Nobody, no company, no individual or nation state has ever been held to account.

[dajoki]

If you’re not terrified about Facebook, you haven’t been paying attention
Facebook and America are now indivisible, says the Observer journalist who broke the Cambridge Analytica scandal – and the world is a sicker place for it
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/26/with-facebook-we-are-already-through-the-looking-glass

<<snip>>

In Facebook’s case, the worst has already happened. We’ve just failed to acknowledge it. Failed to reckon with it. And there’s no vaccine coming to the rescue. In 2016 everything changed. As for 2020… well, we will see.

We have already been through the equivalent of a social media pandemic – an unstoppable contagion that has sickened our information space, infected our public discourse, silently and invisibly subverted our electoral systems. It’s no longer about if this will happen all over again. Of course, it will. It hasn’t stopped. The question is whether our political systems, society, democracy, will survive – can survive – the age of Facebook.

We are already through the looking glass. In 2016, a hostile foreign government used Facebook to systematically undermine and subvert an American election. With no consequences. Nobody, no company, no individual or nation state has ever been held to account.

Zuckerberg says Black Lives Matter and yet we know Donald Trump used Facebook’s tools to deliberately suppress and deny black and Latino people the vote. With no consequences.

And though we know the name “Cambridge Analytica” and were momentarily outraged by Facebook’s complicity in allowing 87 million people’s personal data to be stolen and repurposed including by the Trump campaign. A $5bn fine was paid but no individuals were held to account.

And that’s just in America. For us here in Britain, there’s an even bigger reckoning that has not come. If it wasn’t for Facebook, there would be no Brexit. The future of our country – our island nation with its 1,000 years of continuous history of which we’re so proud – has been set on its course by a foreign company that has proved itself to be beyond the rule of parliament.

<<snip>>

[brush]

1. Well stated. Hopefully a new admin here in America will pass legislation...

that will reign in Facebook's policies that continue to help the present, corrupt administration.

[BComplex]

2. And it can only come from America, because this is where Facebook is incorporated and where it

reigns as the premiere tool of war in the modern world.

[HotTeaBag]

3. I read this article this morning and I came away thinking "OK, Facebook has made some

really bad choices and accepts zero responsibility for it's actions, but Facebook didn't make me vote for Trump in 2016".

The problem isn't Facebook, it's the relative stupidity of people themselves - Facebook doesn't vote, people do.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Facebook doesn't vote, people do.

That is so true.

People often trash FB. They miss the point of FB. It's a convenient way to stay in touch with people, and to avoid interaction with the kids from high school or a former job who have turned out to be right-wing assholes.

It's also remarkably good at letting us know who has died. I can name several people I know who have died, and I learned about it on FB. Which may not be the best possible way of getting the news, but it's better than not knowing for months or even years.

[HotTeaBag]

6. My feelings exactly.

Facebook is an amazing resource in my opinion, and if I happen to see someone I know who spouts right wing shit I'm done with them.

Likewise, when I see an ad professing love for Donald Trump I am in no way tempted to click on it.

Facebook is really not that hard.

[not_the_one]

15. I will try and be as gentle as possible... but this attitude needs to be confronted.

Ok, so we have drank the koolaid... and thought it tasty.

Got it. It is nothing but "clicks". Ignore those bad people. They will just disappear.

Entertainment and amusement (because that is all many see it as) is worth the destruction of this country, the democratic free world. Newsflash, Facebook is NOT a resource. It is nothing more than a glorified chat room.

It IS used, however, to keep us distracted while a LOT of bad shit is being done. After the fact, that chat room SEEMS to be a lot of people ACTING LIKE angst ridden teenagers, AND people with axes to grind. It is not always a healthy place for interaction. People will type shit that they would NEVER say to someone's face. (You may think this response fits that bill... )

While we are being amused and entertained, the platform that gives us that amusement and entertainment is being used WORLD WIDE to sow hate, division, misinformation, OUTRIGHT LIES, all for the purpose of tearing down democracy world wide, and the foundations of this country's democracy that allows us to be entertained and amused. (I am assuming you are an American.)

Sorry, I don't care about whether anyone is being entertained or amused. Because, remember, it is all about distraction.

Mark Zuckerberg should be held accountable for being the greedy traitor that he is. HE and Putin brought us the turd. This country is on the verge of collapse, PRIMARILY because of Zuckerberg and Putin. When institutions and norms disappear there is nothing but chaos. Chaos is EXACTLY what Putin wants, which is why he is the force behind the turd. Facebook helps to bring that chaos.

What is sad is that there are so many who eagerly participate in that destruction. It is not like people aren't aware of the dark side. They are, they just don't care.

As someone said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Facebook is not a piece of pavement, it is an 8 lane freeway.

