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Facebook To Ban Misinformation On Voting In Upcoming US Elections (reuters.com)

"Facebook will ban false information about voting requirements and fake reports of violence or long lines at polling stations in the run-up to and during next month's U.S. midterm elections," reports Reuters. The latest efforts are to reduce voter manipulation across its platform. From the report: The world's largest online social network, with 1.5 billion daily users, has stopped short of banning all false or misleading posts, something that Facebook has shied away from as it would likely increase its expenses and leave it open to charges of censorship. The ban on false information about voting methods, set to be announced later on Monday, comes six weeks after Senator Ron Wyden asked Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg how Facebook would counter posts aimed at suppressing votes, such as by telling certain users they could vote by text, a hoax that has been used to reduce turnout in the past.

The information on voting methods becomes one of the few areas in which falsehoods are prohibited on Facebook, a policy enforced by what the company calls "community standards" moderators, although application of its standards has been uneven. It will not stop the vast majority of untruthful posts about candidates or other election issues.

245 comments

  1. Going to ban weather reports also? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    So how exactly is Facebook going to determine if reports of long lines are false? Information on line length makes it EASIER to go vote if you can choose between a few different polling locations and fine the one with the shortest lines. If that information is banned might some people go, find a long line and drop it??

    Facebook may as well ban all weather reports indicating cold, snow or rain since all of those might make people less inclined to vote also. In fact I daresay Facebook is better off banning everything except cat videos on election day - though even there the danger is someone would prefer to stay in and watch cat videos rather than vote.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by msnash · · Score: 0

      Um, let see here, we have veriabile soruce of informations like Snopes, CNN, Wikipedia (enforce by editors now) - this alone make it harder for KGB to spread "fake news" about Hillary Clinton and get celebrity mad man elect from fake news. Facebook have it in our best interest make better thing with the finding from their Al spot story which obviously must be fake news based on cutting edge Al software, nobody opinion involved when Al make decisions so must be right and apart from all failure and opinion.

    2. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by postbigbang · · Score: 2

      Open can of worms.

      Insert hands.

      That's already Facebook. This will be uproarious. The AI anti-voter engines will be in full prime by Nov 8th. The analytics will be poised to do their best to achieve their algorithmic goals of domination, or just simply slipping past the desire finish.

      While I wish them luck, I don't think this ends well.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
    3. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      has stopped short of banning all false or misleading posts, something that Facebook has shied away from as it would likely increase its expenses and leave it open to charges of censorship.

      Bullshit. A private business can prohibit anything it wants. That is not censorship.

      "False Information" is just another name for lies. The fact that Facebook refuses to take a firm stand against lies tells you everything you need to know about them.

    4. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      muh conservative freedom to deceive!

    5. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What red shit hole do you live in where you can choose from multiple precincts on election day?

    6. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      My thoughts exactly regarding line length. It's (relatively) easy to verify reports of violence, but a long line may appear and then disappear again in a matter of minutes, depending on the circumstances. How is Facebook supposed to know which reports are illegitimate and which are simply reports that they can't verify? Even if there was an impartial source they could tap for that information, how granular is that information being reported?

      What about other pieces of information that may affect voting patterns? There are plenty of illicit ways to disenfranchise voters, as well as plenty that are purely accidental. Polling stations have been known to turn away certified translators despite not being allowed to do so, effectively disenfranchising people who don't speak whatever language(s) the ballots are in. Administrative problems can occur, resulting in people not appearing to be registered to vote at their designated station(s). A fire alarm may get pulled. A car accident may block the parking lot entrance. The list goes on.

      And yet, each of those may be resolved within a matter of minutes without ever making it to the news or someone else's Facebook wall. How is Facebook supposed to recognize which reports of those sorts of activity are false and which are, at worst, merely outdated?

    7. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Reliable? Seriously? You think those sites are reliable and aren't also spreading agenda skewed news?

    8. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Most voters don't have a choice of polling stations, you get one and only one unless you have an absentee ballot or can get a provisional ballot (which won't be counted until after the results have been announced).

    9. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 0

      My thoughts exactly regarding line length. It's (relatively) easy to verify reports of violence,

      "When I showed up at the polls there was a scary looking black man carrying a club standing at the door, so I didn't vote." Ummm, a disabled person who carries a cane was waiting for his wife to finish voting before they went to church services ... "When I went to vote there was a scary looking white man with a club standing at the door, so I didn't vote." His church services start half an hour after the first guy's, and his wife is just as slow a voter.

      It's not as easy as you think to verify a report of "violence" or "alleged violence" or "voter deterrence".

      How is Facebook supposed to know which reports are illegitimate and which are simply reports that they can't verify?

      They cannot. But there is an outcry that "something must be done" to solve this problem, so Facebook is "doing something". How dare you question Facebook as to the effectiveness or accuracy of what they are "doing"?

    10. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Plugh · · Score: 2

      So, if Wikileaks or a similar group publishes thousands of emails from a political candidate's server, is that "misinformation?" Or ... "*unauthorized* information?"

    11. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just ban them all. It's the principle of least harm. So you can't post about election lines on Tuesday. Knock yourself out of Wednesday. In reality, nobody gives a fuck anyway, so no harm no foul.

    12. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      So how exactly is Facebook going to determine if reports of long lines are false?

      I think it's safe to assume that someone located in Chechnya reporting on the length of lines outside a polling station in suburban Roanoke, Virginia is probably a fake.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    13. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Facebook is a public company not private.

    14. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Snopes? What are you, nuts? It's an entertainment site.
      I've seen technical errors in some of their "stories" and they clearly report things
      with a bias. Oh, they might get the "Is the sky green?" story correct, but concepts
      that are more human, not so much...

      CAP === 'occlude'

    15. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So how exactly is Facebook going to determine if reports of long lines are false?

      Have you heard of local news reports?

    16. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Are things that backward where you live? Here in central Indiana I can vote in any of the polling places in my voting district.

    17. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      How is Facebook supposed to know which reports are illegitimate and which are simply reports that they can't verify?

      Simple: location data.

      How are people who read a tech site like Slashdot not able to figure this out? If an account based in Minsk reports a long line in a community 25 miles outside of Topeka, there would be a high probability that the information is bogus.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    18. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Facebook is a private company with publicly traded stock. Unless you get 51% of that stock and give it to "the public" it's still privately owned, Einstein-san. I do appreciate you trying to confuse the ancient republican dinosaurs, Ivan.

    19. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares? 99% of facebook posts are fucking retarded and 99% of the complaints of censorship and heavy handedness are russian trolls complaining they can't meet their quota.

    20. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How are you this fucking stupid.

    21. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey everyone, get a load of this guy, living in an area where the Republicans haven't been shuttering polling places left and right. Since it hasn't happened to you personally, it mustn't be an issue, right?

    22. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh that's easy. If the misinformation benefits democrats, they'll let it pass. if it benefits republicans, it will be cleansed.

    23. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you can choose between a few different polling locations and fine the one with the shortest lines.

      Shot, you are fucking stupid, you goddamned moron.

      Fortunately, you can now be banned from Facebook.

    24. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by hey! · · Score: 1

      You are equivocating here. There's a big difference between distributing an authentic weather report and a spreading false information about voting requirements in order to deprive people of their political rights. That's just depicable and nobody should make light of it.

      As for intentionally inaccurate reports of long lines, that's just as reprehensible, and it were up to me I'd horse whip anyone caught doing that. I'm not sure what Facebook can do about that in real time, but it doesn't mean they should ignore that. They certainly have the resources to try.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    25. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hey Anonymous Coward, which *facts* in this Snopes story are wrong? Be specific.

      https://www.snopes.com/fact-ch...

    26. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      He just hasn't ever actually voted which is why he doesn't understand how polling places work.

      Or.... maybe he's a Russian/Chinese agent trying to spread disinformation that you can only go to one polling place! Jump him, boys! Ban his Russian ass!!

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    27. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      California. You get told your polling place. When you arrive they look up your name and address in a list of voters assigned to that location. If you're on the list, you sign it. If you're not on the list, you get a provisional ballot. It's been this way forever, Republican or Democrat governors. In your smaller states maybe they are better able to detect when someone decides to vote in more than one polling location?

    28. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

      I used Indiana's website ( https://indianavoters.in.gov/ ) to look up polling locations for Governor Holcomb (whose birthday and county were easy to find) and he's only given one option for a polling place (St. Thomas Aquinas Church). It's not like he's in some podunk small town in Indiana. How many options are you given?

    29. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NM, a blue state. Vote at the most convenient place.

    30. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by sexconker · · Score: 2

      A private business can prohibit anything it wants.

      No, it can't. There are laws requiring them to not discriminate, laws requiring them to not punish workers work going on strike, not retaliate against workers who report crimes, etc. Further, private businesses that are generally open to the public can't refuse to serve people of a certain race, sex, etc. In some locations, political views are protected as well. A private business that is generally open to the public, or a public entity like a city, also can't hire some other private entity to do something like "manage the city streets and sidewalks" and then have that entity ban people from the sidewalks outside their businesses.

      That is not censorship.

      Of course it is. It doesn't matter whether or not the government is doing the censoring, it's still censorship.

    31. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      great, so no cakes for gay couples, right?

    32. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by sexconker · · Score: 1

      You are assigned one polling place. You can go to many others. If you go to one you are not assigned to, you cast a provisional ballot. It is verified and counted later. (In actuality, the odds are the provisional ballots are so few as to not possibly affect the outcome and your vote will not be counted before the election is confirmed, if at all.)

    33. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what Facebook can do about that in real time, but it doesn't mean they should ignore that. They certainly have the resources to try.

      Something must be done, and Facebook is doing something. Whether that something will do anything positive or not is still a question; one that many of us can answer very easily.

    34. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 0

      Of course it is. It doesn't matter whether or not the government is doing the censoring, it's still censorship.

      For any useful definition of censorship, it is not. If everything is censorship, then the term "censorship" is worthless. Facebook not allowing you to post your comment on their servers is not censorship, nor is the decision of an editor not to publish your letter to the editor. If both quite reasonable and allowable decisions on their part are censorship, then cries of "censorship" become like cries of wolf: "ho hum, come back when there is something real."

    35. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Too easy, they will simply delete 'ALL' mention of long lines at voting booths. So people turn up, wait in queue and never vote, well at select anti-capitalism must dominate, keep in mind they are not a social media engine but a marketing engine where PR=B$ and they get their money from advertising the biggest most corrupt corporations, they control the purse strings and they demand that Facebook control 'YOU' or they will cut the purse strings and all Facebooks money will flow out.

