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Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

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Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that it's worth keeping in mind that no matter what you think of their morals (that's a whole other debate for a whole other comment thread), people who have helmed sometime trillion-dollar companies for decades aren't in general stupid , and it would be fantastically stupid to make serious enemies of any candidate in any high-impact political race: if you load the boat on that and guess wrong you're going to…

Yes. Agreed and I also think fb overplayed their hand and got too friendly with republicans. However when Zuckerberg goes on Joe Rogan assume things are carefully planned and rehearsed; and a statement/story like this is intended and the politics of it is well understood. So I guess they are doubling down.

What is your evidence of Facebook’s pro-republican bias?

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#402
post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their algorithms don't just target specific topics, they target specific individuals too. Certain individuals have their social media content promoted while others have their social media content suppressed. I suspect that people are promoted or suppressed based on their stance towards the current power structure. If you say positive things about people in power and corporate entities, your content will reach more pe…

Or maybe people just don't care about some people and they aren't popular

Isn't plausible deniability great? They get the benefit of the doubt, while at the same time jealously guarding their secrets.

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law protects small sites, too. It also makes users responsible for their own words, which is legitimate. Without 230, Facebook would become liable for defamation lawsuits unless it basically censored everything but the most bland content. You could "hack" the law by saying it only applies to companies with market cap less than 100bn. This is how some laws have been written in the past to specifically jeopardize p…

How about if instead, we nationalize Facebook. The public square should not be owned by a private corporation. If that's not possible, yes: Facebook should be destroyed.

Government controlled media and censorship, what could possibly go wrong?

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#404
post #231
post #198

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> It's scary to think that just 2 to 3 corporations have the power to construct a false reality around us I do believe it's been this way for a while. Noam Chomsky wrote Manufacturing Consent in 1988. (There's a movie out there created in 1992 if you don't want to read the book). Basically the same factors at work then are the same factors at work today -- just escalated with an algorithm. There is an objective reali…

[flagged]

...and what is your source for any of this information? US news media? In a context where a man is cited for the theory that the ruling class of the US uses news media skillfully to get its population to adopt incorrect beliefs and support policies that favour the agenda of said ruling class, the retort that you know from the same news media that he has supported things which the same news media has told you are bad and untrustworthy (and hence presumably is bad and untrustworthy himself) is not particularly relevant.

This is markedly not to say that it's impossible that he has actually supported {Soviets, Russians, Khmer Rouge, etc.}, or that any or all of those things are as bad as widely believed; only that we would expect exactly these observations (of widespread news-mediated belief of Chomsky being morally reprehensible and unworthy of trust) if his theory is in fact correct, and if P(X|Y) and P(X|~Y) are equal then X is not evidence for or against Y.

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law protects small sites, too. It also makes users responsible for their own words, which is legitimate. Without 230, Facebook would become liable for defamation lawsuits unless it basically censored everything but the most bland content. You could "hack" the law by saying it only applies to companies with market cap less than 100bn. This is how some laws have been written in the past to specifically jeopardize p…

How about if instead, we nationalize Facebook. The public square should not be owned by a private corporation. If that's not possible, yes: Facebook should be destroyed.

Is Facebook the public square all of a sudden? I thought it was a private company.

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is the crime exactly? Based on what has leaked to the public so far, I believe some combination of drug possession, prostitution, money laundering, corruption, and abuse of an elected office for personal profit. > if the FBI has evidence of a crime, why wasn't he charged? That's what a lot of people would like to know.

It takes time. It’s similar to people wondering why Matt Gaetz hasn’t been charged with sex trafficking yet, or Lauren Boebart with numerous violations of election rules. And let’s not forget Trump and various others for Jan 6th, let alone what we’re seeing unfold now with these documents he took. Federal criminal investigations like this take a bit of time. And no, this isn’t whataboutism. Anyone who breaks the law,…

We are still waiting on Hillary’s emails to be prosecuted.

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law protects small sites, too. It also makes users responsible for their own words, which is legitimate. Without 230, Facebook would become liable for defamation lawsuits unless it basically censored everything but the most bland content. You could "hack" the law by saying it only applies to companies with market cap less than 100bn. This is how some laws have been written in the past to specifically jeopardize p…

How about if instead, we nationalize Facebook. The public square should not be owned by a private corporation. If that's not possible, yes: Facebook should be destroyed.

Nationalize? What is this North Korea?

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#408
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would not have voted in the election if I knew about the laptop. True story about something that is true.

That was the only point about the laptop -- to smear Biden.

But it was a true story? You don’t want to hear about true bad things if they are about people you like?

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really, in the justice system you are put on trial on social media first and everyone believes what they want to believe rather than the decision of a court. You’re stating that fact validation should have the same level of scrutiny as a criminal trial except instantly? How do you stop false claims from being amplified without being cautious immediately? Facts can’t be put on “criminal trial” or got to jail - the…

> Not really, in the justice system you are put on trial on social media first and everyone believes what they want to believe rather than the decision of a court. That's far better than the media censoring stories upon the suggestion of the secret police. > You're stating that fact validation should have the same level of scrutiny as a criminal trial except instantly? Not really, I'm pointing out that Zuckerberg's c…

A list of random points on the matter:

1) the FBI are nothing like the secret police

2) I can understand an over correction this time is likely because they affected the result in 2016.

3) Facebook makes thousands of these judgements per day mostly automated otherwise their platforms would be cesspits

4) your idea that this is politically motivated is not proven, it’s a conspiracy theory and one I don’t even know how you’d prove it

5) Hunter Biden isn’t a part of the election and really stories whipped up about him probably shouldn’t be amplified while an election is on

I won’t be responding to this stuff anymore, I’ve said my bit. It’s getting far too political for round here anyway.

Re: Zuckerberg says FBI warning prompted Biden laptop story censorship

#410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes time. It’s similar to people wondering why Matt Gaetz hasn’t been charged with sex trafficking yet, or Lauren Boebart with numerous violations of election rules. And let’s not forget Trump and various others for Jan 6th, let alone what we’re seeing unfold now with these documents he took. Federal criminal investigations like this take a bit of time. And no, this isn’t whataboutism. Anyone who breaks the law,…

We are still waiting on Hillary’s emails to be prosecuted.

Sure prosecute her too. She can sit next to Trump in a jail cell.

But the more likely answer is that after relentless grilling at the behest of Republican lawmakers under Trump and actual testimony there probably wasn’t anything there worth pursuing from a legal perspective so no charges were filed.

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