4 ms·

More/better education is always good. But there will always be idiots. Look at flat earth believers (although i have hard time believing they are not just troll

More/better education is always good. But there will always be idiots. Look at flat earth believers (although i have hard time believing they are not just trolls). They used to be small groups of them all over the world, and they didn't do too much damage. What social media has done is amplified their voice, giving them look of legitimacy.

ben_w 8y ago
Flat Earthers used to be a joke/insult, now it’s a serious example of how the internet has developed not necessarily to our advantage.
maze-le 8y ago
Not only social media I might add. Traditional media also has a role to play here. They are generally more critical of these types of groups, but they also seek ever more ridiculous stories to tell, in order to get an audience -- so even a story that questions the theories of these groups but reports them as "one view among others" is problematic. It is the structure of our media/advertising landscape that keeps nuanced but true views below the average interest and and amplifies outrageous crap, since it generates clicks and eyeballs.
AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
Flat earthers are trolls, but they are very useful trolls. They give kids great examples of things like falsifiability and scientific method.
- simonh 8y ago
  It may be difficult to believe but while there may be a lot of FE trolls, there are also a significant number of true believers.
  - Freak_NL 8y ago
    It's trolling taken to its logical extreme: you literally cannot tell whether someone posting flat-earth 'facts' is a troll or not online. The behaviour of the acolyte and the troll is identical. Only when you meet these people in real life is there a fair chance of sounding them out to discover if they are just playing along or are actually convinced of whatever conspiracy is being peddled. I would expect most trolls keep their flat-earth proselytizing strictly as an online activity. But they do seem to exist (the true believers that is).
    - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
      Ah, ye goode olde Poe's law: without a clear indicator of the author's intent, it is impossible to create a parody of extreme views... that cannot be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the parodied views.

ben_w 8y ago

Flat Earthers used to be a joke/insult, now it’s a serious example of how the internet has developed not necessarily to our advantage.

maze-le 8y ago

Not only social media I might add. Traditional media also has a role to play here. They are generally more critical of these types of groups, but they also seek ever more ridiculous stories to tell, in order to get an audience -- so even a story that questions the theories of these groups but reports them as "one view among others" is problematic. It is the structure of our media/advertising landscape that keeps nuanced but true views below the average interest and and amplifies outrageous crap, since it generates clicks and eyeballs.

AlexTWithBeard 8y ago

Flat earthers are trolls, but they are very useful trolls. They give kids great examples of things like falsifiability and scientific method.

simonh 8y ago
It may be difficult to believe but while there may be a lot of FE trolls, there are also a significant number of true believers.
- Freak_NL 8y ago
  It's trolling taken to its logical extreme: you literally cannot tell whether someone posting flat-earth 'facts' is a troll or not online. The behaviour of the acolyte and the troll is identical. Only when you meet these people in real life is there a fair chance of sounding them out to discover if they are just playing along or are actually convinced of whatever conspiracy is being peddled. I would expect most trolls keep their flat-earth proselytizing strictly as an online activity. But they do seem to exist (the true believers that is).
  - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
    Ah, ye goode olde Poe's law: without a clear indicator of the author's intent, it is impossible to create a parody of extreme views... that cannot be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the parodied views.