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This is a misleading title (both on Backchannel and here). I have no idea why the author chose to use it (other than as clickbait) when it misrepresents the con

by erdevs 10y ago

This is a misleading title (both on Backchannel and here). I have no idea why the author chose to use it (other than as clickbait) when it misrepresents the content of the actual article. The article points out how much verifiably false information there is on the internet and how quickly it can spread. Clearly this is not good. The article itself and Snopes' editor, the primary source for of quotes in the article, both agree with that. And the actual quote from Snopes' editor is that social media isn't the problem. She does not say that fake news isn't the problem. What we should say is that all aspects mentioned in the article are problematic: the decline in the media, the rampant levels of fake news on the internet and the way social media can so quickly and pervasively spread patently false information. None of them are necessarily the problem alone, but they are each serious problems and all the moreso when in tandem as they are today.

T2_t2 10y ago
Except... the election was super close. There wasn't really a clear trend of much of anything when it comes to making people vote one way or tother. The rise of the combination of third Party vote - Gary Johnson and Jill Stein + other was over 4% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_ele... - and less overall votes says that, far from people seeing their own side, people didn't like ANY side. The question should really be "What made Blacks and Latinos turn out in lower numbers, and what made so many people vote Gary Johnson, Jill Stein or other, especially in swing states?" That doesn't seem to be the question anyone wants to look at, and I reckon that's the real story here: how invested in the two party system, and their own survival, the media is.
- Mithaldu 10y ago
  > less overall votes Those also came about due to stricter limits on how to id oneself for voting, and ... well, either retarded or hostile (your choice) voting office setups that forced people to wait far longer than reasonable to be able to vote. Both of these very effectively keep particularly economically weaker voters out of the game. Completely my personal opinion: Until the US moves voting onto a weekend and makes it a multi-day affair, and makes affordable unified country-wide id available and usable, the US democracy doesn't deserve the label.
- erdevs 10y ago
  You said "Except..." And then made several points which are worthwhile discussions but in now way controvert what I said. I agree that the questions of voter turnout, third party support, and fatigue of the two major parties, the two party system generally, and the established media are all worth discussing. I disagree that nobody wants to discuss these things as there have been many thoughtful articles on major media outlets on these topics (not that there shouldn't be even more, just that it's in accurate to say this isn't a set of questions anyone is discussing). I also disagree with the notion, which your post seems to imply, that these discussions are mutually exclusive with the issues summarized in my post. Indeed, quite to the contrary, I would imagine these things are all interrelated and reinforce each other. Fake news, especially with negative or scandalous slants, being spread rampantly on social media contributes to further discord and disillusionment with the establishment and reinforces people's distrust of media, either party, and likelihood to either abstain, protest vote, vote for alternative parties, etc.

by erdevs 10y ago

T2_t2 10y ago

Except... the election was super close. There wasn't really a clear trend of much of anything when it comes to making people vote one way or tother. The rise of the combination of third Party vote - Gary Johnson and Jill Stein + other was over 4% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_ele... - and less overall votes says that, far from people seeing their own side, people didn't like ANY side. The question should really be "What made Blacks and Latinos turn out in lower numbers, and what made so many people vote Gary Johnson, Jill Stein or other, especially in swing states?" That doesn't seem to be the question anyone wants to look at, and I reckon that's the real story here: how invested in the two party system, and their own survival, the media is.

Mithaldu 10y ago
> less overall votes Those also came about due to stricter limits on how to id oneself for voting, and ... well, either retarded or hostile (your choice) voting office setups that forced people to wait far longer than reasonable to be able to vote. Both of these very effectively keep particularly economically weaker voters out of the game. Completely my personal opinion: Until the US moves voting onto a weekend and makes it a multi-day affair, and makes affordable unified country-wide id available and usable, the US democracy doesn't deserve the label.
erdevs 10y ago
You said "Except..." And then made several points which are worthwhile discussions but in now way controvert what I said. I agree that the questions of voter turnout, third party support, and fatigue of the two major parties, the two party system generally, and the established media are all worth discussing. I disagree that nobody wants to discuss these things as there have been many thoughtful articles on major media outlets on these topics (not that there shouldn't be even more, just that it's in accurate to say this isn't a set of questions anyone is discussing). I also disagree with the notion, which your post seems to imply, that these discussions are mutually exclusive with the issues summarized in my post. Indeed, quite to the contrary, I would imagine these things are all interrelated and reinforce each other. Fake news, especially with negative or scandalous slants, being spread rampantly on social media contributes to further discord and disillusionment with the establishment and reinforces people's distrust of media, either party, and likelihood to either abstain, protest vote, vote for alternative parties, etc.