      Facebook sell 'YOU' to their corporate advertising dollar masters, walk the fuck away. What Facebook does or does not do, becomes meaningless when you drop it and mock those who continue to use it, Facebook quislings, the goatse who suck in other sheeple to the Facebook scam, controlled social media, controlling 'YOU' (meh, sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    36. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      There are laws requiring them to not discriminate

      Is truth a protected class?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    37. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I could care less about Trumps inauguration attendance as it proves nothing of importance. That being said I noticed a couple of issues with that one link you posted.

      1. It stated that CNN reported 17 million video starts but this did not equal views in totality so it was to be viewed as "problematic". Though in the other metrics used to judge audience TV, physical audience size ect.. No mention of whether those people watched the inauguration in its entirety. Why would this be a problem for online views but not other forms of views?

      2. Spencers argument was that when online viewers were included, Trumps inauguration equaled the most. He mentioned CNN as an example. Although Snopes states that they were unable to get Fox News stats they didn't even try to find YouTube CNBC live stream ect..These are crucial facts in determining the validity of the statement that are left out.

      3. Many political "fact" checkers work off of aggregate impressions. They may rate a couple statements up marginally for one person where they wouldn't for another. When you add it all up (as many do) it tells two very different stories. An example would be this particular story getting an unproven rating where if the inverse statement was made (Obama had the most views) they might rate true (note in this instance this did not occur I am simply giving an example).

      In the end this story seemed to be one of the better examples I've seen on Snopes. While all Snopes articles are not false they all are most certinially not true which is why I would never regard it as an objective factual reference.

      There used to exist several compilations of inaccuracies by Snopes that are probably still around for you to Google and check. Ultimately the biggest problems with these "fact" checkers is that they teach people to just believe what someone else has to say rather than checking for themselves. Why link to Snopes when you can just as easily link to a factual reference displaying information that supports your claim?

    38. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They also aren't allowed to hire illegal aliens, but no one is allowed to talk about that.

    39. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by sycodon · · Score: 1

      Ya have to wonder what they would do with another situation like of videos of Harry Reid claiming on the Senate floor that Romney didn't pay taxes.

      Harry kept it up all during the campaign and then admitted he was lying, then just said, "meh, it worked".

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    40. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you are onto to something... shut Facebook down on election day and maybe the day before as well. Also move election day to a Monday or a Friday and make it a holiday.

    41. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      There are still some reliable publications out there who provide information on polling day.

      Facebook doesn't have to be perfect to make a difference, they just have to block viral bullshit from the fake news factories they already know about but mostly tolerate.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    42. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You want the baker to be forced to bake cakes for gay couples they don't want to do business with? Well, OK, but there's a price for that. You now *must* do business with anti-semitic, Nazi KKK members, or face the same legal repurcussions as the bakers if they refuse to do business with gays.

      Do you accept this deal? There is no middle ground here - how you feel about anti-semitic Nazi KKK members is exactly how the hypothetical baker feels about gay people. You must choose between the right to refuse to do business with those you hate, or the right of those you hate to avail themselves of your business.

      Which will it be?

    43. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to know where you live that you can choose your polling station.

    44. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course it is. It doesn't matter whether or not the government is doing the censoring, it's still censorship.

      For any useful definition of censorship, it is not."

      Tell that to the Network Television censors.

    45. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This time face book will tell you who to vote for

    46. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      snopes isn't fast enough - we recently had a woman in St Louis get fired because of a youtuber -- an unknown neighbor [to the woman] and fellow flat owner tried to tailgate into the building without buzzing himself in late night - he had his cellphone camera up and ready for the argument as she didn't want to let a stranger into the building - (at that time, how is she supposed to know he is an owner when he refused to show the key-fob or buzz himself in - all owners know that you are supposed to block tailgaters to protect all known owners of the building - she did the right thing, but he sold it as a racial thing - she got quickly railroaded and lost her job - no help from snopes

    47. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by jbengt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I could care less about Trumps inauguration attendance as it proves nothing of importance.

      It proves that Trump is an inveterate liar.
      That's important.

    48. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Simple work-around: "Here's a pic of the really, really short lines at my polling place, That line only goes down around the block once."

    49. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      Facebook may as well ban all weather reports indicating cold, snow or rain since all of those might make people less inclined to vote also.

      Cold weather is clearly racist. Ever notice that snow is white, hmm? Hmmm????

    50. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it can't. There are laws requiring them to not discriminate

      You can discriminate against opinions (particularly false or bad ones) all you want dipshit, so long as you're not discriminating against a protected class.

    51. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by sexconker · · Score: 1

      For any useful definition of censorship, it is not.

      Wrong. Useful to your narrative, maybe. Useful to the language, factually correct, etc., no.

    52. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by sexconker · · Score: 1

      No, it can't. There are laws requiring them to not discriminate

      You can discriminate against opinions (particularly false or bad ones) all you want dipshit, so long as you're not discriminating against a protected class.

      Unless those opinions are political in nature and you're in a state like CA. Or if those opinions are more widely held by a certain protected class, then discrimination against the opinion elevates to discrimination against the protected class, and you fucking lose again. This is why we still have decrepit ghettos in major cities. Can't enforce building codes or safety standards if they disproportionately affect protected classes.

      Try again, please.

    53. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Surely she has a clear and simple defamation case that'll garner her a healthy chunk of that Youtuber's income?

    54. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Cederic · · Score: 1

      . Facebook not allowing you to post your comment on their servers is not censorship

      If Facebook don't allow you to post "man, the queues are insane today, I've had to go back to work and I'll try again later" then they're censoring you.

      Whether you like that use of the term or not is entirely fucking irrelevant. Would you prefer that we censor your idiocy by forcing Slashdot to delete your lies? Me, I'd rather allow others to read and counter them.

    55. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The difference is, people like to pretend only Trump has ever lied. They sprint to their twitter to call out anything remotely inaccurate or false for Trump, but crickets when "their" guy tells a blatant lie. Don't believe me? Look at the Warren mess. She provides "proof" that she is indian. Her proof is that a DNA test showed 1/64th-1/256th native american. Is that enough to call yourself Indian? She identified as a person of color. Obama is half-white. He didn't call himself white. Interesting how that works, eh? The left takes to twitter to call her triumphant in her proof that she is indian. The right points out that being such an infinitesimal amount does not make you indian.

      Technically she has some sort of indian in her heritage, but by saying you're "native american" you are implying that you are at the very least 1/4 native american, which is what the vast majority of people would think when someone tells them that. She has experienced none of the culture, history, hardships or benefits from native american ancestry. She has lived exactly as the white person she is, her entire life. Is that native american enough for YOU? But no, lets pretend only Trump has ever lied in the history of politics, and let's scrutinize every detail of his life because a napkin on his shoe is more important than trade agreements or military conflicts.

    56. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obama is half-white. He didn't call himself white. Interesting how that works, eh?

      Not to pick apart your point (as Warren's mess is her own problem) but President Obama grew up in a time where being part black meant you were black in the eyes of many. My father is a couple years older than him and a quarter (or an eighth - can't remember) black. He was sent to the black schools in the South. Why should either identify as white when growing up society never saw them that way?

    57. Re: Going to ban weather reports also? by Bradac_55 · · Score: 1

      Ask old 'horseface' how easy it is to win a defamation case ... and rightly so.

    58. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      If Facebook don't allow you to post "man, the queues are insane today, I've had to go back to work and I'll try again later" then they're censoring you.

      You can call it what you want, but by calling it "censorship" you remove any negative connotations to the word. They have every right to not let you post on their servers, and crying "censorship!" only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something. "The government will put me in jail if I say this" is censorship to be upset about. "Facebook won't let me rant" is not.

      I understand that you want to create outrage at an action that Facebook is taking and are relying on the word "censorship" to help do that, but you're getting diminishing returns on that kind of rhetoric. It plays well to the choir, but the rest of the congregation is not paying much attention to that word anymore.

    59. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Cederic · · Score: 1

      You can call it what you want, but by calling it "censorship" you remove any negative connotations to the word.

      Quite the opposite. I use the word because its negative connotations are explicitly appropriate for Facebook's actions.

      They have every right to not let you post on their servers

      I have every right to correctly identify their censorship as censorship.

      crying "censorship!" only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something

      Crying "fire" when things are burning only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something.
      Crying "murder" when the Saudis kill a journalist only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something.
      Crying "idiot" when describing you only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something.

      I understand that you want to create outrage at an action that Facebook is taking

      You understand very little. I don't even use Facebook.

      relying on the word "censorship"

      I'm relying on the word "censorship" to help succinctly and pithily describes acts of, well, censorship. Language, it's fucking amazing.

    60. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Quite the opposite. I use the word because its negative connotations are explicitly appropriate for Facebook's actions.

      Facebook has every right to control what appears on the systems it owns, just as you have the right to decide what appears on a webserver you own. That's why calling it censorship dilutes the bad meaning. "Censorship" applied to Facebook may be accurate according to the dictionary, but it changes the word from describing something bad into describing something legal, ethical, and what the vast majority of people expect Facebook to do as part of its service.

      You may not like what they do, but they have every right to do it, and trying to gin up outrage by mislabeling the action is just hurting the cause when it happens for real.

      I have every right to correctly identify their censorship as censorship.

      Yes, you have every right to use a word in it's most absolutely meaningless variant, and to do so in an attempt to draw upon its historical negative meaning. I have every right to tell you that you're doing that.

      Crying "fire" when things are burning only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something.

      Yes, crying "fire" when someone lights a birthday candle is technically correct but only desensitizes other people to the serious meaning of the word.

      Crying "idiot" when describing you only dilutes the significant use of the word when it needs to mean something.

      However, crying "ad hominem" when you resort to personal insult is using the phrase in its correct and proper meaning.

      I understand that you want to create outrage at an action that Facebook is taking

      You understand very little. I don't even use Facebook.

      I didn't say you used Facebook. I said you were trying to foment outrage over what they are doing. There is a difference.

      I'm relying on the word "censorship" to help succinctly and pithily describes acts of, well, censorship.

      And thereby removing the negative connotations from that word.

