3 ms·

Instead of mass voter manipulation of voters through the establishment media? Nobody would be in a panic at all if Hillary had won.

thefounder 8y ago
The issue with Facebook is that it's too easy for someone from Russia for example to place ads. I believe the established media doesn't run thousands of ads paid by thousands of unknown individuals.
- chmln 8y ago
  I think it was just recently that China placed ads in the Des Moines Register, with reports of similar activity on the Times etc. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2018/09/24/china-daily-watch-advertisement-tries-sway-iowa-farm-support-trump-trade-war-tariffs/1412954002/ https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/20...
  - thefounder 8y ago
    At least in that case Des Moines knew who paid for the ad. On FB there is no identity check(unless you consider credit/debit cards identity proof). Not to mention that you compare one ad with thousands on facebook. Facebook can't stop them even if it wants. The main reason is that the ads are too cheap to investigate properly. A bad actor can use multiple accounts. And when I say multiple I mean as many it wants. Times/Des Mines would not publish 100000 ads of 1$ each, each about Trump's policy(more or less) but facebook would do it.
pchristensen 8y ago
lolololololololololololol - people have been panicking for 26 years at the thought of Hillary Clinton being president.
vkou 8y ago
Just like nobody was in a panic when Obama won? Have we forgotten what 2008-2017 was like, or do we just pretend that the republican fringe collectively losing its mind over a black man in the white house didn't happen?
- buboard 8y ago
  Looking from the other side of the Atlantic, the difference is stark. Obama's were the first campaigns widely lauded for their aggressive use of social media. Nobody made a fuss about it, facebook didn't change a single rule because of somebody complaining or anything. The lunatics waving birth certificates were seen by us as some typical American oddity. This time it is different. Our facebook accounts have to be verified, our pages and apps vetted, comments are blocked or filtered, the words "fake news", "russian trolls", russian propaganda etc have become national issues even in countries which never face such a thing. There have been countless elections and referenda throughout the world during the social media age, but the "election phobia" and the idea that all elections are inherently tainted because people can't keep themselves from voting the wrong person/thing was born after the US election.
philliphaydon 8y ago
America had to pick between an idiot, a criminal, and a socialist. They literally had no one to vote for. The country would be upset regardless of who won.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

thefounder 8y ago

The issue with Facebook is that it's too easy for someone from Russia for example to place ads. I believe the established media doesn't run thousands of ads paid by thousands of unknown individuals.

chmln 8y ago
I think it was just recently that China placed ads in the Des Moines Register, with reports of similar activity on the Times etc. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2018/09/24/china-daily-watch-advertisement-tries-sway-iowa-farm-support-trump-trade-war-tariffs/1412954002/ https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/20...
- thefounder 8y ago
  At least in that case Des Moines knew who paid for the ad. On FB there is no identity check(unless you consider credit/debit cards identity proof). Not to mention that you compare one ad with thousands on facebook. Facebook can't stop them even if it wants. The main reason is that the ads are too cheap to investigate properly. A bad actor can use multiple accounts. And when I say multiple I mean as many it wants. Times/Des Mines would not publish 100000 ads of 1$ each, each about Trump's policy(more or less) but facebook would do it.

pchristensen 8y ago

lolololololololololololol - people have been panicking for 26 years at the thought of Hillary Clinton being president.

vkou 8y ago

Just like nobody was in a panic when Obama won? Have we forgotten what 2008-2017 was like, or do we just pretend that the republican fringe collectively losing its mind over a black man in the white house didn't happen?

buboard 8y ago
Looking from the other side of the Atlantic, the difference is stark. Obama's were the first campaigns widely lauded for their aggressive use of social media. Nobody made a fuss about it, facebook didn't change a single rule because of somebody complaining or anything. The lunatics waving birth certificates were seen by us as some typical American oddity. This time it is different. Our facebook accounts have to be verified, our pages and apps vetted, comments are blocked or filtered, the words "fake news", "russian trolls", russian propaganda etc have become national issues even in countries which never face such a thing. There have been countless elections and referenda throughout the world during the social media age, but the "election phobia" and the idea that all elections are inherently tainted because people can't keep themselves from voting the wrong person/thing was born after the US election.

philliphaydon 8y ago

America had to pick between an idiot, a criminal, and a socialist. They literally had no one to vote for. The country would be upset regardless of who won.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]