Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Facebook Disputes Gizmodo Report, Says It Never Built and Withheld Any News Feed Changes Based on Their Political Impact (slate.com)

Posted by msmash on from the someone's-lying dept.

Tech news site Gizmodo reported Monday that Facebook planned a News Feed update that would have identified fake or hoax news stories, but "disproportionately impacted right-wing news sites by downgrading or removing that content from people's feeds" so it chose to never release the update. Facebook has denied the claims in the report. A spokesperson told Slate: "The article's allegation is not true. We did not build and withhold any News Feed changes based on their potential impact on any one political party. We always work to make News Feed more meaningful and informative, and that includes examining the quality and accuracy of items shared, such as clickbait, spam, and hoaxes. Mark himself said, "I want to do everything I can to make sure our teams uphold the integrity of our products." This includes continuously review updates (sic) to make sure we are not exhibiting unconscious bias.

68 comments

  1. TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP!!!

  2. And so does by s.petry · · Score: 2, Insightful

    CNN, ABC, MSNBC, Huffpo, and every other media outlet in the country. Lie and Deny has worked pretty well against the masses for a long time. People do eventually catch on though. Hence, just before the election 76% of people said that the US was going the wrong way, media has a 6% trustworthy rating (probably lower now). The first stat was a dead giveaway that Hillary did not have a 99.8% chance of winning as polsters proclaimed on those same media outlets.

    In fairness, there is certainly some bias in the little tiny bit of Right leaning media (Kelly and O'Reilly are left of center but for the sake of argument lets call them "fair"). It's so little though, very few people noticed.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In what bizarre alternate reality is Bill O'Reilly left of center?

    2. Re:And so does by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Funny

      In what bizarre alternate reality is Bill O'Reilly left of center?

      Alt-right!

    3. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      O'Reilly are left of center

      LOL, you're posting from Colorado, aren't you...

    4. Re:And so does by s.petry · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Nope, watching his show. There are the same Democratic talking points repeated with little to not rebuttals. Same thing with Kelly as a matter of fact. They provide enough conservatism to claim being conservative and nothing more.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    5. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's because the right leaning media litter what little news of substance they publish with outright lies and white nationalism/supremacism that no one bothers to read the few articles that are actually based on logic and truth.

    6. Re:And so does by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      That would practically make the alt-right outright fascists if one of Fox News' leading talking heads is now left-of-center.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    7. Re:And so does by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      CNN, ABC, MSNBC, Huffpo, and every other media outlet in the country. Lie and Deny has worked pretty well against the masses for a long time. People do eventually catch on though. Hence, just before the election 76% of people said that the US was going the wrong way, media has a 6% trustworthy rating (probably lower now). The first stat was a dead giveaway that Hillary did not have a 99.8% chance of winning as polsters proclaimed on those same media outlets.

      In fairness, there is certainly some bias in the little tiny bit of Right leaning media (Kelly and O'Reilly are left of center but for the sake of argument lets call them "fair"). It's so little though, very few people noticed.

      And so does Gizmodo and the other former Gawker sites still operating, which seems somewhat ironic now.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    8. Re:And so does by nine-times · · Score: 1

      There are the same Democratic talking points repeated with little to not rebuttals

      Is it possible those talking points are simply true, and not rebutted for that reason?

    9. Re:And so does by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Talking points are by design political. For a news organization you don't want any talking points, either left or right. The current news media in America of any stripe is incapable of doing this, they muddle the line between news and editorializing. Fox News basically revived the old Yellow Journalism style but the other cable news networks have started copying.

      Just trying to pinpoint where various anchors stand on the issues makes you a part of the reason that the news media biases the news - they want to keep the viewers happy by presenting what they want to hear instead of giving them the information they need to hear.

      Pollsters are another beast. They do polling all year long even when not in an election. Elections are a minor part of their business. The election is when they do their marketing because they're in the spotlight. If they "lie" and get things wrong then they hurt their core business because they lose their customers. They have a vested business interest in being accurate, unlike news media. Since they weren't very accurate they're going to take a big monetary hit.

    10. Re:And so does by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      They provide enough conservatism to claim being conservative and nothing more.

      Conservatives are such easy marks. Anyone can con them into giving money.

    11. Re:And so does by sg_oneill · · Score: 2

      The first stat was a dead giveaway that Hillary did not have a 99.8% chance of winning as polsters proclaimed on those same media outlets.