      Maybe you don't realize you are doing that. Maybe. Maybe you don't realize that the vast majority of people, when you tell them "Facebook is censoring you!" will say "Yawn. We expect them to moderate their discussion fora, and it does belong to them. Tell us when something important happens." The next time you cry "censorship", people will remember that you tried getting them upset about Facebook and expect that it is just another cry over something innocuous. That's the moral of the story in The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I guess you didn't look it up. You're crying wolf over Facebook. You know you're doing it.

    61. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Or maybe, just maybe, I understand that Facebook inherently control a vast element of global discourse, and through censorship can drive the direction of that discourse far more effectively than almost any government.

      Perhaps, just possibly, censorship is more serious with Facebook than anything else ever in history.

      But you wouldn't understand that because you think it's an ad hominem attack to correctly call you a fuckwit.

    62. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Or maybe, just maybe, I understand that Facebook inherently control a vast element of global discourse, and through censorship can drive the direction of that discourse far more effectively than almost any government.

      Facebook doesn't inherently control anything other than their own servers, which you are trying to castigate them for doing. They control a large part of the social media market because people use them, and they own the servers.

      If this censorship issue is such a great deal to the large number of people who use Facebook on a daily basis, they wouldn't use Facebook on a daily basis. Proof is in the pudding.

      Perhaps, just possibly, censorship is more serious with Facebook than anything else ever in history.

      And perhaps not. You cannot be put in prison for posting something Facebook doesn't like. That makes it less serious from the get-go. You can't have your broadcast license yanked for violation of Facebook regulations. You can use some other medium if Facebook won't let you use theirs, which makes it less serious.

      But you wouldn't understand that because you think it's an ad hominem attack to correctly call you a fuckwit.

      If you don't understand the word, look it up. Calling people names doesn't change the argument you make, it only shows you don't have one.

    63. Re:Going to ban weather reports also? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Cold weather is clearly racist. Ever notice that snow is white, hmm? Hmmm????

      Clearly you've never heard of yellow snow (a reference to Orientals), or that much of the snow in some neighborhoods has so much soot mixed in that it is black. (You can also make "black snow" by igniting the acetylene from an oxy-acetylene torch without turning on the oxy.)

  2. callitlikitis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Banning stuff doesn't stop it. They are going to find and delete it.

  3. Who decides? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Polling times should be on an official site anyhow, but "fake reports of violence?"

    Something tells me that will never be abused. Ever. And if was did, it didn't happen.

    1. Re:Who decides? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Well, there are web sites already claiming that "Snopes" is staffed by leftists and that no one should believe anything it says. The war over what the truth is has already begun.

      The story being told is "don't trust anyone on the internet unless they agree with your gut feelings!"

    2. Re:Who decides? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

      Well, there are web sites already claiming that "Snopes" is staffed by leftists and that no one should believe anything it says. The war over what the truth is has already begun.

      The story being told is "don't trust anyone on the internet unless they agree with your gut feelings!"

      Snopes is staffed by leftists ... which doesn't make it completely useless, but it does mean that when it comes to gray areas, benefit of the doubt, and so forth, they are slanted a certain way.

      As with anything run by human beings (or by automated processes created/trained by human beings).

    3. Re:Who decides? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Leftist, rightist, or not, it is utterly irrelevant. It is amazingly partisan to claim someone has a bias against the truth merely because of political beliefs. And yet, that's one of the biggest claims against many media organizations, that they can't be trusted bcause their reporting staff has a different political stance than is required. If Snopes can cite the facts and backs them up, then I would not doubt it just because I haven't done my own research. Especially in things that would be absurd to fake because it could be discounted so quickly. But instead the report is that Snopes is staffed by leftists and therefore some articles say it cannot be trusted - even though those articles never once pointed out errors or did their own research.

      In other words the point of those articles bashing Snopes was that its readers should NOT think for themselves and instead believe what the proper political authorities tell them to believe. The last thing this country needs is the rise of a political thought police, and yet that's what we seem to be growing on both the right and the left. In my view, if any political leader tells you something you must automatically doubt it and get more info before trusting it, especially if such leaders are highly partisan and are trying to demonize one side or the other.

    4. Re:Who decides? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The dude they farm the Snopes political section out to is a campaigning Democrat. Not just a dude who happens to be Democrat. He's very vocal and active.

    5. Re:Who decides? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It began many decades ago with the alteration of history. Then science was infected as well as the institution of public education, and even the church. The indoctrination has been building for quite some time.

  4. Here's an idea.... by bobbied · · Score: 1

    How about just banning ALL posts about such information, right or wrong. Allow users to point to reliable sources of such information (say the state or county's website), but just don't let anything stay that hints at what the rules are..

    So... A "Remember to get registered before it is too late!" (with a pointer to the local county's elections page) is Great, but "It's too late to register after the 9th!" is not.

    "You can vote starting TODAY!" is NOT OK, but "Check out when and where you can vote!" (With a link to the county's election page) is fine.

    That way, Facebook doesn't need to make any fine value judgments or know all the rules for every state to keep this under control.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re: Here's an idea.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yay! Good idea. Mod this person up.

    2. Re:Here's an idea.... by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      That is an *excellent* suggestion. If I had mod points today, you'd be getting one instead of me just flapping my yap about it.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  5. Everybody knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Republicans vote on November 7th. Everyone else on November 6th.

    1. Re:Everybody knows by bobbied · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Republicans vote on November 7th. Everyone else on November 6th.

      Dead democrats must get their absentee in ballots post marked by the 8th.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:Everybody knows by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Listening to NPR last week about voting registration, etc, one of the commentators said that she was going to tell all her Republican relatives that election day had been changed to Wednesday.
      All of the other panelists agreed that this was acceptable, and a good idea.

    3. Re: Everybody knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, you totally didn't make that one up. There was no such panel.

      Thanks for your brazen lies though.

    4. Re: Everybody knows by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 4, Informative

      Listen here:
      https://www.npr.org/podcasts/3...

      Oct 12, Another View.
      AV Round Table: VOTE! - skip ahead to 14:30.

    5. Re:Everybody knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Works for me. Should somewhat offset the voter roll purges and other methods of voter suppression that the right has been engaged in as of late.

    6. Re:Everybody knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a joke, you imbecile.

    7. Re: Everybody knows by sweepkick · · Score: 2

      Let's just set aside the fact that this was an obvious joke for now. They didn't say anything about Republicans. They said "racist relatives".

      You guys need to stop with the "persecuted victim" act... it's wearing pretty thin.

      Happy holidays,

      SK

    8. Re:Everybody knows by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      While I can't condone that, this is where we are at now. Both sides trying to sabotage the vote and a political system that apparently can't do anything about it.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:Everybody knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many years ago, The Onion ran a fake headline (sorry, I will not be able to paraphrase it as humorously as they wrote it) that read roughly "Republicans Run 'Vote on Super Wednesday' Program in Black Communities". A few months later NPR had an angry black woman complaining that she saw headlines about Republicans encouraging black people to vote on Wednesdays.

      Apparently NPR doesn't have to fact-check it if other people say it.

    10. Re:Everybody knows by GrimSavant · · Score: 1

      That's not a new or particularly unheard of strategy. Some right wing groups in recent elections have sent out mailers with the wrong election date and/or voting information on them to unfavorable demographics to suppress the vote. One of the less subtle forms of voter suppression, which is a class of activity that should be treated much more harshly by the law and subsequently law enforcement, but the US has done somethings to earn its dips into the flawed democracy status such as in the Economists' index.

      If it makes you feel better, the historical methods for cheating in US elections tended to be a lot more blatant, including some of the stuff that we were chiding other countries for no so long ago.

    11. Re: Everybody knows by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      Listen here: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/3... Oct 12, Another View. AV Round Table: VOTE! - skip ahead to 14:30.

      But ... but ... that's OK, because they only want to "suppress" meanie "fascist" wascally wepubwicans.

    12. Re:Everybody knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey fucktard, imagine if the "joke" had been reversed and aired on Fox. The outrage on Twatter and CNN would have lasted for days.

  6. Yeaaaahh.... by TimMD909 · · Score: 1

    Good luck with that.

  7. Read the fine print... Not a "ban" at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Links to discouraging reports about polling places that may be inflated or misleading will be referred to fact-checkers under the new policy, Facebook said. If then marked as false, the reports will not be removed but will be seen by fewer of the poster’s friends. "

  8. Superfag Ken Doll caught lying on /. 24 hours ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If Facebook were to critically analyze Superfaggot Ken Doll's "contributions" to the "climate change debate" they'd find the fake news / non-facts they're looking for. The Ken Doll faggot needs to be tortured to death for his innumerable lies.

  9. Define Censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Define censorship in a post-Citizen's United world where corporations own the government.

    1. Re:Define Censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Define censorship in a post-Citizen's United world where corporations own the government.

      Exactly the same as pre-Citizens United.

      If the government does it (either because of malice by those in government, or because someone who is able to manipulate the government (a corporation, in your scenario), or any other reason) then it's still censorship. "Facebook owns us" isn't a valid defense by the government; you still get to impale them on pitchforks.

      OTOH, if someone other than the government does it, and therefore even at their most powerful they are trivially bypassed or ignored (as is the case with, oh say for example, Facebook, a corporation who could disappear this instant and you might not even notice for months or years, except for the news stories) then it's not censorship.

      Someone owning the government is irrelevant. If through their powers of ownership, they get the government to do something, then the government did that. If despite their powers of ownership, the fail to get the government to do something, then the government didn't do that.

  10. Remember, you can vote online if you're by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    oh, wait, sorry, that was fake.

    meanwhile, real states allow you to register to vote in person even up to election day, and to vote in person if you didn't get a ballot yet, and use paper ballots and vote by mail.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  11. Users will leave due to perceived censorship? by Arzaboa · · Score: 1

    It seems to me that if people haven't left Facebook already, they certainly aren't going to leave it because Facebook cleans up some of the trash.

    What users are going to leave en masse because Facebook doesn't show them legitimately false information? This entire argument is entirely in the ether.

    I can only fathom this really comes down to them not wanting to open the "moderating" can of worms by actually trying to be responsible. Its expensive to care.

    --
    “People don’t care about what you say, they care about what you build.” - Mark Zuckerberg

  12. just leave Whitey kill hisself off with the meth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "well now, if you won't let us have our fake reports of violence, we'll just have to arrange for actual reports of violence."
    /s /t

  13. There's only one way by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ban politics from Facebook. Totally.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:There's only one way by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      The Founders originally wanted to ban political parties altogether, but could not work out a way to do it that didn't stomp on freedom of speech and freedom of association.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  14. On other news ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Senate just voted to ban effects of gravity on senators, after one of the older senators fell and broke his hip. Now all members of senate are exempt from laws of gravity and therefore are immune to the effects of falling flat on their ass.

