We've really got to get back to writing about Back To The Future

December 4, 2016 8:16 AM

Signs Of A Creepy Government Conspiracy At Standing Rock is a bit of investigative journalism from, er, Cracked, covering various cybersecurity attacks that have been launched against the protest camp at Standing Rock.
posted by whir (25 comments total)

Once upon a time we had Indymedia. Now... ugh. The tone of this, and its ignorance of the history of protest in the US...
posted by gusandrews at 8:57 AM on December 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

ok, ok, I was really reacting to the first few paragraphs. There's some decent work further down.
posted by gusandrews at 9:02 AM on December 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

Odinsdream, this might not be a surprise, but figuring out how exactly it is being done is critical step in trying to stop or resist it, right? I mean, I vaguely knew that jamming is a thing but had no clue as to the specifics of the technology employed, which this article usefully provided.
posted by AdamCSnider at 9:16 AM on December 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

They say that there's no flight history for N1746L, but I was able to find it fairly easily.

They also claim that another plane's registration was never changed from its private owner to the South Dakota Highway Patrol, but.....I mean, it was.

Maybe Cracked should stick to listicles.
posted by jpe at 9:34 AM on December 4, 2016 [11 favorites]

Okay, am I the only one who was disappointed when clicking the link on "anyone who reads it will literally shit credibility"?

Cus... So far, nope. No credibility poop.
posted by slipthought at 9:36 AM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Take me down to the Protest City, where there is no grass but counseling tipis" is a pretty great caption, I'm just saying
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:27 AM on December 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

Could you go into more detail about the "ignorance of the history of protest"? Apparently I'm similarly ignorant.

Cracked seems to have a house style of "start with the assumption of mainstream views / assumption that you don't care about this issue, and we'll convince you / ease you into it." I assumed that was what you meant but after reading it I'm not sure.


also yeah i would really like it if Some site with an "investigation" budget should probably take it from here.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:42 AM on December 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

""Cracked" might have once been a good name for a Mad Magazine imitataor, but now considering the new reality it's really a fitting name for a top- tier journalism outfit."

There's a serious lack of fact-checking in almost all top-tier journalism these days.
posted by I-baLL at 10:46 AM on December 4, 2016

Some site with an "investigation" budget should probably take it from here

Or someone with google. Because that's all it took to debunk several of their claims.
posted by jpe at 10:57 AM on December 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

Asked and answered.
posted by jpe at 11:02 AM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

N1746L - in the sources they provided it looks like that 1 is an I in one of the two images. This is a plenty common mistake.

Even if there are a couple issues here, the larger point, and most of the facts, are still good. Some of the discussion here resembles energy propaganda against climate change science.

We need popular media venues to cover this stuff if we care at all about the abuses of the police state.
posted by Strange_Robinson at 11:10 AM on December 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

Well, there were two facts that could be checked, and both claims were false. The rest is "it could be a shadowy conspiracy." And fine, it could be. But as journalism goes, the article is crap.
posted by jpe at 11:15 AM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Phone battery suddenly dying is possibly explained by the below-freezing temps at Standing Rock. Extreme cold is hard on phone batteries and it can mess up the heuristics used to predict remaining power, meaning you go from 40% to dead with no warning.

I've also experienced phantom apps opening in iPhone and Android devices when it's super cold, in part due to sleeves and gloves. It's pretty easy to accidentally launch the iOS camera if you're struggling with a fussy touchscreen.
posted by rh at 11:41 AM on December 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

There were also the facts on honeypots and scanners. That's all verifiable if not to acedemic standards of citation. Again, this is popular media.

Further, correlation and anecdotes are about the best that can be done when confronted with the American Stasi. I like hard proof as much as the next person, but to have that requires more transparency and more accountability than we have.
posted by Strange_Robinson at 11:42 AM on December 4, 2016 [4 favorites]

Phone battery suddenly dying is possibly explained by the below-freezing temps at Standing Rock

Please review the timeline for the protests. Freezing conditions are only a recent phenomena.
posted by Strange_Robinson at 11:44 AM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

correlation and anecdotes are about the best that can be done when confronted with the American Stasi.

I know, just like with 9/11. It was clearly committed by the American Stasi, but you, me, and the rest of the alt-right just have to make due with "correlation and anecdotes."
posted by jpe at 1:18 PM on December 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

Phone battery suddenly dying is possibly explained by the below-freezing temps at Standing Rock. Extreme cold is hard on phone batteries and it can mess up the heuristics used to predict remaining power, meaning you go from 40% to dead with no warning.

Yeah, the phone battery claims I would take as just noise in a paranoid atmosphere. But the claims of fake hotspots and Stingray usage are well-supported, I think, both by the specific evidence in this article and by the experience of protesters during prior events.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:02 PM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

US denies key permit for Dakota Access pipeline, a win for tribe (The Guardian):

The army corps will undertake an environmental impact statement and look for alternative routes, the tribe said in its own announcement.

“The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all of Indian Country will be forever grateful to the Obama administration for this historic decision,” tribal chairman Dave Archambault said in a statement.

While the news is a victory, Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the tribe, cautioned that the decision could be appealed. “They [Energy Transfer Partners] can sue, and Trump can try to overturn,” Hasselman said. “But overturning it would be subject to close scrutiny by a reviewing court, and we will be watching the new administration closely.”

The announcement came just one day before the corps’ stated deadline for thousands of Native American and environmental activists – who call themselves water protectors – to leave the sprawling encampment on the banks of the river.

posted by cynical pinnacle at 2:02 PM on December 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

Don't get too excited about that news. There are still a number of ways the incoming administration can overturn it by applying executive pressure. The Corp of Engineer's ultimately answers to the executive, like the rest of the military apparatus.
posted by saulgoodman at 4:39 PM on December 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

And as it turns out, the oil company can also still proceed with the development over the Corp's objections and just pay a fine for violating the ruling, which is what the executives have already said they plan to do.
posted by saulgoodman at 4:42 PM on December 4, 2016 [7 favorites]

There was some speculation in my house that Obama's delay in doing this was to figure out more permanent ways of doing this that Trump can't easily overturn.
Any hope there?
posted by MtDewd at 4:56 PM on December 4, 2016

Related thread: A description of the camp and protests.
posted by homunculus at 5:47 PM on December 4, 2016

And as it turns out, the oil company can also still proceed with the development over the Corp's objections and just pay a fine for violating the ruling, which is what the executives have already said they plan to do.

Any chance I could get a link for this? There are lots of celebratory posts, and I want to update them so people don't think the fight's over, but I wouldn't know what to google for.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 10:11 PM on December 4, 2016

Wait how can they do that? They don't own the land, the government does, right? They can't just build on stuff they don't own.
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:30 PM on December 7, 2016

Yes, you'd think all that nearby law enforcement apparatus could be put to use.
posted by contraption at 2:33 PM on December 7, 2016