Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars • Hacker News Board

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#121

Post by bhouston » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:32 PM UTC

adhamsalama wrote: post #118

pen2l wrote: post #27

Reddit is one of the most potent places where opinion-shaping has been happening. I've been getting ads for Reddit everywhere recently (even thought I've been a reddit user for about 20 years). r/worldnews is pretty tightly controlled, it's a default subreddit meaning 50+ million people see the posts submitted in this subreddit, and most critically, the ensuing conversation in comments which goes only in one directio…

That sub is pretty much controlled by Zionist. If you criticize Israel in any way shape or form, you'll get a permanent ban.

This post from today on r/worldnews was hilarious -- all the top comments where deleted (and their authors probably permanently banned) because they didn't hold the party line:

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1nc65sx/israel_i...

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#122

Post by dizlexic » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:40 PM UTC

layer8 wrote: post #85

dizlexic wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe an individual is responsible for their own opinions. I also believe that people should spread their own opinions however they can. Personally, I think my outlook is much more moral than someone who wants to silence others. Objective truth is very rare, but differences of opinion are everywhere.

Propaganda isn’t the same as mere opinions, however. It is often deliberate lies and misrepresentations designed to deceive, lies that those who disseminate them don’t actually believe themselves.

yeah, propaganda isn't inherently lies or misrepresentations. It is biased, but are you advocating the removal of all biased advertising?

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#123

Post by dizlexic » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:41 PM UTC

sniffers wrote: post #104

dizlexic wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Cynical is believing people must be protected from opinions. I'm far more optimistic than most.

Oooooof. Yeah, we should definitely let governments pipe their propaganda directly into every surface in our lives constantly. Surely that's something that's healthy and good for all of us. Governments have no incentive to lie and have no power to buy out all the bandwidth. "Well, at least I made money on the government shutting down discussion" is deeply messed up.

I love this moronic take because it's governments that will enforce what information is deemed as propaganda. 10/10 cognitive disconnect.

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#124

Post by dizlexic » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:42 PM UTC

titzer wrote: post #110

dizlexic wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe an individual is responsible for their own opinions. I also believe that people should spread their own opinions however they can. Personally, I think my outlook is much more moral than someone who wants to silence others. Objective truth is very rare, but differences of opinion are everywhere.

So let's get this straight. You admitted you make money off ad revenue which is 100% a business of using a platform for one thing (the thing people want) to instead allow random people with money to force information on other people to get them to think and do things (when said target people would, almost by definition, prefer not to think or do those things), selling people's attention and interrupting their lives o…

Let me get this straight you think for the betterment of humans we must control the information and opinions they should have because fundamentally they're nothing but stupid animals who can't process information?

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#125

Post by nradov » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:45 PM UTC

gchamonlive wrote: post #112

nradov wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment makes no sense. Laws and regulations aren't intended to be "productive" so that's a total non sequitur. The US Constitution has some flaws but it's still the closest anyone has come to perfection in the governance of human society.

> Laws and regulations aren't intended to be "productive" so that's a total non sequitur. Saying that the current way isn't productive isn't the same as saying that laws and regulations are designed to be productive. Actually I've acknowledged that first thing when I said that laws are burocratic. But you have to agree that some form of productivity is expected, otherwise why even bother if nothing is gonna get done…

No, I don't have to agree. There is no such expectation. Your premise is fundamentally incorrect.

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#126

Post by nradov » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:49 PM UTC

_Algernon_ wrote: post #46

armchairhacker wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of regulation do you have in mind? The government controls the algorithm? Then the government pushes propaganda. The algorithm is public? Then what kind of public algorithm? "Sort by recency", "sort by popularity", etc. will be gamed by propaganda-pushers. "Sort by closest friends" is better, but I suspect even it will be gamed by adversaries who initially push genuine interesting content and encourage you…

Reverse chronological + subscription (ie. the user must actively make a choice to follow some channel or creator to get them in their feed). This is how most platforms started, and while there were still issues (eg. rewarding frequent posting) they seemed a lot less problematic than what we have today. The main issue isn't the misinformation or disinformation; it is how quickly you can amplify reach and reach million…

People think that's what they want but they really don't. For most regular social media users if they haven't checked their feed recently they would rather see major life events (birth, death, marriage, graduation) prioritized first instead of a picture of someone's lunch.

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#127

Post by j45 » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:52 PM UTC

It's profitable to let two sides of a topic run ads.

After the pressure from the outcome of election influencing, there seemed to be new rules come in place.

For other topics? Not so sure. Maybe it's something to look at before it has an election type response.

There's parallels to this I suspect in other industries affecting the world.

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#128

Post by const_cast » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:52 PM UTC

philipallstar wrote: post #44

ehnto wrote: post #39

It is a disservice to yourself and family to not block ads. You shouldn't let these companies have a conduit into your life. I don't think it's amorale to use the service for which you are blocking the ads for either. If they don't like it, they can try a new business model. They don't protect you, why should you protect them.

[flagged]

Stealing is illegal, blocking ads isn't. The FBI recommends you use an ad blocker.

If anything, ads steal from YOU. They take your time and attempt to get you to part with your money.

You're not obligated to support a business model based on theft, if you want to consider it that. You're not obligated to support any business model.

If it's allowed, then go for it. They can always switch to another business model.

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#129

Post by graemep » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:56 PM UTC

everdrive wrote: post #14

NickC25 wrote: post #9

It's very sad, and very telling that our biggest corporations have become suckups to the reactionary side of the right wing and continue to carry the water for the most degenerate and attention-seeking members of said right wing. None of these nutcases offer true help to society (note: neither do the extreme leftists, just so we're clear that I'm not team red or team blue), and it does no good that our corporations a…

The extreme flip-flopping of the major tech companies provides a few small possibilities that don't paint a good picture no matter how you look at it: - They never believed in progressive causes, and were just siding with what they believed was the social majority. (and so when they perceive the social majority has changed, they immediately follow and would follow _any_ social majority.) - They don't agree with the c…

Its obviously the first.

They always had different standards in different countries and in different circumstances.

FB has been showing lots of dog-whistle racism, occasionally even outright overt racism for many years. The one occasion on which reported a blatantly racist comment they said it was not against "community standards".

They want money, and they want engagement, and they want governments to remove competition.

Re: Weaponizing Ads: How Google and Facebook Ads Are Used to Wage Propaganda Wars

#130

Post by daveguy » Tue, Sep 09, 2025, 5:59 PM UTC

Don't forget about the entirety of regular social media -- Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, etc, etc, etc. Planting follow bait and switching to propaganda memes is a pervasive tactic. At this point propaganda mongers only need processing investment not direct ad investment.