黑暗新興產業 找網紅發假訊息

In May, several French and German social media influencers received a strange proposal.

幾個法國和德國的社群網紅，5月時收到一份怪異的提案。

A London-based public relations agency wanted to pay them to promote messages on behalf of a client. A polished three-page document detailed what to say and on which platforms to say it.

一家位於倫敦的公關公司想付費給他們，為一名客戶推廣訊息。字句精練的三頁文件詳細交代要說什麼，以及在哪個平台上說。

But it asked the influencers to push not beauty products or vacation packages, as is typical, but falsehoods tarring Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. Stranger still, the agency, Fazze, claimed a London address where there is no evidence any such company exists.

但是它要求網紅推銷的不是典型的美容產品或套裝旅遊，而是抹黑輝瑞BNT新冠疫苗的不實訊息。更怪的是，這家名叫Fazze的公司雖宣稱有倫敦地址，當地卻沒這家公司存在的證據。

The scheme appears to be part of a secretive industry that security analysts and U.S. officials say is exploding in scale: disinformation for hire.

這個計畫看起來像是安全專家和美國官員所說，正在大規模擴張的祕密產業一部分：雇傭傳播假訊息。

Private firms, straddling traditional marketing and the shadow world of geopolitical influence operations, are selling services once conducted principally by intelligence agencies.

私人公司跨越傳統行銷和地緣政治影響力行動的陰暗世界，正販售過去主要由情報機構執行的服務。

“Disinfo-for-hire actors being employed by government or government-adjacent actors is growing and serious,” said Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, calling it “a boom industry.”

大西洋理事會「數位鑑識研究實驗室」主任葛拉罕．布魯奇說，「受政府或政府相關單位雇用傳播假訊息的人，正不斷增加且日趨嚴重」，這是個「繁榮產業」。

For-hire disinformation, though only sometimes effective, is growing more sophisticated as practitioners iterate and learn. Experts say it is becoming more common in every part of the world, outpacing operations conducted directly by governments.

受雇傳播假訊息固然僅偶爾有效，但在執行者反覆學習之下變得更精妙。專家說，這項產業變得在世界每個角落更普遍，勝過政府直接進行的任務。

The trend emerged after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, experts say. Cambridge, a political consulting firm linked to members of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was found to have harvested data on millions of Facebook users.

專家說，這個趨勢在2018年的劍橋分析醜聞後興起。這家政治顧問公司和川普2016年總統大選競選活動的成員有關聯，被發現收集數百萬名臉書用戶數據。

Cambridge used its data to target hyperspecific audiences with tailored messages. It tested what resonated by tracking likes and shares.

劍橋分析利用數據，以量身訂做的訊息來針對極端特定受眾，它利用追蹤「讚」和「分享」測試哪些訊息獲得反應。

The episode taught a generation of consultants and opportunists that there was big money in social media marketing for political causes, all disguised as organic activity.

這起事件讓同一世代的顧問和機會主義者學到，出於政治因素、偽裝成自然活動的社群媒體行銷大有錢景。

Some newcomers eventually reached the same conclusion as Russian operatives had in 2016: Disinformation performs especially well on social platforms.

一些新進者最終也獲得和俄羅斯人員在2016年得到的相同結論：假訊息在社群平台上表現得特別好。

At the same time, backlash to Russia’s influence-peddling appeared to have left governments wary of being caught — while also demonstrating the power of such operations.

同時，對俄國操弄影響力的反彈，顯然讓政府在展示這類行動的力量時，也擔憂會被抓個正著。

“There is, unfortunately, a huge market demand for disinformation,” Brookie said, “and a lot of places across the ecosystem that are more than willing to fill that demand.”

「不幸的是，對於假訊息有巨大的市場需求。」布魯奇說，「而這個生態系的許多地方非常樂於滿足這項需求。」

成功的資深高球選手變多

From the 18th fairway in the final group of the British Open in 2009, Tom Watson, the five-time Open champion, hit a shot that flew right at the pin. For a moment, it looked like Watson, then age 59, would win the tournament for a record sixth time and become the oldest player to win a major championship.

2009年英國公開賽最後一組第18洞的球道上，五屆冠軍華森一揮直飛旗桿。一時間，當時59歲的華森似乎將贏得創紀錄的第六座英國公開賽冠軍，並成為最年長的四大賽冠軍。

A firm bounce sent the ball off the back of the green, and Watson needed three more shots to get the ball into the hole. That dropped him into a tie for first. In the four-hole playoff, he ran out of gas and lost by six shots.

小白球強力彈跳後滾出果嶺後方，華森又花了三桿才把球送進洞裡。這使他落到並列領先。四洞延長賽，他精力耗盡，最後輸六桿。

A decade ago, the idea of an older golfer contending in, let alone winning, a major championship was something few considered. That was still the time when most golfers petered out in their mid-40s and kicked around the golf world before having a brief resurgence on the Champions Tour when they turned 50.

10年前，很少人料想得到年長的高球選手會參加四大賽，遑論拿冠軍。當時，大多數高球選手在45歲左右開始淡出，到滿50歲參加「冠軍」（譯註：長春）巡迴賽散發短暫餘暉前，其間在高球界四處晃晃。

Leading these middle-age mavericks is Phil Mickelson, 51, won the PGA Championship in May. He beat Brooks Koepka, a four-time major winner, and Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, who are both in their 30s.

這些不服老的中年高球選手領導人物是剛滿51歲的米克森，他在今年5月贏得PGA錦標賽冠軍。擊敗了都是30多歲的四屆四大賽冠軍得主科普卡與2010年英國公開賽冠軍歐蘇森。

“All these guys have taken a new approach,” said Dave Phillips, co-founder of the Titleist Performance Institute, which focuses on golf and fitness. “There’s a lot of money out there. They realize they can still compete with the younger guys, but they need to spend more time on their body and what they fuel their body with.”

高球與健身專門機構「冠軍競技表現研究所」共同創辦人戴維．菲利普斯說：「這些人都採取一種新方法。比賽獎金很高。他們意識到自己仍可跟年輕人競爭，只是需要花更多時間在身體及強化身體的物質上面。」

Phillips said what Mickelson and the others were doing provided lessons for older golfers. “It’s not strength, but the recovery and the downtime that matter,” he said. “It’s letting your body recover. Everyone wants to get fitter, stronger, faster. They’re upset when they don’t see the results. But what they’re doing is fatiguing to the body more so than a round of golf.”

菲利普斯說，米克森和其他人的作為，幫年長高球選手上了一課。「重要的不是力量，而是恢復與休息，讓你的身體恢復。每個人都想變得更健康、更強壯、更快。他們沒看到成果時會沮喪，但他們所做的事會讓身體遠比打一輪高球還累。」

Crucial for older players? Maintain leg strength, Phillips said, and that means walk, don’t ride, when you play golf.

對年長球員重要的是什麼？菲利普斯說，保持腿部力量，這意味你打高球時，要走路，不要搭球車。

It is experience, for sure, but that is a double-edged sword: With age, players are more knowledgeable about the nuances of the game and have, in theory, a better psychological understanding of what to do. But they have also failed to do that in similar moments in the past.

當然，這需要經驗，且各有利弊：隨著年紀增長，球員更了解比賽的精妙之處，理論上，他們在心理上對該做什麼有更好的了解，過去遇到類似時刻，他們就做不到。

“The reason we’re going longer is we have the financial security to go longer,” he said “We also have the sports science to reinvent ourselves.”

他說：「我們走得更久是因為我們擁有能夠走得更久的經濟保障，我們還有運動科學來改造自己。」