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Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

theguardian.com

11–20 of 144 posts

Re: Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

#11
post #6

The journalists should really blame themselves for using facebook in the first place. They knew what they were buying into.

It was inevitable that Facebook would eventually become more selective about which content producers are promoted to their users for free.

Re: Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

#13
There was a time when patio11 was going through a phase calling out Zynga as one of the shadiest companies around.

I remember thinking "If Zynga is that bad, then what about Facebook?"

Facebook's ability and willingness to manipulate just about everything in sight - WhatsApp ad policies, privacy policy changes, arbitrary censorship of content, providing clear misinformation to legal entities for e.g. the promise to EU that they cannot infer/merge user profiles, the absolute shitshow that is shadow profiles - in line with corporate profits is starting to make Zynga look angelic in comparison.

Re: Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

#14
post #10
post #6

The journalists should really blame themselves for using facebook in the first place. They knew what they were buying into.

Sadly, it's where their audience is.

i dont know. it didn't have to be. journalists embraced social media so tightly both for getting input for their work as well as for audience. They 'd hate to admit it but they became lazy. Partly, they made facebook (and twitter) as mainstream as it is now.

Re: Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

#15

Old agents of disintermediation complain of new agents of disintermediation. More news at 11.

Indeed, the usual as usual.

More speech from sources = goodright unless it's someone else's different message to a wider audience. Then it's badwrong. As long as you have the money to shout it loud enough and long enough you have the same equity of audience as anyone else.

Re: Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

#17
I think there will be increasing scrutiny over Facebook's ability to wipe their hands while claiming "it's free speech."

There's a reason the media were information gatekeepers: there's a responsibility to be accurate and unbiased.

Facebook's product was manipulated and helped Donald Trump get elected by swaying public opinion. There has to be consequences- sorry, but in my opinion not every voice deserves to be equal.

Re: Journalists decry Facebook experiment's impact on democracy

#19

I think there will be increasing scrutiny over Facebook's ability to wipe their hands while claiming "it's free speech." There's a reason the media were information gatekeepers: there's a responsibility to be accurate and unbiased. Facebook's product was manipulated and helped Donald Trump get elected by swaying public opinion. There has to be consequences- sorry, but in my opinion not every voice deserves to be equa…

>there's a responsibility to be accurate and unbiased

In what universe is this true? Historically journalists have had long eras of questionable judgement, e.g. the yellow journalism era. Sometimes it feels like they're not really any better.

Journalists have been information gatekeepers because of a structural monopoly. As this monopoly is being broken down by technology, of course the entrenched interests will clamor against the disruptors, claiming a sense of propriety that never really existed in the first place.

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