Everyone who buys a ticket believes they have a chance of winning, though in reality they do not.
What I mean is to say, it is a more honest/accurate statement that "you have zero chance of winning when you buy a lottery ticket" is more true than claiming they have a chance, (even if it is literally true) due to how our mind biases work.
> I assume them doing this now is Russia paving the way for a more traditional operation to begin when the ground freezes.
With what army? Most estimates state they have lost well over half of their combat power. Russia is not doing anything but slowly (or sometimes quickly) retreating.
You can end up superheating the water that way and scalding yourself. I also prefer to control the temperature of my water which you cannot do in a microwave.
It definitely still happens because I received a follow up in the mail after a purchase on amazon, more than once, in just the past few weeks offering a gift card for a good review.
I would argue that paying for reviews is inherently dishonest. So is giving away items for free for reviews.
The world is a different place than it was in 2012. Imo, around 2010/2012 is when social media disinfo in politics really started taking off in an organized/concerted way from the big players.