News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers. Parent comment

Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by diogenescynic on Thursday September 21, 2017 @11:01PM (#15309127)
Because the science is usually funded by Monsanto. And they hire paid shills to keyword search the internet and argue nonstop about it, so their deliberate and aggressive propaganda has made me much more suspicious to whatever they are trying to sell, rightly or wrongly. And... it seems like more and more often we're seeing studies that show some of the main components of their products are harmful or not anymore effective than traditional methods.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/business/monsanto-roun...

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/glyphosa...

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/18/gmos-safe-eat-s...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by judah on Friday September 22, 2017 @10:10AM (#15312287)
The problem with this is it's essentially a conspiracy theory.

To be sure, internet shills exist. But it's punting, and intellectually lazy, to simply dismiss arguments as, "This guy is arguing X; clearly he's a paid shill."

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by lumberjack on Friday September 22, 2017 @01:13PM (#15313975)
Sometimes conspiracy theories are correct.

https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/toxic-tort-law/monsanto-round...

And Monsanto overdoes it with their shilling on Reddit to the point where it is so much in your fact that it hurts. I guess they do it in house instead of contracting? They aren't very good at it.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by marcosdumay on Friday September 22, 2017 @01:07PM (#15313929)
Wait, are you actually claiming Monsanto is not paying for that research, or that they do not have a conflict of interest?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by diogenescynic on Friday September 22, 2017 @05:32PM (#15316029)
It's not a theory if it is actually happening. Same thing with gun control and a few other topics. I worked for a public affairs company where I saw mining companies do his first hand. This is more and more common.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by QAPereo on Friday September 22, 2017 @10:20AM (#15312380)
In the same way that tobacco companies were engaged in a conspiracy... yep.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by judah on Friday September 22, 2017 @11:39AM (#15313140)
Some conspiracies turn out true, yes. But a great many do not.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by QAPereo on Friday September 22, 2017 @01:59PM (#15314315)
This one is fairly well documented as well, and occurs in the same space as issues like price fixing supplements.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by 2bitencryption on Friday September 22, 2017 @12:26AM (#15309388)
I never have believed the whole "internet shills" thing on any side of any argument, and I would need some hard, hard evidence to change my mind.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by mmariani on Friday September 22, 2017 @01:42AM (#15309657)
There you go https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by Chardok on Friday September 22, 2017 @10:21AM (#15312393)
Of course you can never truly prove someone is a "shill", but it was the entire purpose of Correct the Record during Hillary's campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correct_the_Record
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by jerf on Friday September 22, 2017 @09:46AM (#15312092)
Internet shills definitely exist.

On the other hand, I've been accused of it three or four times, and, no, nobody's ever paid me for posting things on the internet. So it's also definitely an accusation flung around in cases where it is not justified.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by zolthrowaway on Friday September 22, 2017 @11:06AM (#15312822)
That's exactly what an internet shill would want you to think ;)
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Monsanto’s Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers by jerf on Friday September 22, 2017 @03:43PM (#15315139)
Well, I guess now I've been accused of it four or five times. However, I claim most strenuously and in the strongest terms that zolthrowaway did not pay me to post this. I claim it to be so with downright suspicious strength and vigorousness, in fact. Believe me.
[ Parent | on HN ]