      Actually it was between 60 to 80 percent depending on the time out from the vote, with it hovering near 60 towards the end. So a 2 in 3 chance. Well the dice rolled and it was 1. But hey, have a bark and ignore the underlying math if it makes you feel better, I guess.

      Kellly and O'Reilly are left of center but for the sake of argument lets call them "fair"

      Well thats one of the stranger opinions I've read this week.

      --
      Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
    12. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol - and given how much Facebook execs like the Clinton Crime Syndicate, no one will really believe anything they say.

      Perhaps if a majority of their shareholders are Trump supporters they can pressure a board of directors change and push people out.

    13. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Talking points are just that. There is nothing true about political views, they are all opinions.

    14. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're certifiably insane. Delusional.

    15. Re: And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Facebook was a big donor to Hillary and there are emails in the leaks from high up Facebook staff ask HRC campaign what they can do to help.

      So many companies have been outed and lost credibility. What can't Facebook just tell the truth and say they are left leaning and supported the democrats?

      It's like they don't want to annoy half their advertisers our something.....

    16. Re:And so does by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Do you mean things like wanting to secure the border and vet immigrants makes you racist and xenophobic? Deporting criminals is racist? Saying that the inner cities are hell and education is broken makes you racist? Be specific, I can prove you wrong on virtually any of the progressive talking points because Leftists refuse to look at facts.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    17. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hence, just before the election 76% of people said that the US was going the wrong way,

      How much of that number includes those upset with the support for Donald Trump?

      Anything more than 26%, or about 1/3 of the total, is a majority not wanting Trump.

    18. Re:And so does by nine-times · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do you mean things like wanting to secure the border and vet immigrants makes you racist and xenophobic? Deporting criminals is racist? Saying that the inner cities are hell and education is broken makes you racist?

      Well those things seem like opinions all around. Probably not much worth arguing about, since logic can't get you out of what it didn't get you into. If you're getting this upset about someone else not being that upset about immigrants, then... yeah, you're probably xenophobic. Especially if that "someone else" is Bill O'Reilly. I don't know you, though. And your above statements are so vague that no sensible person would agree or dispute it without inferring a lot about your assumptions.

      We do secure our borders and vet immigrants. We could devote more resources to those things, but we could also devote less. Nobody is suggesting we completely open borders. Nobody seriously thinks we're going to completely secure them. Or... nobody serious thinks that? Similar with deporting criminals. Everyone is in favor of that, but the disagreement is over how many resources we should devote to deporting which criminals.

      Saying inner cities are hell just shows that you don't know what you're talking about. It's not racist, exactly, unless the reason you think they're hell is because you think black people live there. These days, white people love cities because many of them are pretty awesome. The more "inner" the city, the better, usually. Minorities have a tendency to get pushed into the outer city. And they're not necessarily hell. They're just poorer than the rich areas. I'm a white guy who lived in a black neighborhood for a couple years. It kinda sucked because there weren't any banks or good grocery stores, but the people were friendly.

      Education is broken? Sure, some of it is somewhat broken, at least. It's not really working. I don't think anyone is happy with it. I'm not sure what you mean to imply by bringing that up. Did someone say you were racist because you thought education needed improvement? Or did you imply that the solution was to get rid of the minorities in the school?

      So what's your point? Is it just to be angry at people and show that you have a very limited binary perspective?

    19. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sweet tap-dancing Nazi Jesus, the Overton Window is screwed.

    20. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You just went straight to the "Oh you must be racist" shtick. Nothing you said invalidated his points. In fact, you don't seem to understand what "inner city" means--it's the older, decaying part of some cities. Anyone who can afford to moves out to the suburbs (Frequently referred to as "white flight") and things just worsen. School districts get poorer as a result.

      Maybe don't hurt yourself trying to pat yourself on the back so hard ("I love black people, really! I even had black neighbors!") and provide some actual counterpoints to his argument. I don't like Trump, but I find myself constantly defending him since I just hate seeing false narratives pushed. The bullshit our media is pushing is on the level of a totalitarian propaganda machine, and it sickens me to see ALL of our news outlets on the level of Fox News.

    21. Re:And so does by dywolf · · Score: 1

      you are f'ing delusional.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    22. Re:And so does by dywolf · · Score: 1

      -the border is secure
      -we do vet immigrants, especially refugees, especially from Syria region
      -someone is not a criminal just because they were brought here as a child and stayed
      -inner cities are not hell
      -education is not broken, but it is underfunded, and as long as BS like the texas textbooks whitewashing (literally) slavery it will be lacking. but broken is not the word I would use, not even in the face of the massive delusions required to elect Trump

      No, you cannot prove anyone wrong because you haven't even used logics or facts to begin with.
      and again: you prove youre delusional by saying OReilly is left of center.