    This is nothing more than a motion to appease some of the congress creatures who set their "all powerful" eye on facebook. Nothing will come of it.

  15. Who has only one polling center by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    I have several voting service/polling centers in my county, I can use any one to vote (though in reality I send in a ballot early, but even there I have several locations I can drop it off In a secure box).

    Kind of seems like we have the opposite question here - what kind of ghost town do you live in that you have only a single polling center you can use? I'll bet even in Cheyenne the people there have several options.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Who has only one polling center by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Kind of seems like we have the opposite question here - what kind of ghost town do you live in that you have only a single polling center you can use?

      States like Texas, Georgia, etc have been closing polling places in minority neighborhoods. This is why, every single election, the longest lines you see are in minority communities.

      I mean, come on, SuperKendall. You must know better than this. It's not like Republicans have been hiding their voter suppression efforts. How do you not know this stuff?

      https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/r...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Who has only one polling center by SuperKendall · · Score: 2, Informative

      States like Texas, Georgia, etc have been closing polling places in minority neighborhoods.

      So all the more important to get line length info so you can go when it's at a lull...

      However fewer places alone does not mean they do not have multiple choices still. For instance, from an article on one of the worse reductions (in Arizona):

      Phoenixâ(TM)s Maricopa County, the largest in the state, reduced the number of polling places by 70 percent from 2012 to 2016, from 200 to just 60.

      I don't know if you know numbers at all, but 60 is quite a lot larger than 1. Since the post I was responding to was all about single verses multiple polling locations, I'm afraid all we can infer is that you don't know that 60 is larger than 1.... that would match with the typical liberal failure to understand numbers generally.

      It's not like Republicans have been hiding their voter suppression efforts.

      It's always amusing to me when a liberal fascist such as yourself complains about election fraud on one hand and then turns right back around and attempts to block anything that contributes to election integrity.

      If you really cared you would go to one of the counties with reduced polling stations and help transport people to the polls with the shortest lines. But I am pretty sure come Nov 2 you will be sitting on your ass whining on Slashdot instead. Oh I will be also, but I don't make any pretense to care about how counties choose to manage polling locations since I don't like to comment without having so depth to my understanding, unlike your knee-jerk reactionary posts based on your own non-understanding of complex issues...

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Who has only one polling center by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

      I've lived in small towns (e.g. Preston, ID) and large communities (Orange, CA and Colorado Springs) and while the larger areas had multiple close polling stations I was still assigned one I was supposed to go to. I never considered the option of hunting for a different one. If you can go to multiple polling locations, do they have anything in place to make sure you didn't already vote once at a different site?

    4. Re:Who has only one polling center by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What happens on Nov 2nd?

    5. Re:Who has only one polling center by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Informative

      So all the more important to get line length info so you can go when it's at a lull...

      So, more important to get authentic line length info. Someone posting from Bulgaria about line length in Council Bluffs is probably trying to suppress the vote.

      Phoenixâ(TM)s Maricopa County, the largest in the state, reduced the number of polling places by 70 percent from 2012 to 2016, from 200 to just 60.

      In Maricopa County, as in all of Arizona, you are assigned a polling place. You can't just show up at whichever one you want on election day.

      You would know this if you were a voter in the US.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    6. Re:Who has only one polling center by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ivan, blogs, even when hosted on a reputable website, are never reputable themselves.

      But good job on making liberals look like spoiled, mentally-deficient children. Your posts and opinion sharing saved us all from president Hillary.

      Keep up the good work PopeRatzo and another bonus check will be on the way in 2020. Please share it with your sockpuppets voting you up. We need to ensure that everyone gets to see what you write if we want 8 wonderful years of Donald Trump.

    7. Re:Who has only one polling center by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      There are 4.3 million people in Maricopa County, over an area of 24,000km2. 60 polling stations isn't much for such a large county.

      Most of the county leans heavily towards the Republicans, except for Phoenix which is mostly Democrat voting. And guess where most of the polling station closures have been.

      Now Democrat voters have to travel further and queue for longer just to vote.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:Who has only one polling center by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've lived in small towns (e.g. Preston, ID) and large communities (Orange, CA and Colorado Springs) and while the larger areas had multiple close polling stations I was still assigned one I was supposed to go to. I never considered the option of hunting for a different one. If you can go to multiple polling locations, do they have anything in place to make sure you didn't already vote once at a different site?

      Of course not. That would be voter suppression and disenfranchisement.

    9. Re: Who has only one polling center by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, here in democratic Europe my borough has 146 polling stations for its three members of parliament (safe red, safe blue, swing red/blue), 384000 people and 34 square miles, so everyone who can walk has one in walking distance. Anyone with a half decent excuse (e.g. you were on holiday once) can postal vote.

    10. Re:Who has only one polling center by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You might want to look at a map of Maricopa County's polling places again. They're fairly distributed, and with long early voting periods to accommodate those unable to vote on election day.

      https://recorder.maricopa.gov/pdf/GeneralElection2018VoteCenterMap.pdf

      Most of the county, if you'd bother to look at it via satellite, is uninhabited desert plus the Tonto National Forest and Sonoran Desert National Monument both take up large swaths of the land.

    11. Re:Who has only one polling center by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Indiana you can only vote at your designated polling location. Same in Michigan.

  16. Misinformation like... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anything other than voting for Hillary Clinton, right?

    1. Re:Misinformation like... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 0

      Anything other than voting for Hillary Clinton, right?

      I don't want to be the one to break it to him. Will someone please let this AC know that Hillary Clinton isn't running in this election? I don't have the heart to take away his will to live.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Misinformation like... by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      I bet she runs in the primaries. But the Ds should give her zero votes.

      She's too narcissistic not to try.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. Re:Misinformation like... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she's the Democratic nominee! Surely it's her turn this time.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  17. Already do, almost. by DalM · · Score: 1

    Facebook basically already bans your political posts. I imagine you have probably noticed that you see fewer of them lately. Your political posts are being served to a few select, like minded friends, just to make you think they are not censuring you, but that's it. Basically almost no one is seeing your political posts anymore.

    1. Re:Already do, almost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait....so you're telling me that not only do I have to wade through every asinine 'The Dims/Clintons/Leftists/Etc are gonna steal your.../open the borders/remove the police/etc....!' post that friends and family push....but also that they're JUST dumping it in front of me and not the 'millions agree!' that they think? Damnit all...

  18. Dont worry cons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You still have twitter
    and fox news
    and the AM band.
    and Putin.

    1. Re:Dont worry cons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Brightbart and "Russia Today".

      They have lots of options for indulging the crazy.

    2. Re:Dont worry cons by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Actually RT is not all bad. Naturally it's slanted in favour of Putin/Kremlin line, but it is still interesting at times, and you can always cross-check stories that seem dubious against other sources. Which is what the discerning reader should be doing in any event, regardless of the outlet.

      Nor should we be afraid of a little criticism. For example: Is Ryan correct in her assertion that Trump does in fact represent the "real" America? Why or why not?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  19. You can just call polling offices by rsilvergun · · Score: 0

    Facebook has more than enough manpower to do so. In some districts they have online reports.

    And if you're facing long lines at the polls then you probably don't have other polling places. That's because long lines is one of the many ways voter suppression is done.

    And lets not forget the second half: fake voter requirements. Another popular suppression tactic. During more than one election I got notices that I'd been purged from the rolls, that my polling place had changed, etc, etc. Well, back when I was in a poor district. I moved to a more affluent one a few years back and those stopped.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  20. Read the Fine Print - Nothing is really "Banned" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Links to discouraging reports about polling places that may be inflated or misleading will be referred to fact-checkers under the new policy, Facebook said. If then marked as false, the reports will not be removed but will be seen by fewer of the poster’s friends."

  21. Not exactly leave so much as ignore by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    The thing that confuses me about the whole debate is that I simply cannot see anything put up on Facebook impacting anyone. There's no way any post from anyone of any political bent will impact the political leanings of anyone else on Facebook.

    Similarly fake news about voting is not going to impact anyone actually going to vote. Why would anyone be checking Facebook anyway for polling status? I would be looking at my county website for polling information and probably just pick the closest one. Even if I heard of some reason to not go to a particular location I'd just shift to the next closest one... the whole concern about Facebook related to voting seems terribly overblown to me. So even though I think the Facebook bans on anyone are stupid I'm certainly not against Facebook banning what it likes, it just means it will drive away all the more people every time it does so.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: Not exactly leave so much as ignore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The thing that confuses me about the whole debate is that I simply cannot see anything put up on Facebook impacting anyone.

      Your naivete is amusing. Or to put it simply, your ignorance. You could see literally tens of thousands.

    2. Re:Not exactly leave so much as ignore by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Similarly fake news about voting is not going to impact anyone actually going to vote.

      Actually, this is a well-known effect, and many people, myself included, wish that the national media would just shut the fuck up about election results from the East coast until the Hawaii polls close. Boo hoo if people can't hear how the Florida vote turned out within five hours of the polls closing. We used to have a country where nobody knew the answer until after the middle of December when the Electoral College finally met, and after the Pony Express carried the newspapers west.

      Yes, people in the western states who hear that their candidate is winning by a landslide will often decide they don't have to get to the polls to vote for him, with the final result being that he loses. Similarly, people who weren't going to vote can hear that the person they don't want is ahead and decide to go vote after all, changing the result.

      Whether this info comes from the (often wrong) mass media or from the (similarly often wrong) Facebook makes no difference.

    3. Re:Not exactly leave so much as ignore by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Similarly fake news about voting is not going to impact anyone actually going to vote. Why would anyone be checking Facebook anyway for polling status?

      I see you've gone smoothly from "it's not fake" above to "it doesn't matter" to "no one reads it anyway". Gotta stop those "liberal fascists" (your words from earlier in the thread) getting in at any cost, eh?

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    4. Re:Not exactly leave so much as ignore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Similarly fake news about voting is not going to impact anyone actually going to vote. Why would anyone be checking Facebook anyway for polling status?

      I see you've gone smoothly from "it's not fake" above to "it doesn't matter" to "no one reads it anyway". Gotta stop those "liberal fascists" (your words from earlier in the thread) getting in at any cost, eh?

      Did you need to take the dick out of your mouth when you wrote that ?

