I appreciated the article. On Sun, Mar 26, 2017 at 8:40 PM Kurt Buff <[email protected]> wrote:
> You'll need a subscription to see the original, but someone forwarded this > to me: > > https://sofrep.com/77645/how-trolls-from-4chan-perfectly-executed-a-crowd-sourced-intelligence-operation-against-shia-labeouf/ > > The conclusions and implications were already evident to those with > knowledge, but this makes it blindingly obvious. > > Kurt > > <https://sofrep.com/profile-display/> <https://sofrep.com/logout/> > > - <https://www.facebook.com/sofrep> > - <https://twitter.com/sofrep> > - <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1um2j03yvNH8fcw9cjMnw> > - <https://www.google.com/+SOFREP> > - <https://www.instagram.com/sofrep/> > > [image: Image courtesy of Barstool Sports] > How trolls from 4chan perfectly executed a crowd-sourced intelligence > operation against Shia LaBeouf [image: SOFREP Original Content] > > BY TRAVIS ALLEN <https://sofrep.com/author/allen-travis/> 03.24.2017#EXPERT > ANALYSIS <https://sofrep.com/op-ed/>EMAIL > <?subject=How%20trolls%20from%204chan%20perfectly%20executed%20a%20crowd-sourced%20intelligence%20operation%20against%20Shia%20LaBeouf&body=Read%20the%20article%20here:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp2m8l5-kcl> > SHARE > <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=356520554360073&display=popup&href=https://sofrep.com/77645/how-trolls-from-4chan-perfectly-executed-a-crowd-sourced-intelligence-operation-against-shia-labeouf/> > TWEET > <http://twitter.com/share?text=How%20trolls%20from%204chan%20perfectly%20executed%20a%20crowd-sourced%20intelligence%20operation%20against%20Shia%20LaBeouf&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.me%2Fp2m8l5-kcl&hashtags=sofrep> > > Last week, trolls from 4chan executed a highly effective crowd-sourced > intelligence operation, one that should serve as a case study in modern > information warfare. > > In what illustrates the power of a decentralized and flat operational > hierarchy, internet trolls from the website 4chan targeted and shut down > actor Shia Labeouf and his recent “He Will Not Divide Us” > <http://www.hewillnotdivide.us/> protest artwork through collaborative > intelligence gathering. > > In its original form, Labeouf had installed a 24-hour livestream camera > outside a New York art museum on January 20th, where passersby were > encouraged to stand and communicate messages of support for the protest. > After it became the site of numerous disruptions and fights, it was moved > to New Mexico, where it also only lasted a short while. > [image: image courtesy of YouTube] > <https://sofrep.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/shia-labeouf.jpg>LaBeouf > at his original “He Will Not Divide Us” protest. Image courtesy of YouTube > > Labeouf then altered the delivery of the protest by placing a simple white > flag, bearing the message “He Will Not Divide Us,” in an anonymous location > somewhere on planet Earth. The 24/7 video live-stream was only looking up > at the flagpole, showing the flag and the sky behind it, day and night. > > Inside of 36 hours, users from the internet forum 4chan located, removed, > and replaced the protest flag with a Donald Trump “Make America Great > Again” red hat, and a t-shirt depicting Pepe the Frog. > > As soon as the video stream had gone live the day prior, 4chan users began > to analyze the video footage in an attempt to deduce its location. Through > a collaborative, crowd-sourced effort, users began to piece together the > location through several clues. > > After LaBeouf was tagged on social media in Greenville, Tennessee, the > search had a starting point: rural Tennessee. > > Noticing several aircraft cross through the video frame behind the flag, > flight patterns in the skies above Tennessee were analyzed to find a match. > Once they had a general estimate, they realized the area in rural Tennessee > was too large to search on the ground. > [image: Image courtesy of Barstool Sports] > <https://sofrep.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/HWNDU-triangulated-flight-patterns.png>Triangulated > flight patterns led to a general search area > > That night, a user analyzed the movements of stars across the frame, using > known constellations as reference points to better pinpoint the location of > the flagpole. > [image: Image courtesy of Barstool Sports] > <https://sofrep.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/HWNDU-astronomy.png>Knowledge > of constellations and general astronomy further narrowed the location > > [image: Image courtesy of Barstool Sports] > <https://sofrep.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/HWNDU-flag-located.png> > > The next morning, a 4chan user got into a vehicle and drove into the > suspected vicinity of the flag, and began to honk the horn, letting other > users watching the live feed vector him onto the objective. That night, the > snatch was made. Beyond the snarky glee people can enjoy by watching > internet trolls frustrate a celebrity over and over, this incident > highlights some key implications about the power of crowd-sourced > intelligence operations. > > 1. No formal leadership hierarchy was directing any aspect of the > operation. Completely organic and operatives were united purely by > political or ideological reasons. > 2. Anonymous users all voluntarily contributed individual efforts to > build a common operating picture. > 3. Easily accessible and unclassified information over the internet > allowed real-time, collaborative intelligence gathering. > 4. Decentralized operations enabled a local supporter to act quickly. > With 4chan operating on anonymity, in the event he was compromised, no > ‘chain of command’ or anyone else could conceivably be implicated in the > plot. > > While this episode of capture the flag is essentially a victim-less crime, > the operation was conceptually sound, and if anything should give us pause > to consider what other forms this sort of mischief could take if the actors > had nefarious or criminal intent. > > Also, I’m willing to bet the guys from 4chan could’ve found Bin Laden > inside of 30 minutes with their demonstrated level of motivation and > coordination > > *Note: As of 22 March, LaBeouf has erected the He Will Not Divide Us flag > on top of an art museum in Liverpool, England. Users on the 4chan Facebook > page are currently in the planning stages to potentially steal the flag > again.* > > *Images courtesy of Barstool sports* > > >
