3 ms·

I removed my account a few months back (you have to request that, you can't delete it on your own, which I think sucks). I did it because I feel that they betra

I removed my account a few months back (you have to request that, you can't delete it on your own, which I think sucks). I did it because I feel that they betrayed our democracy for profit and I do not want to support an organization like that. And that was the feedback I gave them. I do not miss it one bit.

humanrebar 9y ago
If you think companies like facebook can manipulate democracy, you have problems with open democracy, at least information-age democracy, not facebook in particular. Undergirding democracy is the idea that citizens are intelligent and trustworthy enough to deal with yellow journalism, propaganda, etc. Or, at least, that is a downside of the least bad approach to governance so far.
- kelnos 9y ago
  > Undergirding democracy is the idea that citizens are intelligent and trustworthy enough to deal with yellow journalism, propaganda, etc. The Nov 2016 US election, and the investigations into news propagation on sites like FB, is outright proof that citizens are in fact not intelligent enough on average to deal with this. I'm not trying to shit on people or be flippant, but... it's not looking good. Certainly censoring people or legislating FB into oblivion isn't the answer, but I'm not sure what is. "Educate everyone better" seems like a catch-22 at best, likely destined to fail. And I don't think this is an example of a company influencing elections. FB was pretty unwitting there. Others found creative, unintended ways to use the platform to do their dirty work.
  - humanrebar 9y ago
    There are serious implications to that conclusion. The citizens are the watchers in a democracy. If they can't be trusted to come to reasonable conclusions on their own, there is no other authority qualified to ensure they are properly informed and vetted. It is circular, to say the least, to have the government regulate how to educate citizens about how to pick the next government.
    - kelnos 9y ago
      Yep, and that's one of the main reasons I'm finding the political climate in the US so depressing. The answer would seem to be "marginalize people who lack critical thinking ability", but... that's not really a solution.

humanrebar 9y ago

If you think companies like facebook can manipulate democracy, you have problems with open democracy, at least information-age democracy, not facebook in particular. Undergirding democracy is the idea that citizens are intelligent and trustworthy enough to deal with yellow journalism, propaganda, etc. Or, at least, that is a downside of the least bad approach to governance so far.

kelnos 9y ago
> Undergirding democracy is the idea that citizens are intelligent and trustworthy enough to deal with yellow journalism, propaganda, etc. The Nov 2016 US election, and the investigations into news propagation on sites like FB, is outright proof that citizens are in fact not intelligent enough on average to deal with this. I'm not trying to shit on people or be flippant, but... it's not looking good. Certainly censoring people or legislating FB into oblivion isn't the answer, but I'm not sure what is. "Educate everyone better" seems like a catch-22 at best, likely destined to fail. And I don't think this is an example of a company influencing elections. FB was pretty unwitting there. Others found creative, unintended ways to use the platform to do their dirty work.
- humanrebar 9y ago
  There are serious implications to that conclusion. The citizens are the watchers in a democracy. If they can't be trusted to come to reasonable conclusions on their own, there is no other authority qualified to ensure they are properly informed and vetted. It is circular, to say the least, to have the government regulate how to educate citizens about how to pick the next government.
  - kelnos 9y ago
    Yep, and that's one of the main reasons I'm finding the political climate in the US so depressing. The answer would seem to be "marginalize people who lack critical thinking ability", but... that's not really a solution.