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Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

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Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parler did have moderation. What platform are you referring to here?

Parler had a moderation process . It verifiably failed to actually prevent violent rhetoric (c.f. Lin Wood calling for Pence's execution days before the crowd took the capitol chanting "Hang Mike Pence!"). In this interview (audio, but there's a transcript) Matze details some of it, and basically explains that violent-but-popular content is going to be left up because of "free speech": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01…

Parler had deleted several of Wood's posts, and a number of users had used the "report" function to raise the flag to Parler management. I think he was close to being banned.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#132
post #114

Calling body armor "Military Gear" as in "only the military should be able to buy body armor" is pretty sad, even by Buzzfeed extreme-left standards. Body armor can't kill anyone.

The most baffling thing to me is the fact that body armor, and military grade weapons, are sold in USA...

Like, we're discussing ad delivery, not the fact that a country allows companies to sell all kinds of weapons, and equipment to the general public... so I think that accurate ad targeting is the least of the problems.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#133
post #114

Calling body armor "Military Gear" as in "only the military should be able to buy body armor" is pretty sad, even by Buzzfeed extreme-left standards. Body armor can't kill anyone.

Yes, me eyes were rolling when I was reading that. I understand the issue when inappropriate Ads are shown for the specific context. This can happen not just with "military" / tacticool gear but anything else, I have seen this happen many times. But pointing our that this is military gear and it's some sort of intentional case (because it's military gear) is a ridiculous reporter hyperbole.

Yup, ethically questionable yet likely effective ad placement happens in damn near every product category. The algos are too dumb to understand ethics but not too dumb that diet pills get more clicks when you put them beside videos about anorexia and "influences" who have photoshopped their bikini pics.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parler did have moderation. What platform are you referring to here?

Parler had a moderation process . It verifiably failed to actually prevent violent rhetoric (c.f. Lin Wood calling for Pence's execution days before the crowd took the capitol chanting "Hang Mike Pence!"). In this interview (audio, but there's a transcript) Matze details some of it, and basically explains that violent-but-popular content is going to be left up because of "free speech": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01…

>It verifiably failed to actually prevent violent rhetoric

How do you suppose you prevent violent rhetoric? You can only react to it.

And if that's the baseline, Facebook and Twitter have far more objectionable content yet-to-be-removed.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#135
post #114

Calling body armor "Military Gear" as in "only the military should be able to buy body armor" is pretty sad, even by Buzzfeed extreme-left standards. Body armor can't kill anyone.

The most baffling thing to me is the fact that body armor, and military grade weapons, are sold in USA... Like, we're discussing ad delivery, not the fact that a country allows companies to sell all kinds of weapons, and equipment to the general public... so I think that accurate ad targeting is the least of the problems.

Body armor, helmets and any sort of protective gear is legal in most parts of world, and I would bet any EU state (and in case of my EU country I can buy an AR-15 or any sort of semi-automatic weapon).

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parler had a moderation process . It verifiably failed to actually prevent violent rhetoric (c.f. Lin Wood calling for Pence's execution days before the crowd took the capitol chanting "Hang Mike Pence!"). In this interview (audio, but there's a transcript) Matze details some of it, and basically explains that violent-but-popular content is going to be left up because of "free speech": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01…

Parler had deleted several of Wood's posts, and a number of users had used the "report" function to raise the flag to Parler management. I think he was close to being banned.

That particular post was still up when the site went down, I believe. I mean, sure, it's possible they would have gotten better. But this wasn't an abstract issue, we'd just had an attack on congress and there was (and remains) serious worry that something similar or worse would happen at the inauguration. Certainly the rhetoric on the site had not significantly moderated in the few days between the capitol riot and their ban.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#137
post #59

I'll pile on an anecdote. I still have a facebook account but its not something I use very often except the past week given the situation in the USA. My facebook account is very old, when i was more of an active user I did all the usual posts/photos that a lot of liberal urban types contribute. Anyway, after posting some anti-insurrection posts I start noticing all sort of "tacti-cool" gear ads or targeted T-shirt s…

> so my guess is that someone out there is spending a lot of money on a huge ad target I think this is really it. The profit margins on this stuff is insane. And the volumes of money typical people spend on this stuff is also insane. (speculation here) The insurrection is probably opening the door for new customers. I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their firs…

> I would not be surprised to hear a people in zero-gun households are now seeking to acquire their first one

This happened all summer when the crowd that paid big bucks to live in inner suburbs realized that the peaceful protests were uncomfortably close.

>And urbanites represent a huge untapped market for guns and tactical gear

Minorities are a far bigger untapped market demographic.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#138
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no Facebook fan or apologist, but I do think there's a distinction between failing to moderate perfectly (or even well) and refusing to even attempt to moderate.

Incitement to terrorism isn't something where failing to moderate perfectly should be tolerated. There is already a zero-tolerance approach to numerous extremist groups, regardless of whether they are active on American soil or not. Why should this be treated any differently?

>Why should this be treated any differently?

Being as how Twitter isn't shutdown for the same offense, I'm also curious as to why Parler was "treated differently"?

Political pressure, period.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Adtech is a cancer and it's time to cut it out using every legislative and regulatory option we have. That attitude is the problem: why do we go straight from "This is a problem!" to the government? Aren't there solutions other than making things illegal? Is it just because making things illegal is easier than talking to our neighbors and friends, and giving them peaceful solutions to their problems, doing business…

One of the major specific roles of government in a civil society is to maintain and establish the rules of fair play which then allow for a functioning market economy. This represents an inherent compromise.We recognize and appreciate the value that integration and scale provides, and we use the scale of the government to keep it in check. This isn’t just about going out and talking to people who disagree with you. P…

I disagree on your first paragraph, but that's less critical than my disagreement with your second and third. Don't you think that some personal engagement could help bring that parallel universe — and yours — back into sync with reality? You say the algorithms chip away at our ability to have conversations, but I see the opposite: real life has a stronger effect on people's perceptions of truth than on-line bubbles, and can help reassert reality.

Re: Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts

#140
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are those vendors at liberty to discontinue service? Depends on their contracts and that’s all it depends on.

> Depends on their contracts and that’s all it depends on. That's not true. Laws supercede contracts. You cannot write a contract that creates new law between parties.

There is no relevant law that would require Facebook or Parler to do any moderation because of Section 230, right?
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