Earlier quoted context omitted.
Strong encryption is the only true internet freedom.
Except where it is outlawed.
That's exactly why it's outlawed.
And notably, Russia hasn't banned VPNs yet, afaik?
One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
111–120 of 371 posts
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#112If governments are censoring our internet we need to change the way we're being geolocated. VPN is too much configuration and centralisation. TOR is over the top privacy. I want something as accessible as turning the flight mode on my mobile. The button can be placed next to flight mode and called CENSORSHIP. You can turn it on. It will then reveal your true IP address and make the internet very fast. However it's of…
> TOR is over the top privacy
And yet what you described is... Tor, almost exactly.
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#113This made me finally download TikTok and.. OW! that's REALLY NSFW!
(I didn't think I'd live, as a man, to be offended by sparsely-clad voluptuous women, but there I am.)
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#114I like the systematic approach they have used, and am a bit scared by the results. In one way, it is not that surprising that a social media app is so tightly controlled and used as a tool by the Russian government to hide unpleasant parts of reality. But I think it is a bit surprising that TikTok hasn't met more criticism and resistance on this
I think everyone should also take a moment and question what we are seeing on our screens. How much of our social media apps are tightly controlled and used as a tool by our governments?
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
My great hope in the early 2000s was that all you had to do was provide a route for information and the effect of propaganda would crumble once people had access to the truth. And, the internet did provide the route that did not exist before it just didnt matter. Truth is that people largely place trust in institutions and people they are used to and identify with, often for irrational reasons. People are prone to FU…
> Truth is that people largely place trust in institutions and people they are used to and identify with, often for irrational reasons. Is it really so irrational? How many people have the technical know-how and access to equipment to personally verify that COVID vaccines are safe for human consumption? (Can you even verify that on your short of running mass human trials?) And yet, by and large, most of us are not co…
It is completely irrational to have no skepticism, though. On any subject, including ones in which we trust the authorities (e.g., scientists). Because both the authorities and the rest have some agenda, and it isn't necessarily mine.
I'd argue it's deeply unhealthy to have any trust at all in governments that have shown themselves to be authoritarian or oppressive.
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
The threat that you're modeling against is not a threat to the internet. The internet is a group of technologies enabling near-realtime dissemination of information. It has no implicit promise of freedom of speech or press, democracy, or any other political ideal. Even the World Wide Web has no such implicit promise. The great democratizing force to which you refer is the ability to publish content, and to an extent…
My great hope in the early 2000s was that all you had to do was provide a route for information and the effect of propaganda would crumble once people had access to the truth. And, the internet did provide the route that did not exist before it just didnt matter. Truth is that people largely place trust in institutions and people they are used to and identify with, often for irrational reasons. People are prone to FU…
> Truth is that people largely place trust in institutions and people they are used to and identify with, often for irrational reasons. People are prone to FUD. Theyre lazy and passive.
I think to a degree, this is a misunderstanding. The Russian approach to disinformation in particular does not sell the message "trust us!" - at least, not in the West. Instead, they push the message "trust nobody!" In fact, RT's slogan is "question everything". While that sounds enlightened, in fact, total lack of trust makes you cognitively disabled. You can't believe anything or any expert. All too often, you then "do your own research" and, as a gullible amateur, are sucked into conspiracy theories.
The problem isn't the sheeple, it's the wake-up-sheeple people.
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#117I like the systematic approach they have used, and am a bit scared by the results. In one way, it is not that surprising that a social media app is so tightly controlled and used as a tool by the Russian government to hide unpleasant parts of reality. But I think it is a bit surprising that TikTok hasn't met more criticism and resistance on this
How can we criticise a platform that picks content for you? It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do, pick content for you. Also it's a Chinese app. Working as intended!
We did not need this war to make this obvious.
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
My great hope in the early 2000s was that all you had to do was provide a route for information and the effect of propaganda would crumble once people had access to the truth. And, the internet did provide the route that did not exist before it just didnt matter. Truth is that people largely place trust in institutions and people they are used to and identify with, often for irrational reasons. People are prone to FU…
> Truth is that people largely place trust in institutions and people they are used to and identify with, often for irrational reasons. Is it really so irrational? How many people have the technical know-how and access to equipment to personally verify that COVID vaccines are safe for human consumption? (Can you even verify that on your short of running mass human trials?) And yet, by and large, most of us are not co…
This is basically how science works in practice too. If you want to publish a paper and make an impact, better make sure you publish in one of the important journals/conferences. And if you’re trying to figure out if a source is trustworthy, it probably make sense to see if it was published in a reputable journal.
Anyone can publish a paper nowadays, technology has made that very easy. But trust is still something that needs to be earned, and that takes time. It makes sense to have trustworthy institutions, I don’t think it’s something we can easily replace with technology.
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#119The dream of the internet as some sort of great democratizing force is already dead and buried, but for any who still believes, this must surely be the final nail in that coffin. Controlling the narrative is only a problem for existing democracies with press freedom. All bets are off once the threat model includes control of the media. So cherish your freedom of speech, and exercise and defend it. I don’t know what t…
Yep... Putin blocking media ... sure... dictators block stuff all the time. EU blocking RT.com (and a few others) was quite a shock for me,... really a thing that should not be happening in EU (no matter whose propaganda it is).
> EU blocking RT.com (and a few others) was quite a shock for me,... really a thing that should not be happening in EU (no matter whose propaganda it is).
Why? Neo-nazi sites have a long history of getting banned everywhere.
Re: One App – Two Worlds: This Is TikTok in Russia and Ukraine
#120...uhm, isn't TikTok practically irrelevant in Russia now that they've stopped allowing users to post new content?! I mean, this is what ppl use it for, viewing new content from ppl like them and posting new content hoping to get "famous". With all respect for the author's work, this is not very relevant, since TikTok is in "zombie mode" now for Russia.
Certainly the ones paid to produce propaganda can upload from outside of Russia.