[HotTeaBag]

16. I appreciate your gentleness, but you can direct your message elsewhere.

If one is dumb enough to be swayed by an ad or a political post on Facebook that's on them, not Facebook.

Facebook is great and I will continue to use it - and guess what? I'm voting for Joe Biden no matter what Putin wants me to do.

[lonely bird]

19. If they are dumb enough to be swayed by Facebook

Then it impacts us by their vote.

[HotTeaBag]

20. Great point.

.

[Squinch]

11. Yeah! Who cares that it allows foreign governments to manipulate the electorate with impunity?

That's totally missing the point! It's convenient! And it tells us which people we don't know very well are dead!

[Blecht]

14. I hope you reconsider

I had kept my account active to keep an updated contact list and to keep track of who died. Last year I learned of a dear friend's suicide through Facebook much sooner than I would have otherwise.

I woke up after 2016 and stopped producing any content for Facebook to exploit. I thought that I could live with whatevever miniscule amount that my just remaining there added to Zuckerberg's pocket.

However, today their bullshit move against MeidaTouch was the last straw for me.

I finally pulled the trigger and deleted my account. I guess it might take a little longer to learn about the next death of a friend, but at least I know I am not actively supporting an entity that is actively destroying our country.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

26. I will keep my account.

For me it's a very good way to keep in touch with people I would otherwise never be in touch with.

I have almost no right wing "friends" on FB, and generally ignore those posts.

Since I don't have to pay for a FB account, don't click on ads or other random things there, I don't feel like I'm really supporting them in any meaningful way.

And it's not just learning about the death of a friend. Several years ago a young friend of mine committed suicide. I learned about it through FB. Then, through FB a memorial was held for him in a park in the city he had lived in. Over 200 people showed up. Probably most of them would not have even learned of his death, let alone the memorial event were it not for FB.

I'm not going to tell anyone else they should have an account, but at present I'll be keeping mine.

[Skittles]

22. you really don't get how it works

they only had to target a certain number of people - the people most likely to fall for their shit propaganda

[HotTeaBag]

24. I do. But thanks so very much for the reminder, I really appreciate it.

.

[Skittles]

28. you surmised FB is not the problem because you did not vote for Trump

OVER AND OUT

[kimbutgar]

5. Yesterday I made a comment on Facebook about the Arizona Democratic headquarters was burned

Down and said it was probably because republicans were afraid of losing the state. This
“Man thing “made an misspelled rebuttal that didn’t make sense. I looked at the profile and it looked fake. Said I said, ok comrade. later I saw he commented back he called me a bitch then another comment he demanded I answer him and then demanded I answer him or else. I deleted my comment and deleted notifications from the Facebook. But it got me closer to taking a break from Facebook because it is a cesspool of disinformation.

I got back on Facebook during the pandemic because I needed interaction with my friends since I couldn’t see them but now I realize as we get closer to the election it’s going to be insane.

[Skittles]

23. here's a tip

you do not need that piece of shit site to "interact with your friends"

[kimbutgar]

25. I know I went back on during the pandemic because I was bored now I know why I quit it before.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

27. You can also make your settings so that random people

don't get to see your comments, let alone post responses.

I have very high privacy settings, and I only see posts of people I am already friends with. And when I make original posts of my own, the only comments I ever seen are from people I am already friends with.

[lonely bird]

7. Facebook doesn't vote...hmmm

No agitprop tool votes. Whether or not Facebook votes, a completely facile argument, is irrelevant. Who can answer how much impact Facebook had in 2016? Who knows how much impact agitprop via anti-social media will have in 2020?

[erronis]

10. agitprop via (anti)-social media. Exactly. fb and other platforms are nudging the nudgeable.

They are reinforcing the voices in the echo chambers.

[pnwmom]

8. Facebook didn't help Russia hack all 50 election systems.

And the lowest participation in the election wasn't by people on Facebook -- it was young people, who generally aren't on Facebook.

So it's not a problem specific to Facebook. It's the downside to the Internet in general. It has made a lot of amazing things possible, but also created a horrible risk.

[Tommymac]

12. The Internet is simply a tool. It is agnostic.

Like any other tool it is the people who use it for evil purposes that are the problem and the risk.

Hammers are a tool that has been around for eons...they are meant to be used constuctively to build things, but are also deadly weapons in the wrong hand.

Education is the key that is missing today - 40 years of Republicans promoting stupidity have allowed the abuse of television, print media and the internet.

[Joinfortmill]

9. Facebook needs a reckoning, no doubt.

[Starfury]

13. K&R - Everyone should read this (nt)

[erronis]

17. Of course fb doesn't vote - at least directly. But it influences, magnifies, filters

[sure why not]

18. Facebook is EVIL!

It's main purpose is DATA-Mining.
Buyer Beware!

[crickets]

21. K&R for visibility.

[JudyM]

29. K&R.