10 votes

Facebook will debunk myths about climate change, stepping further into ‘arbiter of truth’ role

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11 comments

  1. [6]
    wycy
    Link
    For a while I thought that platforms should step in when misinformation spreads on their platform. After seeing how it's gone so far, I'm less sure it matters at all. Did Twitter's misinformation...

    For a while I thought that platforms should step in when misinformation spreads on their platform. After seeing how it's gone so far, I'm less sure it matters at all. Did Twitter's misinformation flags on Trump posts change the mind of anyone? Has the "get the facts about covid" banner on covid-related Tik Toks changed any minds? I'm not sure how effective any of this has been.

    I don't have a strong opinion on this yet. I think my current position is that platforms shouldn't be involved, but that we need to include propaganda resistance and critical thinking in public education. Historically, a population educated in this is against the interests of governments, but with how unstable society is getting lately it might now be in their interests to get people thinking again to maintain order.

    8 votes
    1. [4]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. KapteinB
        Link Parent
        Interesting article, thanks for sharing! I wonder though how that 95% figure compares to non-flagged messages. I know I probably scroll by about 95% of my Facebook messages without opening them,...

        Interesting article, thanks for sharing!

        I wonder though how that 95% figure compares to non-flagged messages. I know I probably scroll by about 95% of my Facebook messages without opening them, flag or no flag.

        7 votes
      2. skybrian
        Link Parent
        That number seems thinly sourced. It's quoting someone from a webinar. I wonder where they got it?

        That number seems thinly sourced. It's quoting someone from a webinar. I wonder where they got it?

        4 votes
      3. moocow1452
        Link Parent
        There's a lot of ways that could be spun, depending on what Facebook quantifies as fake news, and if people enraptured by Fake News don't need to hear more than the headline and the flag to be...

        There's a lot of ways that could be spun, depending on what Facebook quantifies as fake news, and if people enraptured by Fake News don't need to hear more than the headline and the flag to be validated.

        3 votes
    2. [2]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      How does public education work if you can't get people to watch it or agree with it? The "get the facts about covid" banner is a (lame) attempt at public education.

      How does public education work if you can't get people to watch it or agree with it? The "get the facts about covid" banner is a (lame) attempt at public education.

      4 votes
      1. wycy
        Link Parent
        The public education I'm getting at would just be school curriculum, so it'd only have an impact on future generations. I really don't know how to address the problem of older folks who've gone...

        The public education I'm getting at would just be school curriculum, so it'd only have an impact on future generations. I really don't know how to address the problem of older folks who've gone down the disinformation rabbit hole.

        2 votes
  2. [5]
    alex11
    Link
    I actually mostly agree with Zuck that they shouldn't be arbiters of speech - I have other issues with them and a lot of their hypocrisy so what's valid in theory isn't in practice a lot of the...

    I actually mostly agree with Zuck that they shouldn't be arbiters of speech - I have other issues with them and a lot of their hypocrisy so what's valid in theory isn't in practice a lot of the time, but I think he's right there

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. alex11
        Link Parent
        Yeah and I wish they wouldn't use algorithms and instead just use chronological

        Yeah and I wish they wouldn't use algorithms and instead just use chronological

        1 vote
    2. [2]
      nothis
      Link Parent
      But that's basically an argument for anarchy. Anarchy is "freedom" in theory but because some people love using their freedom to wield control over others, it ultimately just gives a few people...

      But that's basically an argument for anarchy. Anarchy is "freedom" in theory but because some people love using their freedom to wield control over others, it ultimately just gives a few people enormous amounts of power to shape society. We've spent millennia trying to work out systems to put the right people in power and none are perfect. But "whoever yells the loudest gets to decide whether people should get vaccinations" is clearly the worst.

      7 votes
      1. skybrian
        Link Parent
        Rather than "who shouts the loudest" it's "who can come up with the most compelling meme" and that very much depends on which memes people are already susceptible to liking and sharing. This is...

        Rather than "who shouts the loudest" it's "who can come up with the most compelling meme" and that very much depends on which memes people are already susceptible to liking and sharing. This is about epidemiology, not raw power. Your wall of sound isn't going to work very well if you're playing lame music.

        Though, part of this is celebrity power, which has something to do with preexisting fame, something to do with distribution, and something to do with being adept with memes.

        6 votes
    3. skybrian
      Link Parent
      I’m not sure anyone thinks it’s great, but they end up doing it (or rather, hiring an army of moderators to do it) because nobody else can or will. For a subreddit or a Facebook group, the mods...

      I’m not sure anyone thinks it’s great, but they end up doing it (or rather, hiring an army of moderators to do it) because nobody else can or will. For a subreddit or a Facebook group, the mods could do it, but for someone’s Facebook timeline, there are no mods.

      And then there’s the question of what happens when the mods are part of the problem.

      1 vote