The Hidden Dangers of Facebook Pages and the Misuse of Mindfulness Techniques

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The Hidden Dangers of Facebook Pages and the Misuse of Mindfulness Techniques

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The Hidden Dangers of Facebook Pages and the Misuse of Mindfulness Techniques

We all know by now that Russian intelligence services have been trying to influence public opinion in Western democracies. The simplified version of this story in the US is that the Kremlin favored Donald Trump to win, as Vladimir Putin mentioned. However, the larger picture is that it’s in Russia’s interest to keep the US divided and distracted. This also applies to Europe, which is why Russia backed the Brexit movement.

Russian interference came in various forms. It wasn’t solely pro-Trump. They supported both sides, promoting pages for “Black Lives Matter” as well as “Blue Lives Matter,” pro-Trump groups, and “resisters.” While helping Trump get elected was a goal, the broader aim was to sow distrust, touching on topics like race, immigration, law and order, and even health.

I was particularly surprised to learn that the Russians had set up a Facebook page called “Mindful Being.” According to AdAge, over 290,000 accounts followed at least one of these Pages, which were created between March 2017 and May 2018. Popular pages included “Aztlan Warriors,” “Black Elevation,” “Mindful Being,” and “Resisters,” while others had minimal followers.

The Russians essentially weaponized mindfulness. This tactic is especially interesting as the pages couldn’t be too extreme; they had to appear genuine to attract likes. Most of the content on “Mindful Being” seemed harmless and inspirational, only existing for two months before being taken down. The goal appeared to be laying the groundwork for future divisive content. Some posts aimed to make people distrustful of media and science.

Adding to this, I have a blog called Fake Buddha Quotes, which deals with verifying the authenticity of quotes. This skill can also help in discerning whether a Facebook post is manipulative. In my book, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buddha,” I discuss the spiritual practice of verifying quotes, memes, and news stories.

I got interested in the topic while trying to learn more about the neuroscience related to meditation. I noticed how vague terms like “mindfulness,” “altruism,” and “kindness” are frequently used in scientific discussions without clear definitions. This vagueness wasn’t a problem until recently, with attempts to quantify these complex categories becoming more common. As someone with a background in science, I find the trend of linking metaphysical categories with quantitative measures problematic.

While the intentions behind research connecting meditation and mindfulness with physiological and behavioral measurements are often noble, there’s a simplistic belief that quantifiable data is the only valid way to assess research success. This belief has led to an overreliance on numbers, reducing deep debates about principles to shallow empiricism. The intrusion of computer science into other fields exacerbates this issue, turning complex human experiences into simple numerical values.

This oversimplification can harm both science and culture and could be used for cultural engineering. The manipulative websites described in the article are part of this broader concern. Reflecting on “mindfulness,” I wondered what it means in extreme contexts, like a fighter pilot during a bombing raid. Could military institutions fund research to make pilots more mindful and suppress emotional responses to suffering?

Moreover, the rise of meditation apps and the increase in online surveillance could lead to dystopian scenarios. For example, China’s social credit system rewards or punishes people based on their behavior and data collected from apps. This combination of surveillance and mindfulness apps could manipulate social behavior for better or worse.

Concerned about these trends, I searched for “weaponized mindfulness” and found your page. While I don’t agree that Russia solely caused the political situation in the US, I think the future may hold even more complex manipulations. Could mindfulness meditation spam bots be next?

Best regards,
Reiner