Stephen King quits Facebook over concerns of 'false information'

[Bayard]

(CNN)Stephen King has quit Facebook after voicing concerns about false information and privacy.

"I'm quitting Facebook," the author said on Twitter Friday. "Not comfortable with the flood of false information that's allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users' privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like."

His Facebook profile has since been deleted.
King, who has written more than 50 books, is best known for his works in the horror and fantasy genres, many of which have been adapted into films and television programs.

However, the 72-year-old is politically active and very outspoken, especially regarding his views on US President Donald Trump. And when it comes to Facebook, King isn't much of a fan of it either.
Facebook has been met with increasing scrutiny for allowing politicians to run false ads.

On January 9, Facebook said it would not ban political advertising or institute any sort of fail-safe measure to avoid lies presented in those ads from politicians from propagating across the Internet.
Facebook allows advertisers to target small groups, including even specific groups of users, with ads. Some critics -- including some Facebook employees -- have raised concerns that such highly-targeted political ads could undermine political discourse by decreasing the chance that rival campaigns and the press can see the ads and provide transparency and context for the messages.
Twitter, which King remains active on, announced in October that it will stop accepting political ads.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/us/stephen-king-quits-facebook-trnd/index.html

[evertonfc]

1. better to Stay and fight

than cut and run. Given that so many people have access daily, we don't want only a conservative message on FB

[Stonepounder]

2. There is a lot of liberal stuff on FB if you just do a little looking.

Lots of anti-Trump/pro-Dem groups. And you can block any idiot who tries to post pro-Trump stuff in the liberal groups as well.

[Squinch]

5. Either way you are lining Zuckerbergs pockets and contributing

to a mechanism that is dangerous to Democracy.

[klook]

18. +1

Never gotten sucked into Facebook and I'm not about to start now.

[James48]

20. You are a damn lucky person.

Facebook has consumed my life.

[matt819]

17. There's the problem

with a "little looking." Anti-Trump groups need to use the same techniques that Russia used. Hell, give the contract to do that to the group in Montenegro. My guess is they will work for the highest bidder. Create liberal bot armies. Create bogus FB groups and garner tens or hundreds of thousands of followers.

Remember, Obama won in part because his campaign mobilized the internet. Trump then "won" because of Russia's expertise in going one better. As long as those platforms are there, there is no reason that Dems should hang back.

Don't get me wrong. I agree with King. I am not a FB fan and would get off (again) if it weren't for wanting to follow a few accounts, including some family. Would my life be seriously affected if I didn't? Probably not. But you know something? With 2 billion accounts, it will take a little more than the odd escapee like King (or me) to make a difference. Governments need to get involved.

[TwilightZone]

7. There's no real way to fight it.

If Facebook refuses to deal with the problem, there's not much people can do. If they aren't going to do anything about the trolls, the fake news, the fake ads, the outright fraud, the bigotry, the racism, the misogyny, or the harassment, then it's a lost cause.

To Facebook, all of that is a feature ($$$), not a bug.

[Duppers]

9. It's the FAKE ADS that killed me.

I didn't have but one conservative friend when I ghosted FB yrs ago. I couldn't keep up with the news, DU, responsibilities, and FB. Something had to go.

[erronis]

21. Of course you can fight fb. Stop using it. Put blockers on its parasitical tendrils. Tell your

friends and relatives that it is evil.

[rockfordfile]

8. Nope it's a un-American company.

More should leave it. Didn't that un-American company hire a Fox News employee to run their "News" area.

Got to remember that un-American company was working with Cambridge Analytica and with Russia.

[Duppers]

10. Yep. Thanks.

[defacto7]

22. Leaving IS fighting. Staying is to submit.

[erronis]

23. Stay and fight vs. cut and run? Unfair fight. fb makes the rules.

And as others have said, the more you use their platform to argue/fight/agree/etc. the more they harvest your data.

As with any other social media platform, once you have some interest in continuing a conversation, take it away from the platform. Try email or lots of other ways.

In the last 10+ years, the behemoths have tried to kill things like internet chat since they can't monetize them (open source, open protocols). In the last 4-5 years, they now want to control the messaging.

Anyone remember Marshall McLuhan?

[Beringia]

3. I came across an example recently where facebook does protect privacy

A hunter went missing in a national park in Utah, and someone used his facebook account and the police asked facebook for their help and facebook refused.


https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/1/29/21113972/police-investigating-facebook-post-of-missing-summit-county-hunter

[Duppers]

11. Omg!

[Squinch]

4. Good for him! It's wrecking our Democracy.

[CloudWatcher]

14. +1

Closed my facebook account months ago. Just say no.

[Mike Nelson]

6. Fare thee well, Mr. King...

... we will miss your Facebook posts on politics - dead on, mostly. Have fun on Twitter! But know it's not devoid of false information... in fact, it's full of it! And, privacy is kaput if you have a mobile phone and the Internet.

[Faux pas]

12. I'd

wanna see what crap the dark side would be slinging.

[LudwigPastorius]

13. The Simpsons had it right years ago.

You want to take away a monster like Facebook's power? Just don't look at it.

[Ingersollman]

15. Good

for him. Zuck Fuckerburg.

[forgotmylogin]

16. I quit Facebook last year.

Best decision ever. Now relatives can't expect me to know what's going on and they have to actually converse with me.

[Talitha]

19. There's no shame in backing away from a skunk.

Wise choice, Stephen!

[defacto7]

24. Bravo Mr. King

We should not have to fight to save FB's integrity, FB should be fighting to save our democracy's intrgrity. Their standards are part of the disease.