, against immigrants, ageist, elitist, or whatever. They will claim they have to do illegal acts because of the system, the man, police brutality, poverty, war, the cause, or something – demands it.  None of this is true.  No one gets to use their “status” as a “victim” to victimize you and wreck your life.

GUESS WHAT?  Once you get arrested, your “comrades” will NOT be there with bail money, a lawyer, to support you and your family since you will be out of a job, to get you into school despite a felony, etc.  In fact, they will use you to try to show the system is corrupt, the police are brutal, and on and on.  You will be a  pawn in their game. 

KEEP IN MIND: No responsible person with a job or family or going to school runs around doing violent or goofball things to get arrested.  Just does not happen. 

HOW TO GET RID OF THEM:  Demand that everyone follow the law.  DO NOT let them define “peace” as including “violence.”  Demand peace, non-violence and only legal activity.  End of story -- Only legal behavior as defined in the law, not in their imaginations.   

  

THEY WILL ARGUE:  “Everything Hitler did was legal,” etc – which is not true, but that is besides the point.  They will try to draw analogies to our society.  The U.S. is by no means perfect, but our laws are pretty darn good.  And also, as a society, we are pretty darn good.  We care about each other and help each other.  The U.S. is a good country and we aim to improve it, not destroy it.

They will argue that you are “co-opting the system,” "colluding with the authorities,” and on and on.  SAY:  You’re right.  I am.  I plan to go to college and have a family and I want a nice life with good things in it, not a felony record.  Thank you.  I am trying to improve things to make all that even better.

WHY THEY DO THIS:  Some people think that the way to build up interest in a protest or the way to build a movement is by having arrests, violence, injury, and destruction.   No doubt, this does cause interest and does cause more people to show up.   On the other side of this is that when protests become dangerous, the most productive and logical people are likely to stay away.   You may have a bigger crowd, but they may be more of an irrational mob.   Also, people that condone violence and destruction as a means to their ends are not likely to have equitable ends in mind.  Their style shows their substance.  

2) UNDERCOVER POLICE, FBI, NSA, HOMELAND SECURITY.  Wake up, folks! Almost every big domestic “terror” arrest has been a set-up by an FBI agent or someone working part-time for them.  HOW UNDERCOVER AGENTS WORK:

THEY JOIN YOUR GROUP.  They often take leadership roles.  They might be the friendliest people there.  They might have "good friends" in the group, but if you ask the good friends how long they have actually known the person and in what context, you are likely to find it is not very long and they only know the person from the group.   Undercover agents do not allow anyone to question them - they might toss the question back to you. They control the flow of information and try to block out those that question them.  


In fact, they work almost exactly like the people listed above  -- except instead of being goofs trying to draw you into some violent act and get you arrested so they can feel they are part of exciting action and have something to talk about (for years to come) – these folks will set you up for a huge arrest.  Supposedly, they are hunting out terrorists.  In many cases, it appears as if the agents did most of the talking, most of the planning, and the "stooge" just kind of went along for the ride. 

HOW IT WORKS EXACTLY:  They casually feel out a whole group, to see who are the vulnerable targets.

 HOW? 

1) They act the troll on message boards and facebook, to see who is and who is not open to violent action.  If they propose some stupid action and you do not object outright, you are a target.

2) They organize actions and when you are out, lead you to do stupid things, such as throwing things, going onto bridges or overpasses, blocking cars, shouting.  AND  - If you fall for it, you are their mark for a bigger set-up.

3) They invite you to classes where they draw you in to ideas and plans that involve violence.

4) They contact you privately to tell you of their dissatisfaction, and it builds over time.  They might get you to agree to help them in some act, or get you to start to carry it out.  The whole time, your conversations are recorded, the emails are kept, there might even be video.  These kinds of stings can start and if you seem ripe for it, they will go on for months to years until there is enough evidence to call you a “terrorist” and indict you.    

