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Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#11

Post by mcphage »

yohann305 wrote: post #6

I saw it coming a few months ago. Didn't you? There is a group of people/organizations acting as puppet masters, dictating what's going to be the next big topic. This is a lot more scarier than the FB story itself. It would be great if someone starts digging it out and uncover what's really happening, who are they and what their motives are. Media started feeding us stories how social networks are "bad for you", then…

> There is a group of people/organizations acting as puppet masters, dictating what's going to be the next big topic.

It’s almost like there’s a “trending news” sidebar that these shadowy people added and put in whatever they feel like and whoops we’re talking about Facebook again aren’t we?

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#12

Post by yohann305 »

mcphage wrote: post #11
yohann305 wrote: post #6

I saw it coming a few months ago. Didn't you? There is a group of people/organizations acting as puppet masters, dictating what's going to be the next big topic. This is a lot more scarier than the FB story itself. It would be great if someone starts digging it out and uncover what's really happening, who are they and what their motives are. Media started feeding us stories how social networks are "bad for you", then…

> There is a group of people/organizations acting as puppet masters, dictating what's going to be the next big topic. It’s almost like there’s a “trending news” sidebar that these shadowy people added and put in whatever they feel like and whoops we’re talking about Facebook again aren’t we?

touché! You're bringing up a good point. It might actually not be someone, but just a poorly built internet eco-system.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#13

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

Giving the visceral comments and opinions on Facebook, those that probably saw ads were already committed to one candidate or another. There is rarely a discussion on the internet where someone is convinced to switch to a different candidate/party. I doubt an advertisement would get someone to switch.

However, if there were bots and trolls posting inflammatory content that motivated voters that would have other wise stayed home - that could have influenced turnout and an election. If those bots and trolls were funded by a foreign government, then that is even more concerning.

I would like to see 'mainstream media' focus more on that part of it, this Cambridge Analytica company sounds like they were really good at taking campaign money.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#14

Post by rubidium »

yohann305 wrote: post #6

I saw it coming a few months ago. Didn't you? There is a group of people/organizations acting as puppet masters, dictating what's going to be the next big topic. This is a lot more scarier than the FB story itself. It would be great if someone starts digging it out and uncover what's really happening, who are they and what their motives are. Media started feeding us stories how social networks are "bad for you", then…

Tactical note: If your goal is to rally the troops, it's usually good practice not to refer to people as "sheeple" or talk about down-votes.

The media decisions on "what shows up in the news" is well known, but under-reported (for obvious reasons). Whatever shows up in the news is meant to increase the value of these 6 companies (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_cross-ownership_in_the_U...) and advance their CEO/boards personal agendas for the United States and world.

If you take what shows up in standard media's headlines as "what's worth talking about" you are playing their game.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#15

Post by WallWextra »

Here is, roughly, the media's playbook:

1. Never stop talking about Trump. Mention his name 300 times an hour on CNN. He's not a serious candidate, but he is entertaining so they give him free publicity until he is a serious candidate.

2. Start blathering about Hillary's emails, as if that were somehow important.

3. Now Trump is elected. In these tough times, it is more important than ever to support high-quality independent journalism. Subscription numbers swell.

4. We need someone to blame for the outcome of this election. Obviously it is the fault of Facebook, Google, etc, who have been taking the media's ad revenue. Not the fault of the media who would never shut up about Trump.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#16

Post by orbital-decay »

yohann305 wrote: post #6

I saw it coming a few months ago. Didn't you? There is a group of people/organizations acting as puppet masters, dictating what's going to be the next big topic. This is a lot more scarier than the FB story itself. It would be great if someone starts digging it out and uncover what's really happening, who are they and what their motives are. Media started feeding us stories how social networks are "bad for you", then…

Implying that media is manipulated "from the top" seems needlessly complex. The perpetual urge to produce more makes the media chaotic, it can amplify any fluke in the white noise. You can manipulate the opinions while being nobody.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#17

Post by ixtli »

WallWextra wrote: post #15

Here is, roughly, the media's playbook: 1. Never stop talking about Trump. Mention his name 300 times an hour on CNN. He's not a serious candidate, but he is entertaining so they give him free publicity until he is a serious candidate. 2. Start blathering about Hillary's emails, as if that were somehow important. 3. Now Trump is elected. In these tough times, it is more important than ever to support high-quality ind…

I realize that this is tangential to what you're talking about but your comment reminded me of it strongly: As much as it's clear that there was some funny business with trump's people and russia, the way liberals are salivating over mueller's investigation makes me uncomfortable. they need the legal system to pronounce in some way that trump and his people broke the rules, in order to avoid acknowledging that the general thrust of all of this is the system working as it was designed.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#18

Post by WallWextra »

ixtli wrote: post #17
WallWextra wrote: post #15

Here is, roughly, the media's playbook: 1. Never stop talking about Trump. Mention his name 300 times an hour on CNN. He's not a serious candidate, but he is entertaining so they give him free publicity until he is a serious candidate. 2. Start blathering about Hillary's emails, as if that were somehow important. 3. Now Trump is elected. In these tough times, it is more important than ever to support high-quality ind…

I realize that this is tangential to what you're talking about but your comment reminded me of it strongly: As much as it's clear that there was some funny business with trump's people and russia, the way liberals are salivating over mueller's investigation makes me uncomfortable. they need the legal system to pronounce in some way that trump and his people broke the rules, in order to avoid acknowledging that the ge…

It's like how the 2008 election didn't count, because Obama is actually a Kenyan. People can't just lose an election anymore.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#19

Post by throwaway5752 »

Aren't scapegoats usually blameless?

edit: one of many, many articles you can find criticizing Megan McCardle https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/02/megan-mcardle... ... this is not a non-sequitur attack on her thesis, but I am saying that she has a long track record that one should be aware of before reading her OpEds.

Re: Facebook is America’s scapegoat du jour

#20

Post by zombieprocesses »

WallWextra wrote: post #15

Here is, roughly, the media's playbook: 1. Never stop talking about Trump. Mention his name 300 times an hour on CNN. He's not a serious candidate, but he is entertaining so they give him free publicity until he is a serious candidate. 2. Start blathering about Hillary's emails, as if that were somehow important. 3. Now Trump is elected. In these tough times, it is more important than ever to support high-quality ind…

Don't forget conjuring up an external enemy to distract the public and get the population riled up.

5. Russia and Hackers and Collusion Oh My!

> Not the fault of the media who would never shut up about Trump.

But look at the ratings and the ad money they are getting? It's the same thing with school shootings. Massive 24/7 coverage turning the shooter into a celebrity. Then they wonder why shootings happen. Oh it couldn't be the media. They can't blame themselves. It must be guns. Another gem is "why is society so divided"? Could it be the media playing population/groups off each other to create drama and make more money? Of course not. They can't blame themselves. So it must be social media and the internet.

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