  22. Hope it apples both ways by liquid_schwartz · · Score: 2

    I hope that the conflation of illegal immigrant vs legal immigrant data gets policed. That debate has seen enough falsely trying to characterize illegals, who largely are bad news almost regardless of metric, with legal ones, who are largely good along most metrics.

    1. Re: Hope it apples both ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, the metrics indicate that most "illegal" immigrants are only "bad news" in the sense that we could read lots of reports on how they are victims of abuse and exploitation, which includes the dreaded "Sex" trade that people only care about when they think Liam Nesson's daughter is involved.

    2. Re: Hope it apples both ways by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      What metrics? The ones that put the denominator at 15 million or 30 (the credible range for current wetback count)?

      We, more or less, don't even know how many, much less what they're all up to.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. Re: Hope it apples both ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We, more or less, don't even know how many, much less what they're all up to.

      They're obviously out thieving, raping, and murdering predominantly in the South where the Republican lead and controlled governments are totally covering up their abuse while pushing hard for more punishment for illegal immigrants. Either that or on the high side of 30 million, their total criminal activity (aside from the whole being an illegal immigrant) is so small that it's noise in comparison to the native populations own thieving, raping, homicidal tendencies.

      But, you decide. Oh, right, it's all the Federal government controlled in all branches by Republicans who are conspiring against the Republican States to prevent enforcing Republican ideology. Sorry, it's the Democrats fault because...doing insane Republican-sponsored-and-endorsed things would turn the moderates against the Republicans and those in power in the Federal government and in each State are too chicken shit to follow through in any way to unmask the truth because that'd result in Democrats winning in reelections. Oh, and the media. Because the internet prevents you from getting your news from anything that isn't liberal fake news.

      So, beyond the deep level of conspiracy on why we don't have the truth unmasked, we have a willfully and wholly ineffectual Republican party who refuses to do anything. Remind me why anyone votes Republican?

    4. Re:Hope it apples both ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope that the conflation of illegal immigrant vs legal immigrant data gets policed. That debate has seen enough falsely trying to characterize illegals, who largely are bad news almost regardless of metric, with legal ones, who are largely good along most metrics.

      Illegal immigrants are regular people, just living and working here without authorization. That is all. There is nothing inherently bad about someone living and working without federal government permission.

      How did the side most strongly associated with libertarianism, federalism, pro business, capitalism, etc. get so stuck in the mud on citizenship status anyway??

    5. Re:Hope it apples both ways by AmiMoJo · · Score: 0

      The determination of legal/illegal migrant is often quite arbitrary, depending on what the current administration is enforcing or tolerating and what laws have been signed in. Sure some sneak over the border, but a lot are people who tried to do the right thing but a random judge decided to deny them.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re:Hope it apples both ways by thegarbz · · Score: 0, Troll

      I hope that the conflation of illegal immigrant vs legal immigrant data gets policed.

      Australia has learnt a long time ago that this doesn't change anything. They'll just move onto the next derogatory comment to describe people who some political group don't want.

      Illegal Immigrants. - Asylum seekers aren't illegal immigrants.
      Queue Jumpers. - Asylum seekers don't have a queue to get into.
      Boat People. - Oh FFS, the Prime Minister who made this comment's own parents arrived by boat.

      We'll keep finding new ways to dehumanise people.

    7. Re: Hope it apples both ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      democrats are insane.

    8. Re:Hope it apples both ways by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      The determination of legal/illegal migrant is often quite arbitrary, depending on what the current administration is enforcing or tolerating and what laws have been signed in.

      Yes, what is illegal or legal is always determined by what laws "have been signed in".

      but a lot are people who tried to do the right thing but a random judge decided to deny them.

      Whether they are denied entry or not is not the issue. It is when they enter illegally, which can be either "without trying" or "trying to get legal access and are denied". I.e., they aren't illegal because the judge denied entry, they are illegal because they entered illegally. "Try[ing] to do the right thing" and then doing the illegal thing is still illegal.

  23. Re:MUELLER WILL see YOU NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Republicans will be wishing they were dead on November 10th, but they're just prison bound. Get your ass ready for PRISON, Trump traitors!

    Mueller better work fast or the bad news will be Donnie getting re-elected in 2020.. On the other hand, the good news is Mueller will have another 4 years to keep looking...

    Given Mueller's team is abandoning ship in droves of late, I'm guessing we are closer to the end than the beginning here, which tells me he didn't find anything on Donnie or any of the principles involved beyond what we've seen charged so far, which is a huge disappointment given that the sole reason for this whole thing getting started, Popodouplous, only got 13 days for lying to the FBI and nobody is getting charged with anything to do with Russians and the election.

    I got to applaud your sticking to that pet theory of yours in the face of zero evidence, even after all this time.. You sure know how to beat that dead horse, keep it up, you still may get it to run..

  24. Lying faggot Ken Doll we're going to find you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We're going to find your punk lying ass. You put your entire family at risk by lying so casually. It's not casual. There will be consequences.

    1. Re: Lying faggot Ken Doll we're going to find you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NSA is watching you.

  25. Re:MUELLER WILL see YOU NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must be some kind of denialist retard if you think Mueller's investigators finishing their investigation automatically means they found nothing, lol. Mueller will fuck you now, if you're not still too cowardly to talk to him that is, traitor?

    See you in prison faggot, and your lying cunt traitor son Weasel Junior. You're going to die there. Putin isn't going to save you faggots. You are his bitches now.

  26. Vote via Interpretive Dance by mentil · · Score: 2

    such as by telling certain users they could vote by text, a hoax that has been used to reduce turnout in the past.
    Someone who would fall for that is someone I probably wouldn't want voting in the first place. Voting via text is so insecure on so many levels it boggles the mind.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Vote via Interpretive Dance by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      For someone who doesn't understand the technology, text messaging is no different than any other online channel.

  27. I'm glad Facebook censors, Hope they do more! by DallasTruaxxx · · Score: 4, Insightful

    “When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings. No more lies, no more 'shadow banning' no more pretense. Facebook is showing their true colors. Now that people have seen the kind of values that Facebook demonstrates, they can make their own choices to continue to associate on the Facebook platform, or not.

    1. Re: I'm glad Facebook censors, Hope they do more! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, we are afraid of the danger in letting people speak lies about the elections, thanks for noticing. We only spent a few million hours trying to get you aware of it.

  28. banning misinformation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or in other words, FB will be approving their desired facts.

  29. FOUND THE RUSSIAN TROLL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they don't have your real name down in payroll. Because as soon as the NSA gets a good snitch you'll be treated like a hostile intelligence operative except new identities and passports are reserved for guys making more than mcdonalds employees.

    You'll never be allowed to leave the country safely and eventually your names and addresses will be released publicly. It's even possible that countries will grant you visas just to throw you in jail. If you have any relatives visiting western countries on visa maybe right now would be a good time to start working on your apology letters for getting them deported.

  30. How will they do it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Likely just ban reporting on Red states.

  31. Facebook to ban misinformation by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

    But not all misinformation, only that which steers people away from their own political views.

  32. misinformation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doesnt that pretty much ban all political ads.

  33. Re:Read the Fine Print - Nothing is really "Banned by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    ... where fewer = 0
    But it won't be banned, because they'll still be able to see their own post.

  34. For your lies you will suffer Ken Doll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Honesty is the best policy and you deserve the very worst your dishonest advocacy buys. Your family will find there are consequences for your campaigns of disinformation.

  35. That's a banning by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    "Talking about politics? That's a banning.
    Lookin' to share political content? That's a banning.
    Staring at funny political meams? That's a banning.
    Linking to past political facts? Oh, you better believe that's a banning.

    No freedom of speech on social media.
    No account after speech on social media.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    1. Re:That's a banning by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      How many times do you need to be told that a private entity is not obligated in any way to provide you with a platform?

      You can drop that nonsense now.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  36. That is a luddite view of the matter by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    If an account based in Minsk reports a long line in a community 25 miles outside of Topeka,

    Why is that impossible? I can get traffic conditions in Minsk from my home in the U.S., why is it impossible to fathom that accounts even in other countries could be providing real time monitoring of polling traffic?

    Would you say the same thing about an account in NYC giving polling line times anywhere in the country? That is just as plausible to work and no-one would bat an eye if the New York times were providing that information, yet it's not spatially close either.

    How are people who read a tech site like Slashdot not able to figure this out?

    Indeed, how IS it that someone on Slashdot cannot understand how information can be accessed globally now?

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Indeed, how IS it that someone on Slashdot cannot understand how information can be accessed globally now?

      Not just accessed globally, but it can lack any identification of where the poster actually is. I've moved at least twice since I got my Facebook account, and I've not told them about either move. I could be reporting a long line in Portland Oregon while I'm standing in it, even though I created my account ten years ago when I was living in Ocalala Florida. And through the magic of technology my IP address while reporting it could be in Mexico (satellite internet).

    2. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Not just accessed globally, but it can lack any identification of where the poster actually is. I've moved at least twice since I got my Facebook account,

      You're still not seeing the obvious. If you want to minimize fake reports of line length at polls, just don't allow any post that reports line length from any account that does not allow Facebook location tracking. I'm not talking about the "check-in" feature, which can easily be spoofed, I'm talking about actual location data that is a lot more difficult to spoof.

      It's really not a difficult technical challenge to eliminate false "on-the-scene" reports.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Why is that impossible? I can get traffic conditions in Minsk from my home in the U.S., why is it impossible to fathom that accounts even in other countries could be providing real time monitoring of polling traffic?

      The question is not "if", the question is "why". As in, why would someone in Minsk have this interest in reporting the length of time people are waiting to vote in Baton Rouge?

      Would you say the same thing about an account in NYC giving polling line times anywhere in the country? That is just as plausible to work and no-one would bat an eye if the New York times were providing that information, yet it's not spatially close either.

      That's because we know who the New York Times is, and we can choose to believe (or not) their reports based on a long history of our own experience. You can not say the same thing about "totallyamericanmaganews.ru".

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    4. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      You're still not seeing the obvious. If you want to minimize fake reports of line length at polls, just don't allow any post that reports line length from any account that does not allow Facebook location tracking.

      I replied to a comment that said:

      If an account based in Minsk reports a long line in a community 25 miles outside of Topeka,

      Where my account is "based" depends on what I've told Facebook about where I live.

      I'm talking about actual location data that is a lot more difficult to spoof.