      Projection.
      Projection is the word that describes you when you say "Leftists refuse to look at facts" because honey, you're describing yourself, not leftists.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    23. Re:And so does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since they weren't very accurate they're going to take a big monetary hit.

      Except they aren't paid by viewers trusting them they are funded by corporation that decide whether or not their polls should be supported. This is the reason why college polls and other small time local non profit ones were pretty accurate and larger presented by the MSM polls were highly inaccurate. The MSM polls were paid to downplay Trump to preserve the narrative of him as a fringe candidate.

    24. Re:And so does by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Alt-right!

      Goddam it... First they tell me about the any key.. which isn't on my keyboard.

      Now they are saying to hit alt-right? I see the alt key, there is no right key.

      Is this like the any key? The right key is the same as the any key?

      I'm here all week folks!

  3. Gizmodo sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gizmodo apparently didn't learn anything from how Nick Denton got kicked in the sack.

  4. Unconscious bias by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's the best kind!

  5. One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    President Trump: How & Why...

    Jonathan Pie

    You "progressives" who LOVE to label everyone who doesn't slurp your Kool-Aid as a "RAAAACIST!!!!" or "HOMOPHOBE" will HATE this!

    Personally, I hope you pee your pants. If you HATE this video you're a child that needs to be wearing diapers.

    1. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You "conservatives" who LOVE to label everyone who doesn't slurp your Kool-Aid as Stupid un American lazy welfare cheats.
      I think Trump is already having trouble with the Drain the Swamp pump.

    2. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You "progressives" who LOVE to label everyone who doesn't slurp your Kool-Aid as a "RAAAACIST!!!!" or "HOMOPHOBE" will HATE this!

      As a moderate conservative, I can reassure you that people who are racist and homophobic are racist and homophobic, can't stand the idea that it's unacceptable to be racist and homophobic in the 21st century, and cringe at being labeled racist and homophobic in public.

    3. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by s.petry · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      Amazingly, we don't. Conservatives talk about how Welfare has become a tool of control instead of a hand up. That has nothing to do with someone cheating on welfare, but has everything to do with them lacking social mobility and having welfare as their only option. Leftists phrasing the actual argument as "welfare cheats" just shows who the real racists are. Leftists declared Peter Thiel was no longer gay simply because who he voted for. A mother of a 7 year old kicked him out of the house for voting in a mock election for Trump. Black Americans, Hispanics and Latino's voted 33% for Trump even considering the amount of intimidation and actual violence against them.

      The Left have become extremist whackos doing anything they can for power including violence, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, and every other thing they accuse others of doing. Look at facts and see who does this stuff, it sure as hell ain't the right. In fairness it's not even people in the democratic party, it's the whackadoo people pushing communist ideology.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    4. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Neoliberalism values competition and inequality of outcome above all else. Efficiency comes in second.
      Not very "communist."

    5. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Thiel was no longer gay simply because who he voted for. A mother of a 7 year old kicked him out of the house for voting in a mock election for Trump.

      Dude did you just sleep thjrough the entire year ? Really? That's all you got? One bad parent? Meanwhile Trump is the dude who is a proven sexual predator, racist hate monger and being sued for running a scam (as the judge said) university. Yeah, but both sides are basically the same. uh huh. Yeah...

      The Left have become extremist whackos doing anything they can for power including violence, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, and every other thing they accuse others of doing.

      Like what?

    6. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      You are deluded, in your right wing echo chamber, the media is biased because they report the actual words Trump said, its just like insisting reality is biased. What a moron.

    7. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by bryanbrunton · · Score: 2

      Except some people really are racist and homo-phobes. Like Steve Bannon, Trump's advisor. That dude is white supremacist fck head.

    8. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most people cringe at being called racist or homophobe, that why it's been such a powerful tool for silencing dissent.

    9. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Like what?

      Not been paying attention to the flagrant uses of identity politics by democrats and people on the left over the last 8-12 years? If you want a person to be hired based on merit, well merit is a MRA construct. Merit is also sexist/racist and homophobic. Not wanting to hire somebody based on the characteristics that they're born with is also sexist/racist/homophobic and so on. The left have also been the ones at the forefront of pushing the "diversity hires" not on skill, not on ability, not on merit. But again, because of what a person identifies as, or from what they're born with.

