How To Fight






ELECTRONIC WARFARE:
INTERNET AS A BATTLEGROUND




Nowadays, we cannot trust the media when it comes to tobacco. Much of the media is controlled, or at least heavily influenced, by the anti-tobacco cartel, at least in the English-speaking world.

Because of its global nature, the Internet cannot be censored. This, of course, worries the control freaks a great deal, for information manipulation is how the cartel can influence public opinion. Without manipulations, the truth comes out, and the fabricated anti-tobacco arguments inevitably fall with a loud crash.

Many have proposed some sort of control on the Internet, including our beloved anti-smoking top dog Bill Clinton. Fortunately so far, all have failed.

But the Internet is also where the "antis" are publishing their propaganda.

Anti-smoking harassment is common on the Internet. But here we can fight on a levelled-plane field, and -- most importantly -- we can fight offensively, as opposed to defensively.

Fighting with websites

FORCES has been the first pro-choice site on the WWW. Many others have followed our lead, and now hundreds of pro-smoking sites are available. The presence of pro-smoking sites is to be encouraged, for it offers a strong presence of tobacco and tobacco supporters in a medium that is growing at an incredible rate. Sites don't have to be huge, or fancy, and they don't have to be part of an organization; they can be personal web sites, too. But the can be loaded with links to pro-choice sites that have the evidence and/or the arguments against the falsehoods on tobacco, such as FORCES.

Posting on bulletin boards

There are hundreds of tobacco-related bulletin boards and chat rooms, and anti-smoking propaganda abounds. By participating to a few, you will counter the propaganda while "nailing" the lies. Avoid the so-called "pissing contests". They waste your time, and bring no results. One of the tactics of the antis is to keep us busy in "pissing contests" while their colleagues spread their intolerance and false information unopposed. Make sure that your message is loaded with documentable statements. Much of the material you need you can find in The Evidence.

Prove your point, prove them liars, and move on. Liars and fanatics do not deserve attention after their lie is proven.

Fighting with e-mail

E-mail can be used as a very powerful weapon, both offensively and defensively, and with the great advantage that you can do so by sitting in your living room, while having the power to reach millions.

Getting the database

There are many e-mail databases available. An e-mail database is a list of millions of e-mail addresses, usually subdivided by nation, business type, etc.

Acquiring a good updated database costs about US $80.00, and it has typically over 10 million addresses. You can select the addresses of the area you would like to "hit", then prepare a message denouncing the lies of the anti-tobacco cartel, perhaps addressing the recipient to visit the FORCES websites to realize the extend of the anti-smoking deceit.

Do not overload your Internet provider! Do not send more than 200-300 messages per day.

Answering e-mail harassment

Anti-smokers like to harass smokers. They do that in person, and with any media, including, of course, e-mail.

As a pro-smoking website, we have been harassed quite a bit, and gained a lot of experience.

There are three possible courses of action:

  • You ignore the harassment. If you do that, you have 50% chances that they will not harass you again. You may try that first, though their insults will go unanswered, and unpunished.

  • If they keep harassing you, then it is useless to tell them to leave you alone. You may have also decided not to let them get away with it.

    Notice that it useless to argue their points -- and insults. If you are so inclined, a counter- harassment e-mail with tones, insults and threats even bigger than the ones received gives you a 90% chance that they consider you a tougher cookie than they are, and they leave you alone. Remember that anti-smokers are bullies by definition, and they back off when faced with greater resolve.

  • The last alternative is the best way to deal with harassment. Contact the ISP of whoever is sending you harassing mail. This will usually get the harasser booted. This forces a valuable lesson in Internet etiquette on them, and is very, very satisfying.

Attack the antis directly

The anti-tobacco cartel organizations trumpet their false information big time on the Internet, and they are planning to get bigger.

Here is a link with National Smokers Alliance's website in which you can see that the cartel is planning to monitor discussions on bulletin boards and log the address of the smokers in a database for future "reference", and for the purpose of "we-want-to-save-you" type of messages.

So far, the anti-tobacco cartel has "addressed" the smokers (e-mail included) with enough paternalism and contempt... we feel it is time to address them back.

For example, if they write a letter such as "smokers! we want to save you", for example, let's write back something to the effect of "we want to save you from the misleading information you are divulging... why go to jail because of it, eventually? QUIT NOW!", perhaps complete with bibliographical references proving their falsifications.

Better yet, you may choose to be the first one to write.

Smokers have been silently taking the self-righteous arrogance and contempt of the anti-tobacco cartel. Seeing little or no resistance, and no initiative from the other side, the cartel has become more and more aggressive.

Let us show them contempt for what they stand for, by taking the initiative to write first. Here is a list of anti-tobacco scum you can write to electronically. Please feel free to address them to our websites for any lie they may choose to have exposed...!

MORE ON THIS ISSUE IN THE "PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE" SECTION.


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