      In my hypothetical -- I have a fake GPS app on my phone that says I'm in Portland IF I allow location services to tell Facebook where I am at all, I am using satellite networking that says I'm in Mexico, and my account is based in Florida. Am I really standing in Portland or not? Facebook has no clue.

      It's really not a difficult technical challenge to eliminate false "on-the-scene" reports.

      It is a very difficult technical challenge to eliminate false "on-the-scene" reports without also eliminating many true reports. All it takes, in your plan, to eliminate a true report is for the person making the report to value his privacy more than Facebook's ability to track him. You can assume every person who is privacy-aware is also lying about election day events, but that would be a very rash and unwarranted assumption. All it takes, in your plan, to get a false report past the censors at Facebook, is to use a fake GPS app on your phone. This doesn't sound like a very good technical solution to me at all.

    5. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      In my hypothetical -- I have a fake GPS app on my phone that says I'm in Portland IF I allow location services to tell Facebook where I am at all, I am using satellite networking that says I'm in Mexico, and my account is based in Florida. Am I really standing in Portland or not? Facebook has no clue.

      The best we can do is eliminate most of the fake polling place reports. Of course, a committed criminal could still probably get through, but the point is, most criminals are not nearly as committed as you.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    6. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Of course, a committed criminal could still probably get through, but the point is, most criminals are not nearly as committed as you.

      No, I think we should assume that these alleged Russian hackers trying to wreak havoc on our elections will be MORE committed than I am, simply because they are being paid to do this.

      That means that the actual best "we" can do is eliminate anything that we don't like and call it eliminating fake news, without regard to where the person actually is or where his account is "based". If that's the best, then doing nothing it better.

    7. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      then doing nothing it better.

      No. Just because we can't guarantee 100% that our houses won't be broken into doesn't mean we should not have home security systems.

      Considering we have a president and Congress who were elected after getting fewer votes than their opponents, we have to first do what we can to prevent outside interference that contributed to this situation. Then, we can also address voter suppression and gerrymandering.

      Just throwing up our hands and saying, "oh well, nothing we can do" is not an option. It's not working when it comes to climate change and it's not going to work with our elections.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    8. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I can get traffic conditions in Minsk from my home in the U.S., why is it impossible to fathom that accounts even in other countries could be providing real time monitoring of polling traffic?

      How do you know traffic conditions in Minsk from your home in the US? Can you see Minsk, do you have employees on the ground there, or are you simply repeating information from a source that you trust?

      If it's the latter then it's easy to check if you are lying or not. Just look at your source. Posts that link back to the source get promoted more than ones that don't. A bit of simple AI can even check if you tried to link to the source but added your own lies as a comment.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahahaha hahahaha you are a fucking lunatic. You really really need to sit back and look at yourself in the mirror. It's ok to lie to us but it seems more like you're lying to yourself lately.

    10. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      No. Just because we can't guarantee 100% that our houses won't be broken into doesn't mean we should not have home security systems.

      You have it backwards. If we cannot guarantee that the people who have legal right to access their homes can do so, then the prevention methods are bad. Add that to the fact that the prevention methods will not work AT ALL for anyone who is seriously trying to subvert them (and the assumption is that we are trying to stop people who ARE seriously trying to subvert them) that means doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing.

      Just throwing up our hands and saying, "oh well, nothing we can do" is not an option.

      You are the only one doing that. Please stop if you think it is not correct. I'm saying that what is being done is meaningless virtue signaling because it cannot hope to accurately identify the location or source of a comment properly.

    11. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      If we cannot guarantee that the people who have legal right to access their homes can do so, then the prevention methods are bad.

      Now we're getting somewhere. So let's also say that any election security that might disenfranchise a single legitimate voter is also bad. Yet, we have these Voter ID movements, and these new efforts in red states to require exact matches between information on voter registrations and the voter database. So, if your name on your ID card is "John Q. Public" but you write "John Q Public" on your voter ID, sorry Mr Black or Hispanic or Student or Possibly Democrat, but no vote for you today. Or let's take capital punishment. If we run the risk of depriving one innocent person of their life, isn't it a bad system? We know for sure that innocent people have been put to death by the state in America, so shouldn't we end that practice immediately?

      The fact is, that what a corporation that publishes stuff, like Facebook, chooses to do with fake accounts and bots is totally up to them. Go spread fake polling line length times and bogus stories somewhere else. Go stand on a public street corner with a bullhorn and spread bullshit. Facebook is not required to use their resources to help you.

      Fake news is like meat that's infected with Mad Cow Disease. When there's an outbreak, it's best to just shut entire markets down until we can figure out what's going on. Even if you accidentally throw out a small amount of good meat, you're better off being safe. We don't want to spread an infection, after all. Don't you agree?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    12. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Now we're getting somewhere. So let's also say that any election security that might disenfranchise a single legitimate voter is also bad.

      You are free to have whatever opinion you might have, but you are not free to put words in my mouth.

      The fact is, that what a corporation that publishes stuff, like Facebook, chooses to do with fake accounts and bots is totally up to them.

      Yes, I don't think anyone has said otherwise, except the ones who cry "censorship" when Facebook manages what their servers do. Perhaps you haven't paid attention, but I've been the one objecting to the use of the term "censorship" when a publisher controls his own services.

      What I have been saying is that removing posts based on some guess as to source is not a valid way of dealing with the problem. They can't tell where my post comes from, and in fact, may have incorrect information in their own database about it. Claiming that they are removing comments based on the location of the source is ridiculous, because they just don't know. As I've already pointed out, I've moved at least twice since I created my account there and I have never updated the demographics, so they think my account is based somewhere other than where I am right now. As well, the IP address is not proof of location.

      Fake news is like meat that's infected with Mad Cow Disease. When there's an outbreak, it's best to just shut entire markets down

      Except that the cost does not justify the benefit. That's one thing that makes voter ID a different issue altogether.

      Don't you agree?

      I do not agree with the words you attempted to put in my mouth, no.

    13. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      What I have been saying is that removing posts based on some guess as to source is not a valid way of dealing with the problem.

      And I'm saying it's better than nothing, because fake information has a viral effect when weaponized, as it was in 2016. There are other ways of finding out how long the lines are at your polling place. Calling the board of elections, for one.

      Except that the cost does not justify the benefit. That's one thing that makes voter ID a different issue altogether.

      So, in the case of fake news, your deciding factor is that false positives are disqualifying. For Voter ID, false positives are part of the cost of doing business, even though there is virtually zero evidence of voter fraud by people trying to impersonate someone else or voting when they're not eligible. We're talking way less than one in a million. But we have tons of evidence of legitimate voters being disenfranchised by the suite of laws that includes Voter ID by the hundreds of thousands.

      Some places, like Montana, not only don't require an ID, but actually don't require voter registration. And somehow, they've managed to exist without being overrun by rampaging mobs of illegal immigrants seeking to vote for local school boards.

      I don't mind that your standards are inconsistent based on your political agenda. However, I object to your pretending that it is otherwise.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    14. Re:That is a luddite view of the matter by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      And I'm saying it's better than nothing, because fake information

      And I'm saying they cannot determine it is fake based on the criteria they are using. If you cannot determine whether it is fake or not, then removing it is not the right solution.

      So, in the case of fake news, your deciding factor is that false positives are disqualifying.

      Stop putting words in my mouth. You're doing it deliberately now.

  37. Facebook bans legal political speech? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This could get interesting.

  38. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whatever you say, comrade stalin.

  39. Fact-checkers are just as biased... by mi · · Score: 5, Funny

    we have veriabile soruce of informations like Snopes [sic]

    This joke is over 2 years old, but remains funny:

    • Hillary Clinton: "Sky is blue".
    • Fact-checkers: Mostly True.
    • Donald Trump: "Sky is blue".
    • Fact-checkers: sky is usually black at night, sometimes grey during the day, and red at dusk and dawn — we rate Donald Trump's claim as Mostly False.
    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hillary Clinton: "Sky is blue".
      Right-wing fact-checkers: "THAT MUST BE CODE FOR THEM TO REOPEN THE SECRET CHILD SEX PIZZA DUNGEON!!!"
      Donald Trump: "Russia please attack my political opponent."
      Right-wing fact-checkers: "What? I heard nothing."

    2. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think you got the names mixed up there. Clinton was under far more scrutiny and was held to a far higher standard than Trump was. Trump's whole gimmick was that everything he says is such an obvious falsehood or exaggeration you can't possibly take any of it seriously, it's all just "political hype" or a joke.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a reason this is modded at +5. Although I'm not quite sure why it's "Funny" rather than "Insightful".

    4. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How it's actually done:

      Hillary Clinton: "Sky is blue":
      Fact checkers: Mostly True. [she now has 95% true statements!]
      Donald Trump: "Sky is blue":
      Fact-checkers: [ignore statement since it's true, Trump remains at 5% true statements]

    5. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Daralantan · · Score: 1

      I think the joke was more of referring to the first debate where Trump said she bleached her computer or whatever, and Snopes said: "False, Hillary Clinton did ______ she did not wash it in bleach as that would have no effect."

    6. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      That claim doesn't seem to be on Snopes and I can't find an archived copy. Fake news?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you say CNN?

    8. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by mjwx · · Score: 0

      we have veriabile soruce of informations like Snopes [sic]

      This joke is over 2 years old, but remains funny:

      • Hillary Clinton: "Sky is blue".
      • Fact-checkers: Mostly True.
      • Donald Trump: "Sky is blue".
      • Fact-checkers: sky is usually black at night, sometimes grey during the day, and red at dusk and dawn — we rate Donald Trump's claim as Mostly False.

      Terrible joke. Given Trump's history of lying, If he said water was wet I'd still have to go and check just to be sure. You cant trust anything that comes out of his mouth.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    9. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That it is true and you are proud of it does not make it less of a joke to the rest of us.

    10. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Even worse factcheck.org has it right here , and it is just bad https://www.factcheck.org/2016...

    11. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Proving once again that Hilary's detractors were and still are more obsessed with her than her supporters over were.

    12. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wishful thinking. Clinton got the questions from CNN for the last debate. There was a ton of hand holding for her. She wasn't under any extra scrutiny aside from the lies about her breaking laws with her top secret server in a bathroom debacle.

    13. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who's been under investigation for the past two years with no actionable evidence of wrong doing? Think about that for a minute. Now think about who was cleared by the FBI in spite of a mountain of evidence of wrong doing. Clinton never has and never will know scrutiny. We dodged the bullet as a country when she lost. BIG TIME!

