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Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

nytimes.com

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Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#41

Post by PragmaticPulp »

throwawayffffas wrote: post #26
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #14

TL;DR: Recap of several recent revelations and reports about conspiracy theorists and bad foreign actors using Facebook as a tool to spread their messages. No suggestions for how to address the situation. These articles would be much more interesting if they included any suggestions at all for how to address the issues.

My personal 2c on how to fix this is make everyone liable for what's on their website, regardless of who wrote it. I don't care if that breaks youtubes, facebooks, twitters and reddits business model.

How would that help if posting conspiracy theories and misinformation (other than libel) isn't illegal?

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#42

Post by luckylion »

throwawayffffas wrote: post #39
sleepysysadmin wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook is being targeted by cancel culture because of their refusal to entirely ban republicans off their platform.

I will assume good faith, and point out that cancel culture's main weapon is Facebook. That's where they gather all their outrage and yield it against their perceived enemies.

Is it? Cancel culture seems to be primarily on Twitter, which is also more in line with their ideology than FB. FB feels more "normal people outraged about dog being abandoned".

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#43

Post by jagannathtech »

sleepysysadmin wrote: post #35
AlexandrB wrote: post #27

This conversation has been had on HN a few dozen times now, so let me predict posts we'll see: > Framing of Facebook as just the next stage in the evolution of mass media. > Personal story about how Facebook helped someone find help or companionship in a tough time. > Admonitions about how Facebook's benefits are not worth the societal cost. > A call for regulation. > A call for a free-market solution. > A post from…

Facebook is being targeted by cancel culture because of their refusal to entirely ban republicans off their platform.

obvious from the barrage of media hitjobs in just a couple of days

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#44

Post by mikelyons »

tasuki wrote: post #5

Facebook helps me stay in touch with people I might not otherwise stay in touch with. It brings value into my life.

Facebook is designed to make you think that when it may not be true, you have to be skeptical of your own mind, and skeptical of your own skepticism.

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#45

Post by apta »

glial wrote: post #2

Personally I've been off of Facebook since 2008 but...don't hate the player, hate the game. Facebook makes big money serving ultra-targeted ads for their customers. But, it's not the only one: see Twitter, Google, etc. Penalizing Facebook without also changing the incentive structure (personalized advertising) is a short-term, short-sighted fix.

> don't hate the player, hate the game

We can hate both. There needs to be both personal accountability as well as proper regulations.

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#46

Post by mandeepj »

sleepysysadmin wrote: post #35
AlexandrB wrote: post #27

This conversation has been had on HN a few dozen times now, so let me predict posts we'll see: > Framing of Facebook as just the next stage in the evolution of mass media. > Personal story about how Facebook helped someone find help or companionship in a tough time. > Admonitions about how Facebook's benefits are not worth the societal cost. > A call for regulation. > A call for a free-market solution. > A post from…

Facebook is being targeted by cancel culture because of their refusal to entirely ban republicans off their platform.

remember when republiclowns where shouting to ban "Good year"? So much of hypocrisy to blame others for "Cancel culture"

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#47

Post by haunter »

>The most disturbing revelations from Zhang’s memo relate to the failure of Facebook to take swift action against coordinated activity in countries like Honduras and Azerbaijan, where political leaders used armies of fake accounts to attack opponents and undermine independent media.

Same happened in Hungary and the EU can't give a flying fuck. But honestly I don't blame Facebook, the destruction of independent media is a complex problem not just a political one (adaptation of the market driven by Facebook and Google for example). Especially in East Europe, former soviet block where the kind of venture capitalism of the west/US never really existed. And like a vassal you have to pledge allegiance to the government either formally or informally.

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#48

Post by binxbolling »

luckylion wrote: post #42
throwawayffffas wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will assume good faith, and point out that cancel culture's main weapon is Facebook. That's where they gather all their outrage and yield it against their perceived enemies.

Is it? Cancel culture seems to be primarily on Twitter, which is also more in line with their ideology than FB. FB feels more "normal people outraged about dog being abandoned".

Cancel culture is not primarily anywhere. For as long as humans have existed we have wanted to persuade our peers to avoid some things and embrace others; we have wanted some voices amplified and some quieted; we have wanted people to face the consequences of their actions and to reap what they've sown.

That's all cancel culture is at its root. It's been rebranded in America's asinine culture wars so we can pretend there's some insidious new threat to free speech while the real threats go perpetually unchallenged.

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#49

Post by heartbeats »

egypturnash wrote: post #20
glial wrote: post #2

Personally I've been off of Facebook since 2008 but...don't hate the player, hate the game. Facebook makes big money serving ultra-targeted ads for their customers. But, it's not the only one: see Twitter, Google, etc. Penalizing Facebook without also changing the incentive structure (personalized advertising) is a short-term, short-sighted fix.

How about hating the player and the game? The game is shit, yeah. But so's this anyone who enthusiastically said "yes, I would like to find ways to monetize people's desire to talk with each other, and do not care in the least if this involves being paid to spread disinformation, or making ad view money off of pushing people towards insane viewpoints". Yes, this includes Google. This includes Twitter. This includes e…

That's a thing people want. If you ask most people who have been pushed toward insane viewpoints how they feel about said insane viewpoints, I'm sure 99% of them would say it's great.

Who are we to deny the validity of their feelings?

Re: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World

#50

Post by heartbeats »

mtalantikite wrote: post #31
tasuki wrote: post #5

Facebook helps me stay in touch with people I might not otherwise stay in touch with. It brings value into my life.

Would you not be able to stay in touch with them without Facebook? I deleted Facebook a number of years ago and still seem to be in touch with family and friends. Personally I think facebook, instagram, and WhatsApp should be broken apart.

Absolutely. Since the pandemic hit, I've been mostly alone since I don't have Facebook.
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