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Facebook Says It Can't Guarantee Social Media is Good For Democracy (reuters.com)
Facebook said on Monday that it could offer no assurance that social media was on balance good for democracy, but noted that it was trying what it could to stop alleged meddling in elections by Russia or anyone else. From a report: The sharing of false or misleading headlines on social media has become a global issue, after accusations that Russia tried to influence votes in the United States, Britain and France. Moscow denies the allegations.
Facebook, the largest social network with more than 2 billion users, addressed social media's role in democracy in blog posts from a Harvard University professor, Cass Sunstein, and from an employee working on the subject. "I wish I could guarantee that the positives are destined to outweigh the negatives, but I can't," Samidh Chakrabarti, a Facebook product manager, wrote in his post. Facebook, he added, has a "moral duty to understand how these technologies are being used and what can be done to make communities like Facebook as representative, civil and trustworthy as possible."
Facebook, the largest social network with more than 2 billion users, addressed social media's role in democracy in blog posts from a Harvard University professor, Cass Sunstein, and from an employee working on the subject. "I wish I could guarantee that the positives are destined to outweigh the negatives, but I can't," Samidh Chakrabarti, a Facebook product manager, wrote in his post. Facebook, he added, has a "moral duty to understand how these technologies are being used and what can be done to make communities like Facebook as representative, civil and trustworthy as possible."
One wallows in Mediocrity.
People have the capacity and agency to double check sources for sensational claims, including "fake news." While it might set certain censorship standards based on market demand, we don't need an authoritarian government demanding censorship because things that offend their sensibilities were said. This goes for both liberal groups that want "fake news" censored, and for the "there are only 2 gender" social conservatives that get mad whenever some teenager makes up pronouns.
Empirical evidence suggests it is bad for a lot more than just that. But the unfortunate takeaway is that this is only the case because of deficiencies of character in the participants.
So who all of a sudden gets to decide of FB, et al are "good for democracy". As an informed, educated and interested citizenry, that is OUR job.
Maybe having the unwashed masses be involved in every single decision the gov makes turns it into a popularity contest and strips actual merit from ideas anyway, and facebook is just the latest doing exactly that?
How about you require everyone to pass a basic intelligence evaluation before you can vote.
FTFY?
The problem isn't social media. Or even most of the people.
The real problem are people like you who don't know how elitist you sound, or worse, don't really care. Oh, I am sure you don't want a basic intelligence test to vote, because that would eliminate a few voting blocks that the Democrats actually depend upon.
Fake News isn't a new problem, it is just one that the Elites used for a long time, and now that anyone can "publish" anything the effect by the elite media is being nullified by other forms of fake news and a few sources of legitimate news.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Who is the enemy? Is it the people who vote for the wrong candidates? (i.e. the people who disagree with me)
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
Oh, I am sure you don't want a basic intelligence test to vote, because that would eliminate a few voting blocks that the Democrats actually depend upon.
Funny, I was thinking that about Republicans.
Frankly I fail to see the intelligence of anyone who commits themselves to one party or the other. They are directly claiming that party allegiance is more important than critical thinking during elections.
All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
Hmmm....
So, who, exactly, is "the enemy"? Are we at war with someone? Did I miss the declaration of war while I was in the shower?
That aside, no, exercising one's First Amendment rights is NOT "aiding and abetting the enemy". Rather the opposite - suppressing one's First Amendment rights makes the suppressor the enemy....
Or are you one of those people who believe that democracy really only works if the Right People are allowed to control the rest of us?
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Sure, FB can't guarantee it or other social media is good for democracy, but it would be a great start if they and other players like Google/Youtube were to curtail curating your feed for the sole purpose of keeping your eyes on the screen as long as possible.
It has already been proven the FB feeds posts, news, etc. that align with the political ideology it "thinks" you hold. This creates a hyper-echo chamber where people no longer are exposed to dissenting ideas and become inured with their beliefs being endlessly reinforced instead of challenged.
Facebook's behavior actively discourages civil discourse all in the name of advertising revenue.
~Any apparent grammatical or typographic errors are caused by defects in your display device.
I don't think education or status are perfect vaccines against mob thinking, either. In every historical instance of a society driving off the cliff into folly has plenty of people who should have known better egging it on.
Facebook is to bullshit as crack is to cocaine. Crack is cocaine, but packaged to provide a cheap, short-lived high. Facebook is a means of consuming a lot of bullshit by repeatedly deciding to consume just little bit more.
Just look at the basic Facebook mechanic: the like. What the easiest way to get that sweet hit of external validation? Find a group of like-minded people and express a completely conventional thought in an outrageously provocative way. And how long does that hit last? Days? Hours? Minutes?
Facebook didn't invent getting yourself lost in an epistemic bubble; it just made it accessible to people who don't have the time to invest in joining a cult. That makes a difference.
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