They may be doing 95% of the talking and planning, but if you say "Okay sure, I guess so," you are agreeing, you are in a "conspiracy," and you are in on whatever plan has been proposed.

5) They will incite you  to chaos, disorder and / or violence and then you will be arrested!  Yes, YOU! Or you can even be arrested on the basis of "the plan," even if it is not really your plan and even if you would never actually follow through and do it.   You need to be very careful of the company that you keep.  You need to be very careful what you agree to.

DO NOT FALL FOR ANY OF THIS.   If you ever encounter any person who is proposing things that you do not agree with, say no clearly and quickly.  Even if a person is persistent, you are best to block off all communication.  In some ethnic or culture groups, there can be a strong tendency to trust others from the same group.  There can also be a strong tendency not to want to be rude.  It is very important to be rude and to say no if someone starts proposing bad plans, even if you think the person might be joking or not serious on following through.

Also, if someone comes to you with a plan or request to harm someone else, you should report this to the police quickly, so that you are not involved in the plan.  This can be someone looking to shoot someone, someone wanting to buy bomb-making materials, someone planning a break-in or kidnapping, someone planning to bring weapons to school or a job.  You should never feel locked into a promise of silence, even if you have promised that.

  

 Note: I wrote this a while back.  Rereading it, I realize that it takes a strong, clear head to be involved in protest activity and not get sucked into the many mind games played by people there.  The main way is to only do things that are legal and safe and that do not possibly harm any other person.  That may seem like an innocuous statement, but I get many people arguing with it.   This blog post is not really meant for them; it is meant for people who want to steer clear of trouble.

Civil Disobedience: Some people talk about “civil disobedience" as if it is something that might happen at an everyday typical protest march.  Civil Disobedience is about refusing to obey an unjust law or rule. Today, many people mistakenly call it "civil disobedience" when they are breaking laws that are just and for the good of all, such as laws that tell us not to stand in traffic or laws that say a park closes at a certain time.  That is a protest technique that involves breaking the law, but it is not civil disobedience. True civil disobedience is where the law is fundamentally unjust and where by breaking it, the person accomplishes a greater good.  For example, if a law says you cannot feed the homeless, and if there are homeless hungry people and you feed them, that may be true civil disobedience.    It also may not be true civil disobedience, because the law may be just; there may be free feeding centers and the city may want the homeless fed only at those locations for reasons of food sanitation.

 Civil disobedience or the need for it is extremely rare.   Any time anyone is trying to get you to act like a hooligan as “civil disobedience,” you can be sure that is not someone you want to follow.  A true act of civil disobedience will usually involve serious advance planning,  consulting with lawyers, and will be a carefully orchestrated plan that involves a normal everyday act that is wrongly against the law.  It won’t involve any act of violence or destruction.

 Examples:  Rosa Parks sitting in the front seat on the bus.  People walking teens into segregated schools.  Black men eating at a segregated lunch counter.

"Civil disobedience" does not involve: bombs, weapons, following a person, stopping a person from going anywhere, destruction of property, breaking and entering, looting, being disorderly at a protest, endangering anyone, harassing or terrorizing anyone on the internet, or other such acts. 


Video of man advocating violence at Occupy St. Louis, complete with a tale of New York.  If he was paid to do this, he's not very good at his job.   

See Also:
 Fake Profiles Used for Spying, Cyberstalking, Crowd-turfing, Site-fluffing
Undercover Cops at Occupy  Protests
FBI Infiltrators in Protest Groups
Anonymous vs PERF
Oakland Police Department Crowd Dispersal Policy
FREE Download - Occupy Poster by Aaron Kuehn

Top 7 Things That Get People Arrested at a Protest aka How to Not Get Arrested

Top 3 Ways to Get Arrested at an Occupation Protest

Arrested at a Protest: How to Plan for It
Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions on Peaceable Assembly
Oakland Police Department Crowd Dispersal Policy
Occupy Santa Rosa Permit Conditions