As EU Politicians Insist That It's All Just 'Bots' And 'Astroturf' Tons Of People Showing Up In Real Life To Protest

from the look-at-all-those-bots dept

One of the more obnoxious elements of the EU politicians brushing off the concerns of the public concerning the EU Copyright Directive, is their repeated, insulting and incorrect, claim that there really isn't a public upswell against Articles 11 and 13 and that it's all just manufactured by Google and "bots" and "astroturfing." We've already pointed out that nearly 5 million people have signed the Change.org petition protesting Article 13 -- making it the largest petition on that site ever. And those are real people signing on.

And those real people are now showing up to protest as well. As highlighted by Drew Wilson at FreezeNet:

The ink has barely dried on the finalizing of Article 11 and Article 13 and now, protests are beginning to emerge in Europe.

All over Twitter there are examples of large protests springing up over the Copyright Directive.

I especially like the text of this one which, translated, says "But we are all just bots."

Boy those "bots" sure crossed the uncanny valley in a hurry. Here's another one, saying: "We are currently at #Artikel13Demo the one in Cologne or as MEP of the CDU, Sven Schulze would say: "A real fake action."-Yes exactly! You see, we're all just bots!" Look at all those bots:

Wir sind gerade auf der #Artikel13Demo in Köln oder wie Europaabgeordneter der CDU, Sven Schulze sagen würde: "Eine richtige Fake Aktion." - Ja genau! Sieht man ja, wir sind alle nur Bots! 🤖#Artiekl13 🚫 #Uploadfilter #SaveYourInternet pic.twitter.com/ph7K2DwOyH — unravel_game (@MilanUnravel) February 16, 2019

And some more bots:

I'm sensing a theme:

Damn, that's a lot of bots.

I'm beginning to think that European politicians who mocked critics of Articles 11 and 13 as "bots" may realize that that was a strategic mistake. The "bots" have mobilized -- and they sure look like human beings who will be voting for the EU Parliament in May...

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Filed Under: article 11, article 13, bots, copyright, eu, eu copyright directive, eu parliament, protests