      To repeat myself from the previous week:

      Why does it matter? Why do you want to force people into positions that they don't want? Why do you believe that someones genitals, or sexual identity is important? Do you also believe the same thing about an individuals race? Why does it seem your most important qualification to hire someone, or have them in office is something that they're born with.

      All of those things? If you want to put people a head of others based on characteristics that they were born with instead of their skill, ability, or the earned merit that they gained from hard work. You're no different then a sexist that believed that only men could be doctors or politicians in the 1910's and earlier. Or a racist in the 1960's that believed those "blacks and/or mexicans" could never be educated enough to succeed.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    10. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are deluded, in your right wing echo chamber, the media is biased because they report the actual words Trump said, its just like insisting reality is biased. What a moron.

      So that would make you deluded and living in a left-wing echo chamber because the media didn't report on Clinton's actual words? Didn't cover the DNC leaks or report to the public that she lied repeatedly? That flappy heads in the media came out and told you that looking at wikileaks is illegal.

    11. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Nehmo · · Score: 1
      I don't approve of the "-phobic" suffix. A phobia is an unreasonable fear, a disorder of a sort. And it means fear-of, not disapproval or opposition.

      The word "homophobic" was popularized by homosexuals themselves, And the word "Islamophobic" was crafted by Muslim supporters to imply that their critics were crazy.

      --
      (||) Nehmo (||)
    12. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by dywolf · · Score: 1

      conservatives talk like that because they, delusionally, think welfare still exists.

      Hint: it was killed in the 90's by Bill Clinton working with the GOP Congress, and replaced with TANF, aka, workfare.

      TANF on the other hand is a limited block grant to the states of 16billion dollars (total, not each) that has never been increased or adjusted for inflation (so its lost more than 35% of its value), with work requirements and a lifetime cap, that the states get to spend on whatever they want. most don't spend it on poverty, but instead on their own budget holes.

      Welfare used to be an entitlement for anyone making below X amount of dollars. As such it was received by >95% of those that qualified.
      TANF is received by less than 8% of those who would otherwise qualify. The majority of the funds go to shore up state budget holes under the many loopholes in the law.

      Welfare was a hand up . Provably demonstrably so, regardless of any and all BS from the conservative side, that reduced poverty.

      TANF doesn't work and doesn't reduce poverty.

      So when conservatives, like you, say that welfare doesn't work, its just like when they say government doesn't work: its because they broke it, so they could then say SEE! IT DOESNT WORK! (with much help from a far too trusting and optimistic Clinton).
      ---

      No one has declared Thiel not gay any more than they declared his brother asshat Milo not gay.
      they have rather both been labeled as toxic disgusting people....because they are.
      Not because of their orientation, but because of the things say and do.
      ---

      The Left have become extremist whackos doing anything they can for power including violence, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, and every other thing they accuse others of doing. Look at facts and see who does this stuff, it sure as hell ain't the right. In fairness it's not even people in the democratic party, it's the whackadoo people pushing communist ideology.

      Pure projection.
      Also: you apparently are unfamiliar with the definition of communist.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    13. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by dywolf · · Score: 0

      BTW: it's been less than a week, and already there have been more than 360 reported hate crimes against minority groups following and attributable to the election and trump supporters, including outright, open, neo-Nazi acts.

      as I said: you are engaging in projection.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    14. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by dywolf · · Score: 0

      and to repeat myself: because you conservatives tried to exclude people from the public sphere on the basis of their genitals, sexual identity, skin color, or creed.
      that's why it matters.

      the fact is, even when merit is identical , that non-white, non-straight, non-male persons are STILL at a structural disadvantage , hired less often and for less pay. this leads to a self perpetuating cultural cycle that reinforces itself. that's why representation matters, why breaking glass ceilings matters, why purposely hiring typically under-represented groups when merit is identical, helps to break down that cycle and create a more just, more equitable society.

      that is why, after 400 years of keeping black people down (or women, or other minorities, or LGBTQ folks), pretending everything is magically equal now and if they don't make it it's somehow their own fault, is bull*hit.

      you are simply using a more eloquently stated, ie better hidden dog whistle, that fighting structural bigotry is itself bigoted.
      it is not, and you are for trying to make that case.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    15. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Most people cringe at being called racist or homophobe, that why it's been such a powerful tool for silencing dissent.

      The reality is everyone is racist to some extent. If someone accused me of being racist, I won't deny it. But an accusation of being racist isn't enough to silent my dissent.

