Russian Troll Team Reportedly Paid To Tout YotaPhone

The most notable smartphone to come out of Russia is the YotaPhone, which is currently in its second iteration and soon to arrive on Indiegogo. The phone is notable because of its dual displays, one of which is an e-ink panel that sips battery life and is, arguably, more ideal for viewing certain kinds of content (ebooks, perhaps) than a regular LCD screen. The phone has caught quite a bit of attention on its own, but it looks like the Russian government is leaving nothing to risk, using unofficial trolls to tout the device online.

The information comes from The Guardian, which says it was able to talk with a Russian legion of paid-under-the-table workers, a so-called "troll army" that is paid to post comments on blocks and forums across the Internet, doing so in line with the government's ideological talking points while smearing the west and its myriad governments.

Check it: YotaPhone 2 first impressions

Two of those workers spoke with The Guardian, one of whom is said to work in a department dedicated to running fake blogs on LiveJournal, and another that spams municipal forums with posts that are pro-Kremlin. Their work is said to be done unofficially, and the payments are said to be made under the table.

Included among them are editors that supervise work, and the salary is said to be nearly $800 USD a month, at least for one of the sources. Most notably, nestled among the various discussions of what all these workers cover, is mention of the YotaPhone, of which the writers are required to provide "glowing reviews".

SOURCE: The Verge