There have been reports of paid trolls working for David Brock of Media Matters for America to attack on social media in support of Clinton during her past election. Right now he is under accusations of running a large campaign against Trump. Which is most likely fueling the none stop coverage of Trump. He did such a successful campaign against Anita Hill and Bill Clinton as a conservative the Clinton's hired him to work for them after he made a party switch. Rumors are that these people were paid 25 to 50 cents a post to confront critics of Clinton during her campaigns and attack pages for Sanders. With everyone being so partisan I don't see it having much effect on outcomes. And most reports reflect that also. However, I see outrage and a stronger sense tribalism is the most effective outcome due to the medias exaggeration of use. While they give you the idea that millions were spent in Russia Gate and they reached millions in their attempts, investigations show only about 100.000 was actually spent and reached so few people it barely registers. And a good amount of it happening after the elections. I look at social media as just another place to spread the perception management outside of TV and radio. Simply because so many use it today. It's just another tool for them. [en.wikipedia.org]

@William_Mary Which is why I pay little attention to social media. Heck I did not even join facebook until 2016, partly because of Etsy and then as a place to vent politically. I only have 25 friends on fb and it now is an easy way to stay in touch with my younger sister a fellow anti trump/gop person. My Dad helped me hone my bullshit-o-meter at an early age, it has served me well. Every once and awhile I have fallen prey to the bs.

@silverotter11 I feel you! Yea I fought it off for years myself. Then it became a source of keeping up with my son and x co-workers from a distance once i moved. At one point I had over a hundred on my list. But during the 2016 election cycle I got so sick of the partisan bs and those constantly posting the same fake memes I cleaned house. I'm down to 35 myself now. When you send a friend proof of what they are sharing is bs, and a week later they re-share it again, I lose my mind. And you're right! It's so god dam hard to escape it. Every now and then you get caught on your heels again. We just don't know what we can trust today.