    16. Re:One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      Except of course your false equivalency is based on RWNJ lies about Clintion. Going to be fun when you realise the truth.
      As Trump said in 1998, he would run as a republican, they are the dumbest voters, and would believe anything he said. Sure sounds like he understands you.

    17. Re: One YUUUGE reason Trump won by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When the left wing whackos snarked America I said "They're just ignorant loudmouth elitist treehugger neurotic tv watching maggots, who cares what they think?"
      When the right wing whackos snarked America I said "They're just ignorant faux country crosseyed neo conservative rat bastard soi disant patriotic corporate patsies, who cares what they think?"
      When the cosmopolitan Eurotrash and Russian police state internet shills snarked America I was sad because there was nobody left to snark for me.

  6. Doesn't Gawker own them? by slapout · · Score: 1

    Somebody may be getting sued again...

    --
    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    1. Re:Doesn't Gawker own them? by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      Somebody may be getting sued again...

      Gawker is no more (praise be the Hulkster and his buddy Thiel). Gizmodo and the other surviving Gawker sites are owned by Univision now.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
  7. Not too surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People that rely on fakebook for their news get exactly what they deserve. Same with people that rely on any single source for their news. Always ask yourself:

    1. Is this news or gossip? (Exactly what am I being told?)
    2. Why am I being told this?
    3. Who is telling me this?

    The answers will help you decide the truthiness of the stories.

    1. Re:Not too surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      (1) is really the only question on your list that matters to finding truthiness. Really, it's the only question you should ask yourself. Not sure how many people can actually answer that question, though.

      (2) tells you nothing about the truthiness of the maybe-news-maybe-not. Unless you are told why, there's no answer that isn't your own fabrication. Don't bother asking yourself other peoples intentions.

      (3) only serves the purpose of giving you a comfortable escape from what otherwise might mean facing an answer of truthiness that contradicts your fixed beliefs. That's all.

  8. A/B Testing by darkain · · Score: 3, Informative

    BULLSHIT Facebook. My account was shoved into the A/B testing for this several months ago. Articles from known satirical web sites would be flagged as such, and this was such a praised feature at the time, too. We all got sick and fucking tired having to constantly link to Snopes or other resources to "prove" that a particular site was a satire site. The only real issue is that this system was primarily limited to just domains as a whole, so bullshit clickbaitery web sites that have marginal content once in a blue moon wouldn't be listed (Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and similar)

  9. Lying with truth by The-Ixian · · Score: 3

    We did not build and withhold any News Feed changes based on their potential impact on any one political party

    What I see here is the use of "any one political party" which could mean that they didn't implement it because it was decided that it would impact all political parties or that it wasn't implemented because it would affect users (not political parties).

    I just don't trust any PR statement.... they are bound to be carefully crafted to be "true" without actually being so.

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    1. Re:Lying with truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah Facebook PR really has sounded pretty damn disingenuous for a good while. Many statements strike one as flat out falsehoods these days, this one in particular.

  10. The Liberal Search for Scapegoats Continues! by Nova+Express · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The was the most unbalanced election news coverage in history, with major outlets (NYT, WP, ABC, NBC, CBS) so far in the tank for Clinton and against Trump that it embarassed many old time journalists:

    This is all symptomatic of modern journalism’s great moral and intellectual failing: its unbearable smugness. Had Hillary Clinton won, there’s be a winking “we did it” feeling in the press, a sense that we were brave and called Trump a liar and saved the republic.

    So much for that. The audience for our glib analysis and contempt for much of the electorate, it turned out, was rather limited. This was particularly true when it came to voters, the ones who turned out by the millions to deliver not only a rebuke to the political system but also the people who cover it. Trump knew what he was doing when he invited his crowds to jeer and hiss the reporters covering him. They hate us, and have for some time.

    And can you blame them? Journalists love mocking Trump supporters. We insult their appearances. We dismiss them as racists and sexists. We emote on Twitter about how this or that comment or policy makes us feel one way or the other, and yet we reject their feelings as invalid.

    It’s a profound failure of empathy in the service of endless posturing...We diagnose them as racists in the way Dark Age clerics confused medical problems with demonic possession. Journalists, at our worst, see ourselves as a priestly caste. We believe we not only have access to the indisputable facts, but also a greater truth, a system of beliefs divined from an advanced understanding of justice.

