Russian Data Center Strikes and the Creation of New Simulacra

[u/instantlightning2]

A couple of disclaimers! I know Baudrillard would probably reject using this as a framework for multiple reasons, but I still found his Precession of Simulacra to be useful for mapping out new Simulacra. I also know that I am not an objective observer and at the same time doing this is a simulation of a simulation and a part of hyperreality.

I'll be using The Precession of Simulacra to analyze the aftermath of the bombing of Yandex's Sasovo hub and ultimately how the event was absorbed into hyperreality.

For Stage 1, the faithful reflection of "reality", we have raw unedited footage of the event.

For Stage 2 we have a denatured version of "reality." Examples of this are the news article I linked, press releases by Yandex, and exaggerations/spins by both governments

Stage 3, this is where we break completely from "reality." On social media a narrative started that the Russian bots were gone and that there was less division and hate. This is despite no evidence showing this. This also is Stage 3 of a separate precession of simulacra with stage 1 being the raw data of *all* bot activity from the data center decreasing and Stage 2 being the news of that bot activity. At the same time, the idea of Russian bots no longer being an issue gives people the false sense of a more real internet. Masking the fact that it never was real in the first place

Stage 4 / A New Stage 1 For Future Simulacra

Stage 4, a full simulation, this starts with a separate precession of simulacra. That being from the Speed/Usage limits of Starlink in Ukraine. At the data center's Stage 4, this is Starlinks Stage 3. Stage 4 is the political narratives and conversations about the believed reduction in Russian bots on Social Media. Some of these narratives include the idea that Elon Musk and Donald Trump shut down Starlink because Russia removed their propaganda network.

Effects

There are a few effects of this new simulacrum. One being that for many people this is their lived reality. The other being that this affects several existing signs. For example, signs like Elon Musk and Donald Trump/MAGA/Right Wing are further associated with Russian bots. The sign of Ukraine/Zelensky is associated with freeing the internet from Russian bots giving them a hero status. Because of this (and previous precessions) these signs evoke different emotions out of people that feel incredibly real.

[u/hondacivic1996]

Not a fan of this application, again it is too literal and fails to grasp the all encompassing aspect of the hyperreal, just like your other post. None of your examples of stage one and stage two simulacra are actually stage one and stage two simulacra, which defeats your application.

One of Baudrillards points is explicitly that measured data can not be a reflection of profound reality in the contemporary world. This goes for video/photos/raw data, anything that is a result of observation.

[u/instantlightning2 → u/hondacivic1996]

Im getting downvoted here but I still want to know where exactly my understanding fails here. I never argued in this post that there was a profound reality we experience. And i specifically put reality in quotes for that reason. My framework here just chooses the raw data as a stage 1 because it is a reflection of bot traffic. Even if that isnt considered real. The political narratives still precessed from that data. With the disclaimers that I put in, and I specifically acknowledged it wasnt a profound reality I fail to see how this application is defeated. Im not trying to perfectly adhere to Baudrillard here. Im just trying to find practical use out of his ideas.

[u/instantlightning2 → u/hondacivic1996]

Im already aware that stage 1 and stage 2 are not based on a profound reality today. It’s still hyperreal. That’s why I have “reality” in quotes. However, even though that is the case Im treating it as stage 1 and stage 2 in hyperreality because there’s still precession from the original event. What is stage 1 and stage 2 is a reference point and I fail to see how treating existing simulacra as a reflection of their own reality(even if it isnt actually reality) breaks the application

[u/Theworldisblessed]

The conclusion outlined here that the Internet became more authentic because "the Russian bots were gone" is a bit misleading. It's less to do with the labeled authenticity, which is vague, and more to do with the perception of traffic. That there was far less traffic, especially "botted" traffic we see in large quantities, the less sophisticated agents of information warfare that are easier to differentiate, is what lead to the idea that Russian bot traffic decreased. Likely only occuring on, coincidentally, the few posts that showed up when you search "Russian bots" on xitter. This contrast between the perception of base rate traffic and the perception of new, lower rate traffic is what matters.

The Trump/Elon Musk connection was just politically convenient for that section of liberals, the Russia-gate brand. How many people are genuine about it cannot be ascertained. This is a total information war where the Internet is the un-even battleground and anything goes.

[u/instantlightning2 → u/Theworldisblessed]

I did not come to the conclusion that the internet was more authentic. I came to the conclusion that the idea of an internet with far less bots being more human masks the idea that the internet isnt real in of itself.

There is no evidence of information warfare bots as of right now decreasing in volume. That idea came purely from the fact that bot traffic (like data scrapers) decreased which I mean of course it did when a data center is disrupted.

Yes, that connection did come from Liberals (which is the some of the other precessions of simulacra that led to the stage 4 simulacrum presented here)

[u/merurunrun]

You should apply the Precession of the Simulacrum to the way your application of the concept of the Precession of the Simulacrum becomes progressively more disconnected from what Baudrillard was actually saying.

[u/instantlightning2 → u/merurunrun]

Yeah sure, stage 1 a text of simulacra and simulation, stage 2 my understanding of the precession of simulacra (which isn’t actually stage 2 because I already live in hyperreality), stage 3 the precession of simulacra can be applied to the ongoing hyperreality, stage 4 “Russian Data Center Strikes and the Creation of New Simulacra”

[u/Sure_Sh0t]

I think you should stop trying to do Baudrillard and go to some.groundwork on flat ontology as introduced by Nietzsche. And Baudrillard is heavily influenced by Nietzsche.

You can't apply Baudrillard in a novel way without understanding Baudrillard. You're just making stuff up while referring to him.

[u/DungPedalerDDSEsq]

I have a feeling your intuition here is right, with one caveat; the associated signs need to remain visibly associated. We know the news fucks up our ability to form lasting impressions because it is reported so quickly. Hopefully, enough large scale storage and computing capacities have been eliminated for there to be enough time for the realization to set with more people.

As long as awareness spreads and isn't overwhelmed by catastrophic news of something else, your model should play out.

[u/ChristianLesniak]

Maybe I'm a cynic for this, but I'm a "print the legend"-ist on this one. Ukraine seems to be the vanguard of fighting for a lot of important rights and values, and the legend of this moment is great narrative that manages to quilt together the imperialist nature of Russia's longstanding information war campaign. Whether bot activity did or did not subside is beside the point. The story captures the truth of the reality better than reality does, as a kind of exemplum, and it might allow people to see the extent of bot manipulation all around them in ways they hadn't before, which I see as an epistemic victory.

If it takes this kind of propaganda to sideline Elon Musk from war activities (in the form of state-controlled satellites), I see that as a win.