    14. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Daralantan · · Score: 1

      Maybe they updated and removed it? Unless it was some other fact checking site. I remember reading it the day after the debate and seeing someone reference it with "wtf why are they being so pedantic about it?" It's been too long now and was mostly a dumb eye rolling moment over Trump using the wrong word/term.

    15. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Ah, okay, fake news.

      Here is the Trump quote:

      Trump, Sept. 5: You see whatâ(TM)s going on with her emails. Itâ(TM)s a disgrace. Itâ(TM)s a disgusting situation where she pretends like she doesnâ(TM)t know. I mean, she had her emails â" 33,000 emails â" acid washed. The most sophisticated person never heard about acid washing. Acid washing is a very expensive process and thatâ(TM)s to really get rid of them.

      This has been widely reported although I couldn't immediately find a video of him saying it.

      He appears to be confused by the name of the "BleachBit" software that was run on the server. In any case it's not an expensive process, the software is free and requires no special skills to use. Clearly many sophisticated people have heard of this software, it's a quite popular as an alternative to CCleaner.

      It's also false to claim that Clinton had the emails destroyed in this manner. Her staff archived work related emails and then asked that the server's retention period be reduced to 60 days. The person at the hosting company who was supposed to do it didn't. When those emails were subpoenaed he panicked and used the the BleachBit software to erase them. There is no indication that Clinton knew about this at the time, much less ordered it.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    16. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you got the names mixed up there.

      No, he got them right.

      https://www.usnews.com/opinion...

      https://cmpa.gmu.edu/study-fac...

      The fact checkers are harder to the right than the left. Notice the links are well before the 2016 election cycle.

    17. Re:Fact-checkers are just as biased... by mi · · Score: 1

      Right here — the site makes a point that the process Hillary Clinton has employed "does not use chemicals" — counting the accusation of "acid-washing" as inaccurate on that basis.

      Fake news?

      In denial?

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  40. Ministry of Truth by mi · · Score: 2

    Facebook will ban false information

    So, FB are trying to be the Ministry of (Current) Truth. I would fully support the ban on lying — if only a way to reliably distinguish truth from lies (outside Mathematics) could be devised even in theory.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re: Ministry of Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, mi making a false appeal to an incapacity based on epistemological solipsism.

      Too bad it can be proved you don't exist. Therefore there is no reason to concern ourselves with you.

  41. so everything not aligned with FB's views... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    will get deleted

  42. Re:MUELLER WILL see YOU NOW by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

    "Given Mueller's team is abandoning ship in droves of late, I'm guessing we are closer to the end than the beginning here,"

    Wait, that sounds a lot like Trump's team.

  43. A better solution by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 1

    Would be to ban ALL negative advertising on candidates period.

    It is bad enough the ads for âoe How amazing I am and I approve this message âoe , but the negative attack ads probably outnumber them three to one.

    Hell, one is playing as I type this and hitting the mute button the moment one starts has become second nature now.

    It is amazing our system of voting includes this level of bullshit. After a few decades of this and nothing ever changing ( in the grand scheme of things ) is it any wonder why folks become disillusioned with it all.

    1. Re:A better solution by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      It is amazing our system of voting includes this level of bullshit.

      Our system of voting operates under something called a "Constitution", the first addition to which is a clear statement that congress shall make no laws abridging the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is ugly but necessary. It is hard to look at things like McCain-Feingold as anything but unconstitutional, but the legalites twist things enough to allow it.

      Our candidates could change this if they wished, but they only make promises and then it all comes right back. Wyden promised during his first Senate campaign where he was running against Gordon Smith (R) that he would run an honest, ethical, non-attack campaign. That announcement came one day before the ads claiming that Gordon Smith killed a teenager started running. (The Smith family operate(d) a farm and a tragic accident resulted in the death of a teenager. The family of the teen appeared in the next Smith ads exonerating him and calling the ad using their son's accident reprehensible.) Wyden denied any responsibility, claiming that it was a PAC supporting him that did it. That's all it takes to get out of such a promise -- have someone else do it for you. Plausible deniability.

  44. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How NPC can you get?

  45. But seriously.... by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

    If someone is going to believe they can vote by sending a text message to some random phone number because they saw a post on Facebook saying so... ... Do we really want that person voting?

    1. Re:But seriously.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do we really want that person voting?

      In the abstract, even stupid people have the responsibility to vote.

      If they're going to vote for Twittler–– Because they believe his lies, yeah, I may wish they wouldn't vote; it's not up to me though.

  46. A sane definition of censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If both quite reasonable and allowable decisions on their part are censorship

    The presumption that their reasons are "quite reasonable" makes your argument invalid. I have seen many times that posts are removed by moderators because they don't agree with the view the site is pushing.

    Censorship is an artificially erected barrier to any ability to speak, write, etc. No more, no less. If, without that barrier, the speech would have been able to reach its intended audience, then the barrier is censorship. Censorship may be government, or it may be private sector - but either way, it is still censorship.

    1. Re:A sane definition of censorship by Obfuscant · · Score: 0

      The presumption that their reasons are "quite reasonable" makes your argument invalid.

      Newspaper editors are paid to select from the submitted letters, so not selecting one is quite reasonable. It is their job to do so, and they are selecting what appears in a forum that is owned and operated by their boss. The "moderators" for Facebook are similarly paid to do this job, by the people who OWN THE SERVERS and thus have every right to determine what appears thereon.

      Whether you agree with their choices or not is irrelevant. It is the fact that the owners of the medium are making the decision is what makes their decisions reasonable and allowable.

      I have seen many times that posts are removed by moderators because they don't agree with the view the site is pushing.

      There is no requirement that I must allow you to use my facilities to express your opinion. It is not censorship to deny you that privilege.

      Censorship is an artificially erected barrier to any ability to speak, write, etc.

      That is the useless definition that is bandied about every time someone doesn't get to use someone else's soapbox to shout their message. No, it is not "an artificially erected barrier". It is the action of an official, which implies if not expressly means "government official". It is a prohibition on speech, not simply "do it elsewhere using your own dime".

      If, without that barrier, the speech would have been able to reach its intended audience, then the barrier is censorship.

      Please come back to us when there is an actual serious issue to report, because neither a newspaper editor nor a facebook moderator keeping you from expressing your opinion in their fora is a significant issue. By trying to claim it is censorship you make that term worse than meaningless, because it is crying wolf and will cause others to ignore you the next time you make that cry, even when you might actually be right the next time.

      "Censorship" applied to every action of an editor or moderator removes from that term any negative connotation; that negative connotation that you are relying upon to get outrage today. "Facebook is censoring me because it won't let me post fake data!" Yawn. Good for them. If censorship truly happens tomorrow, everyone will have learned how useless your cries are and will rightfully ignore you. It is no different than a woman who cries "rape" because a man brushed up against her on the subway. It trivializes the word and desensitizes the rest of us to it.

    2. Re:A sane definition of censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You are wrong in your comparison to newspapers, twice over.
      First, newspapers have very limited space. They can only publish a few letters or op-eds, so the editors must choose which few of those they receive to publish.
      In comparison, Facebook publishes *everything* automatically, with no human intervention, by default. They have no restrictions on space, materials, or staffing to typeset, or anything like that.

      Which leads directly to the second way you are wrong: Newspapers choose not to publish. Facebook allows the publication of certain things, then goes back and removes them later. A positive action to prevent people from seeing previously published information - quite different from the negative action of not publishing the information in the first place.

      Finally, on a different note, you do realize that the television censors (that was their job title) were in charge of deciding which bits of TV were not to be published, right?

    3. Re:A sane definition of censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is another reason to restrict/edit content rather than just space: to improve quality of content. If Facebook removes incorrect information, even after it has been published, that improves the quality of Facebook.

    4. Re:A sane definition of censorship by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      First, newspapers have very limited space.

      Our local newspaper editor is continually begging for letters, except during election season, so "limited space" is not an issue. Also, there is an online version of our local newspaper (and I believe many other "local newspapers" are also online) which has unlimited space. "Limited space" is not an excuse for "censorship", and even were it true, is it not censorship in any meaningful use of the term.

      Which leads directly to the second way you are wrong: Newspapers choose not to publish.

      I'm sorry, what? They choose not to publish, which is, in the meaningless sense of the word, censorship. It is a block to someone's voice being heard. Choosing not to publish is no different than publishing by default and then removing. And I'll tell you a secret: newspapers ALSO go back and remove things that they've published. Our fine local newspaper editor published a letter from a local nut who said, in no uncertain terms, that all Trump supporters were child rapists. That letter could not be withdrawn from the print edition, but it has completely disappeared from the online one.

      Further, our fine local newspaper editor just recently decided that the public comment section of the online version of the paper could no longer exist. Not only could people not post comments in reply to articles, all previously posted comments were removed. They also had a "report abuse" option for every comment, and many comments would appear online as "removed". Ergo, they removed things that had already been published. A LOT of things that had already been published. And in exactly the same way that Facebook does.

      Finally, on a different note, you do realize that the television censors (that was their job title) were in charge of deciding which bits of TV were not to be published, right?

      Yes, based on legal considerations and in an official capacity. They still exist. But they were also not called "censors" except by people who saw every act of self-control or control over media they owned as censorship. Their official title was "Standards and Practices." But those damn censors would keep the "cutting edge" comedians and comediennes from saying certain things -- to stay within FCC regulations.

  47. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really, I think most people would just as soon see you set yourself on fire as a public protest than have to read your shit.

  48. Superfag Ken Doll faces consequences for lies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You will find out there are real world consequences for lying very soon faggot.

    1. Re:Superfag Ken Doll faces consequences for lies by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      There are also real-world consequences for making threats. You do realise that logs can be subpoenaed, turning you from "AC" to "AC posting from 83.239.45.231 on 2018-10-16@05:46:15" pretty quickly, don't you?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  49. See a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... ban on false information ...

    US Politicians demand voters believe fake news claiming other candidates are anti-American criminals and disbelieve fake news that polling stations or methods have changed. Anyone see a problem with these demands?

  50. They already watch abroad by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    The question is not "if", the question is "why". As in, why would someone in Minsk have this interest in reporting the length of time people are waiting to vote in Baton Rouge?

    Well for one thing someone who wanted to pay for such a thing could easily be wanting to have staff writing and manning that in a much cheaper place than the U.S.. It could easily be a U.S. company but all of the technical work would come out of Russia or India or China.

