I think you make a really good point. One should in no way
underestimate the strength of an adversary. Nor the extent of ones own
vulnerabilities. These guys have almost unlimited powers of money to
employ PhDs in psychology, UX "attention engineering", disinformation,
and other kinds of manipulation. Therefore "self-hacking" is kind of
where it's at for this stage of the battle.
The plus side is that:
1) We know what they're up to now, and that is half the struggle.
2) We know that they are indeed adversaries (enemies of democracy
and mental health), and that is also important.
Past that point, even a small number of us who are well educated,
resourceful, and committed to clear communication, can have a
significant impact. At the very least we can defend ourselves and help
others to build intellectual self-defence.
And we are changing things. Even two years ago this discussion and the
comments in this thread would have been unthinkable. We would have
been shouted down by social media zealots and labelled "weirdos" (which
I think is the very essence of hacker spirit - proud to be on the
"weird" side of the fight right now).
The plus side is that:
1) We know what they're up to now, and that is half the struggle.
2) We know that they are indeed adversaries (enemies of democracy and mental health), and that is also important.
Past that point, even a small number of us who are well educated, resourceful, and committed to clear communication, can have a significant impact. At the very least we can defend ourselves and help others to build intellectual self-defence.
And we are changing things. Even two years ago this discussion and the comments in this thread would have been unthinkable. We would have been shouted down by social media zealots and labelled "weirdos" (which I think is the very essence of hacker spirit - proud to be on the "weird" side of the fight right now).