According to the wiki page in the article about Influence it states:
The wiki doesn't say so I am assuming at this point that this means taking a mission from the controlling faction and then doing the alternate option from those guys who hail you with that "Glad I found you" or something message, then want you to drop out of supercruise with them.
How consistently does that happen ?
Every mission or do you risk taking a mission and then have to complete or abandon it (the latter which might impose fines as well). Also abandoning missions doesn't affect influence anyways.
I wouldn't using this method, ontop of doing missions out of the stations owned by the faction I am backing, but if it is really inconsistent whether or not you get the alternate option then I'm not really sure this is such a viable option for undermining the influence of other factions.
"For those wanting to get a minority faction into power there's a valid strategy to decrease the influence of the leading faction by performing any actions from the following list:
Completing a mission's alternate option given through Unidentified Signal Sources"
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Influence
The wiki doesn't say so I am assuming at this point that this means taking a mission from the controlling faction and then doing the alternate option from those guys who hail you with that "Glad I found you" or something message, then want you to drop out of supercruise with them.
How consistently does that happen ?
Every mission or do you risk taking a mission and then have to complete or abandon it (the latter which might impose fines as well). Also abandoning missions doesn't affect influence anyways.
I wouldn't using this method, ontop of doing missions out of the stations owned by the faction I am backing, but if it is really inconsistent whether or not you get the alternate option then I'm not really sure this is such a viable option for undermining the influence of other factions.