[randomdata]

On the flip side, Monsanto gets some incredibly ridiculous comments directed towards it. Things that even those who have the most hatred for Monsanto would realize doesn't add up.

People on Reddit in particular love to point out when someone is wrong. For free. Discussions about Monsanto are low hanging fruit and easily searched out. The fact that you received 30-50 comments suggests to me that most were just regular Reddit users doing what Reddit users do.

What if the paid trolls were the ones who posted the ridiculous comments so that the 'right fighters' come out of the woodwork in droves to defend the company? Once they get used to defending the company for things that are clearly false, they become skeptical of the real grievances. That's kind of brilliant when you think about it.

[deogeo]

What you're describing is a simple false flag attack. They wouldn't be the first to use it.

[tokai]

A Shill Defence Force® that lures them into never ending flamewars, so the rest of us can post in peace. I like it. Someone needs to start a fundraiser and get the mechanical turk going.

[acct1771]

Don't underestimate the danger of falsehoods going unopposed in forums.

[tptacek]

That's an interesting dynamic I hadn't thought of before and is for sure the reason I have any opinion at all about Monsanto (for the sport of spotting the bad countervailing opinions). It's a funny thought, but there's no way Monsanto is paying people to post dumb anti-Monsanto arguments; the anti-Monsanto position is much more popular on message boards.