Kompromat Tactics in GNU and Linux
35 years ago a 21-year-old Linus Torvalds released a kernel. Torvalds had come from a left-leaning family (his father's work related to this political and journalistic orientation) and despite living with 4 girls (his wife and 3 daughters) some people tried calling him "sexist". Evidence of this was so thin and the accusations mostly came from the "Incel Bar" online, basically brigading people in social control media based on phony characterisations and demonisations one cannot respond to (dispel), even with an account in social control media. Funnily enough, in the fallout or aftermath of it all they put Torvalds - not the "Incel Bar" - under psychological care ("manners training" as fellow developers mockingly called it) as if something was inherently wrong with him. Stalin must have smiled in his grave. Then they tried to police language. The person who led this effort at the Linux Foundation himself had mental struggles, according to his wife (he too had 3 daughters). Last month the person whose spouse calls him a rapist (his response was not a denial but an ad hominem attack) attempted to put my wife in prison after making an "offer" to her. To me, this seems like a form of blackmail.
Blackmail tactics are not the invention of the Soviets. As Wikipedia puts it: "Kompromat (Russian: компромат, IPA: [kəmprɐˈmat] ⓘ; short for компрометирующий материал, variously translated as "compromising material", "discrediting material", or "incriminating material") is damaging information about a person or a group, commonly a politician, businessperson, or other public figure, which may be used for negative campaigning or smear campaigning to discredit the person or group. It can also be used for blackmail purposes, often to exert influence over a person rather than for monetary gain, and extortion. The dissemination of kompromat is a key tactic in "dark PR" or "black PR" campaigns.[1] Kompromat may be acquired from security agencies or intelligence agencies, or outright forged, and then publicized, e.g., via a public relations official."
Kompromat as a concept was covered here in the past in relation to Microsoft. Ryan covered that as well. █
Image source: Volksschule c. 1900
