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They're invaluable for democracy. Right now, there are a number of anti government, pro democracy protests taking place in my country. All of them are being org

• ncmncm 7y ago
  They are disastrous for democracy.
  • puranjay 7y ago
    It's more nuanced than that. Did WhatsApp and Facebook help elect right-wing autocrats? Yes. Are WhatsApp and Facebook also helping protestors against right-wing autocrats organize and protest? Also yes.
    • ncmncm 7y ago
      It looks to me like the balance is very, very far to the right.
      • puranjay 7y ago
        True. You can convincingly argue that Facebook et al are a net negative for our society
• JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
  Why could those not be on Signal and be actually safe due to real end-to-end encryption and no spying from Facebook? https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2018/09/27/facebook-is-committed-to-whatsapp-encryption-but-could-bypass-it-too/#295b029a3efe https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2018/09/27/facebook-...
  • SquishyPanda23 7y ago
    Presumably because Signal doesn't have the install base to make that realistic. I do hope that the people taking real risks are doing their most sensitive communication on something better like Signal. But for mass reach using another tool seems necessary as of now.
  • puranjay 7y ago
    You can't organize a protest if no one knows about it. In order to get the word out, you have to use platforms that everyone already has access to.