4 ms·

Facebook must stop presenting a newsfeed which isn't composed of real journalism

mixedCase 10y ago
As I click on the article, my browser automatically redirects me to archive.is, as I have a community developed blocklist that denies any ad revenue to media websites known to have colluded through a secret mailing list for game journalists to push a political narrative. The irony is not lost on me, Arstechnica.
- retox 10y ago
  Could you link me to that plugin please?
  - mixedCase 10y ago
    https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoedabiliejlieonfephdoncnailk https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoeda...
- jrnichols 10y ago
  this is something i'm curious about too. what's this list you speak of?
  - mixedCase 10y ago
    https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoedabiliejlieonfephdoncnailk https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoeda...
rokosbasilisk 10y ago
This big push for control of information flows is all disturbing, sounds very authoritarian. Plus the big question is what is real journalism or who decides ? The government? or are media companies just trying to build economic moats against new comers?
- ENGNR 10y ago
  I agree it's concerning, but there are some articles that are blatantly 100% pure fiction, presented as fact. Sure they definitely shouldn't be deleted, but news readers probably do want the role of 'editor' returned to filter out the most obvious noise.
- heisenbit 10y ago
  At the moment humans - as long as they spend a little time thinking and are not emotionally - are better equipped than an AI in deciding whether a story is fake or not. The fake news exploded when Facebook let go the human team and switched to an AI. I know we all distrust hierarchy here but there is a reason the military is hierarchical: It is robust when under attack. We all recognize there is a value of defense in depth when it comes to security. Against an army of incentivize spammers likely one needs a layered defense. One that can adapt intelligently to unforeseen situations. Likely this means human editors. To defuse their power probably a set of independent chief editors. It would not constitute a new system. Failure to do that means the most excitable tribe (=where more clicks can be generated) will drown out the timeline digital airwaves. It certainly will not lead to a sensible dialog. Particular in places that have low voter participation that may sway elections.
sauronlord 10y ago
Does anyone else find it ironic that for an article blasting "fake news"... they sure have a lot "trending stories" at the bottom of their page
geooooooooobox 10y ago
damn this is the internet!! if people start believing everything they come across, it's not the source that's the problem, not the medium, but people themselves

As I click on the article, my browser automatically redirects me to archive.is, as I have a community developed blocklist that denies any ad revenue to media websites known to have colluded through a secret mailing list for game journalists to push a political narrative. The irony is not lost on me, Arstechnica.

retox 10y ago
Could you link me to that plugin please?
- mixedCase 10y ago
  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoedabiliejlieonfephdoncnailk https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoeda...
jrnichols 10y ago
this is something i'm curious about too. what's this list you speak of?
- mixedCase 10y ago
  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoedabiliejlieonfephdoncnailk https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ggblocker/aabmoeda...

rokosbasilisk 10y ago

This big push for control of information flows is all disturbing, sounds very authoritarian. Plus the big question is what is real journalism or who decides ? The government? or are media companies just trying to build economic moats against new comers?

ENGNR 10y ago
I agree it's concerning, but there are some articles that are blatantly 100% pure fiction, presented as fact. Sure they definitely shouldn't be deleted, but news readers probably do want the role of 'editor' returned to filter out the most obvious noise.
heisenbit 10y ago
At the moment humans - as long as they spend a little time thinking and are not emotionally - are better equipped than an AI in deciding whether a story is fake or not. The fake news exploded when Facebook let go the human team and switched to an AI. I know we all distrust hierarchy here but there is a reason the military is hierarchical: It is robust when under attack. We all recognize there is a value of defense in depth when it comes to security. Against an army of incentivize spammers likely one needs a layered defense. One that can adapt intelligently to unforeseen situations. Likely this means human editors. To defuse their power probably a set of independent chief editors. It would not constitute a new system. Failure to do that means the most excitable tribe (=where more clicks can be generated) will drown out the timeline digital airwaves. It certainly will not lead to a sensible dialog. Particular in places that have low voter participation that may sway elections.

sauronlord 10y ago

Does anyone else find it ironic that for an article blasting "fake news"... they sure have a lot "trending stories" at the bottom of their page

geooooooooobox 10y ago

damn this is the internet!! if people start believing everything they come across, it's not the source that's the problem, not the medium, but people themselves