    For another, we already have a similar situation today where a lot of international press is covering tons of U.S, news. Why? Hell if I know but it's not much of a leap from the existing coverage of U.S. politics abroad to some insanely detailed coverage of hot U.S. races, including the line levels at polling places to gauge turnout for each district... How long before someone somewhere sets up cameras outside every polling place and scans the video to determine accurate polling visit figures? You could probably even make pretty good guesses by having cameras watching nearby parking areas and looking at the cars they drove up in, who they would be voting for (based on bumper stickers or clothing say).

    That's because we know who the New York Times is

    In that section I am talking more about the pure technical challenge of limiting posts on attendance based merely on spatial location. You start making exceptions and suddenly the task of correctly filtering is a nightmare and you will make mistakes.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:They already watch abroad by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Well for one thing someone who wanted to pay for such a thing could easily be wanting to have staff writing and manning that in a much cheaper place than the U.S.. It could easily be a U.S. company but all of the technical work would come out of Russia or India or China.

      Do you hear yourself? You're saying that an American company, seeking to report on lines at polling places in Southern Indiana, for an audience in Southern Indiana, would engage the services of someone in "Russia, India or China" to do so.

      Any feed, coming from anywhere outside the United States for any reason, should not be allowed to report on live election data on Facebook for local consumption. Not on Facebook and not elsewhere.

      In that section I am talking more about the pure technical challenge of limiting posts on attendance based merely on spatial location. You start making exceptions and suddenly the task of correctly filtering is a nightmare and you will make mistakes.

      It's not as big a technical challenge as you're making out. If the Guardian website for international news knows well enough to display a weather report for my zip code, thousands of miles away, I'm guessing Facebook can figure it out too.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:They already watch abroad by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      Do you hear yourself? You're saying that an American company, seeking to report on lines at polling places in Southern Indiana, for an audience in Southern Indiana, would engage the services of someone in "Russia, India or China" to do so.

      Yes, that is because I am a professional programmer where such things are common as dirt. What on earth are you doing on Slashdot if you do not know that?

      Any feed, coming from anywhere outside the United States for any reason, should not be allowed to report on live election data on Facebook for local consumption.

      But that makes no sense, Shen technology allows anyone to accurately monitor and report. Why the limitation? That just seems nuts.

      It's not as big a technical challenge as you're making out. If the Guardian website for international news knows well enough to display a weather report for my zip code, thousands of miles away, I'm guessing Facebook can figure it out too.

      Sigh. The challenge is not knowing where they are. The challenge is coming up with a valid reason to block what can easily be accurate information from anywhere on the globe. Why do you want to block valid reporting? Because that is what you are asking for, based on location alone which is a totally invalid measurement for accuracy.

      I'll let you have the last response here since you seem insanely bigoted against foreign countries and workers there. I'm afraid I can only take so much bigotry in one evening, since I consider all people around the world just be just as potentially reliable as anyone local. Living as you do, fearing others outside your own city even, it is not healthy for you in the long run.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:They already watch abroad by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Why the limitation?

      Because we have solid evidence of foreign tampering in elections. Do you not believe in borders? Do you believe countries should not be allowed to have sovereignty?

      I didn't take you for a globalist, SuperKendall.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  51. It's called a provisional ballot, and works in AZ by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    In Maricopa County, as in all of Arizona, you are assigned a polling place. You can't just show up at whichever one you want on election day.

    Yes you can, you just end up casting a provisional ballot if you do not go to your assigned polling place. You can still vote at any polling place in your county...

    You would know this if you were a voter in the US.

    Unlike you I won't stoop to claiming you do not live in the U.S., instead I will give you a pass for not understanding arcade details of a process we all only go through once a year or so. They do REALLY want you to vote in your assigned polling place so I understand why you might think it was not possible to do otherwise. It's not even as difficult as flying without proper ID (which I had to do once, shudder).

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  52. Re:It's called a provisional ballot, and works in by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes you can, you just end up casting a provisional ballot [azcentral.com] if you do not go to your assigned polling place. You can still vote at any polling place in your county...

    Provisional ballots are generally not counted.

    And the ballot you cast provisionally must be the ballot for the precinct you are from. They don't keep ballots for all precincts at all polling places. So unless you are in the rare state that will send you the ballot by mail ahead of election day, the only way you're going to get the correct ballot is by going to your assigned precinct's polling place. If they could get their assigned ballot from their assigned polling place, then they wouldn't need a provisional ballot, would they?

    Yes, you could cast a provisional ballot, but it would not be counted unless it was the ballot from the precinct you were assigned. That's law. Also, there are several states that do not allow provisional ballots at all.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  53. Depends on voter ID by Solandri · · Score: 1

    If the state requires you to use a government-issued ID to confirm your identity for voting, you can generally vote at any one of multiple polling stations. Your ID is used to confirm you only voted once.

    If the state prohibits identity verification by ID, you have to go to your one designated polling station. You tell the poll workers your name and address. They have a big printed list of everyone who's supposed to vote at that polling station, and look you up to confirm that you're on it, cross off your name, and give you your ballot. The fact that your name has been crossed off the list is used to confirm that you only voted once.

  54. Wrong they are counted, just last by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Provisional ballots are generally not counted.

    They are if they matter so what is the difference?

    The whole point of voting is that off chance the election is on the margin and your vote may make a difference. I am a registered independent and voted in a primary this year, never again after looking at the results. My vote made zero difference as BOTH parties have the primaries quite wrapped up by chosen candidates. I still continue to vote in the main elections though few votes seem to matter there either.

    And the ballot you cast provisionally must be the ballot for the precinct you are from.

    Yes, and? I already said that, every time (well I said county, but that's usually pretty much the same thing, the exact term and region may vary state to state but each region you can legally vote in will mostly have multiple polling centers if it's of any size at all).

    Also, there are several states that do not allow provisional ballots at all.

    Well that's kind of misleading wouldn't you say? There you see the end result is the same in North Dakota for example which does not have provisional ballots because you don't need to register to vote..., you can vote anywhere. So while you are technically right there it does not invalidate what I am pointing out, that most people have multiple places the can go to vote if they desire.

    Read through the various states provisioning ballot laws and see if YOU can find any state where there is not some mechanism to vote in different polling locations, I could not find any (the section "States That Are Exempt from Provisional Ballot Laws" includes North Dakota for example which as I noted, does not need provisional ballots).

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Wrong they are counted, just last by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      They are if they matter so what is the difference?

      So votes should only be counted if they "matter"?

      You wonder why I question whether you live in the US. Well, there it is.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Wrong they are counted, just last by jbengt · · Score: 1

      I've never known of a place where you could just go to any polling place and vote, except for early voting, and there are not many choices where you can go to early vote. There's 16 early voting sites in my county, with a population of more than 700,000.

  55. Re:MUELLER WILL see YOU NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given Mueller's team is abandoning ship in droves of late...

    [citation needed]

  56. Facebook should shut down for a month by xpiotr · · Score: 1

    And replace the site with instructions to get to the closest voting booth.

  57. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I believe the post you are replying to answers your query by way of demonstration.

  58. So... Facebook is shutting down? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Had to happen.

  59. Re: Republicans are low-information morons 100%, y by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    President Donald TRUMP farted in the elevator!!

  60. opinion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The problem is Facebook ends up banning real information and allowing the misinformation.

    They have a very selective view.

    Boycot Facebook.

  61. Re: Superfag Ken Doll caught lying on /. 24 hours by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We see you.

  62. Facebook is an abomination ... by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    Facebook is an abomination ... yet it's difficult to avoid it.

    E.g. a local institution had a disaster happen to their building, days ago. Their Facebook page had immediate photos, videos, information. Their web page, as of last night, no change.

    It's unbelievable how many businesses and orgs consider their Facebook their "real" presence, and their website (if they even bother with one) as their redheaded stepchild.

    So I would suggest "avoid it completely" but sometimes you can't ...

  63. Reports of violence by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

    So it sounds like they're telling us to expect violence during the elections.

  64. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by Archtech · · Score: 1

    You certainly are a fine advertisement for American educatiion, sir.

    --
    I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
  65. Have a care for your image by Archtech · · Score: 1

    I once read a review of a book about a visit to Florida. The part that caught my attention, and that I remember, was:

    "Reading this book will do more to deter the reader from visiting Florida than anything except an actual visit to Florida".

    Facebook is getting just like that.

    --
    I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
  66. Re:MUELLER WILL see YOU NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.ft.com/content/39dc4fa6-c648-11e8-ba8f-ee390057b8c9

    4 out of 13 is 30% of his staff... Which, by the way, means he has a declining need for prosecutors and why might that be?

  67. Negation works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's try it out and see how it does:

    Original -
    "They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume are good people, but I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They're sending us not the right people. It's coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably, probably from the Middle East, but we don't know because we have no protection and we have no competence. We don't know what's happening. And it's got to stop, and it's got to stop fast."

    Negated -
    "They're not sending people that have lots of problems and they're not bringing those problems with us. They're not bringing drugs, they're not bringing crime, they're not rapists and some, I assume are not good people.... They're sending us the right people. It's not coming from more than Mexico. It's not coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's not coming probably, probably from the Middle East, but we know because we have protection and we have competence. We know what's happening. And it's got to not stop and it's got to not stop fast."

    Works pretty well. The original statement is a lot closer to reality then the negated statement. The negated statement is laughable especially the part about not bringing drugs and that we know because we have protection.

  68. So *that's* the solution! by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    We'll just ban misinformation and misunderstandings! Peace and harmony will follow!

    Why didn't I think of that??

  69. know what works better? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    stop believing everything you read on facebook

  70. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by JackieBrown · · Score: 0

    Once again, leftist using homosexuality as an insult. Right up there with Bill Maur, Rosie O'Donnel, and chelea Handler
    https://www.washingtontimes.co...
    https://www.foxnews.com/entert...
    http://wbsm.com/homophobes-on-...

  71. Re:Republicans are low-information morons 100%, ye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol fag

  72. of course it knows by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

    So another slashdotter takes the bait and replies without changing the title, so that the rest of us see this piece of shit modded at +2. This time it's to inform a practiced shareblue-type shill that its ip could be traced. That must be extra amusing.

    1. Re:of course it knows by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      I'm glad you were amused. Please tip your server generously.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  73. Re:MUELLER WILL see YOU NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The difference of course is that Mueller's team isn't being replaced.

  74. Everything The Opposition Party Says by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is Misinformation. They must be censored!

  75. Banning Misinformation by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

    First place to start is kick the politicians off.