    And, after all that, Trump still won. So now liberals will look everywhere for a scapegoat to pin this "inexplicable" failure on. Everywhere, that is, except their own attitudes and actions.

    The left is responsible for this result, because the left has now decided to any other opinion, any other way of looking at the world, is unacceptable. We don't debate anymore because the left won the cultural war, so if you're on the right you're a freak! You're evil! You're racist! You're stupid! You are a basket of deplorables! How do you think people are going to vote if you talk to them like that? When has anyone ever been persuaded by being insulted or labeled? So now if you're on the right or even against the prevailing view you are attacked for raising your opinion. That's why people wait until they're in the voting booth, where no one's watching anymore, there's no blame or shame or anything, and you can finally say what you really think, and that is a powerful thing.

    --
    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/

    1. Re:The Liberal Search for Scapegoats Continues! by bryanbrunton · · Score: 2

      The media reported the facts. Trump said a lot of sexist, xenophobic, racist nonsense. And the media reported it.

    2. Re:The Liberal Search for Scapegoats Continues! by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      The media reported facts? Well that's debatable, very debatable. It would be like saying, the UVA rape case was factual because "Rolling Stone created a dialog." Something that many 3rd wave feminists(Valenti, Bindle, etc) like to spout. It's neither factual, or truthful. If the trust of the media is lower then congress, it's not a people problem. It's a media problem. Going by your reasoning, Clinton and Kaine said a lot of misandrist, sexist and racist things. The only difference was, the media was in the tank for Clinton and Kaine. The problem with screaming "he's a racist/sexist/xenophobic" identity politics garbage all the time is that when it actually is the case, nobody cares anymore. Then again, the standard that people seem to believe is racist/xenophobic is enforcing border laws and deporting illegals. Sexist of course are now things that are consensual, because "it's dirty". Strange that last one, who knew that the religious right would be dead but their views would be taken up by the non-religious left.

      And in the case of the media instead of learning from it, they're doubling down. That also goes for the pundits spouting the same garbage. And it appears that people are doubling down too, but keep digging.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    3. Re:The Liberal Search for Scapegoats Continues! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most of the time when I went to the actual video or transcript of what was said, I would find that it was taken out of context or just plain lied about. I hate defending Trump, but I hate the Fox News level of bullshit that all our news outlets have sunk to even more.

  11. They flag everyones political leaning by BrookHarty · · Score: 2

    They do a fair bit of herding people and hiding content. First they determine a persons political status, then they only show you stories based on your favorites, while avoiding triggering stories. They limit/censor what posts show up in your feeds. They have multiple lawsuits on leaving hate groups that they agree with, anti-Israel, gun groups, conservative media. Its not even a guess, its already been verified by multiple media outlets.

    Everyone knows they jumped the shark, as a discussion medium it sucks.

    1. Re:They flag everyones political leaning by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Their aim is just to maximise ad revenue, and the best way to retain viewers is to affirm them. People generally hate to be told they are wrong.

      It's a free market: If your audience doesn't like the facts you are giving them, they will take their business elsewhere and find someone selling facts more to their liking.

  12. So... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

    Which of the two is the fake/hoax news story?

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  13. Facebook needs to stay the f^%$ out of feed mgmt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They just need to have a hands off approach.. otherwise they are meddling and will be accused of everything. Hands off is the only approach... stay off my feed you vultures!

  14. Love watching the leftist media infighting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They were so wrong every step of the way. Now their jobs are in danger due to all the lies. Good Riddance.

  15. I have a theory. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    Perhaps there is simply a correlation between political affiliation and lying?

    1. Re:I have a theory. by h4x0t · · Score: 1

      Right. Having a political affiliation tends to correlate with lying.

    2. Re:I have a theory. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't expect it to be just one side with another - it would depend mostly on how far from center you are. But while people might like the idea of a tidy symmetry, where left and right are equal opposites of one another, there's no reason that has to be true. It could just be that right-leaning websites tend to distort the truth more then left-leaning websites, even though the far-right and far-left extremes will both be lying continually.

  16. It's official: Facebook is a cult by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mark himself said,

    Who talks like that?

  17. This is factchecking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facebook factcheckers check the report and found it false. Shouldn't we believe them?

  18. Gizmodo fiction to spin a Conservatives Lie Thread by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing new here. Wikileaks publishes emails showing multiple mainstream media outlets assisting and coordinating with the Democrats to help them politically, and Gizmodo accuses Conservatives...
    It's the old Saul Alinsky tactic of accusing the opposition of doing what you are actually doing.