4 ms·

This has ethical reprecussions on the news ecosystem because whichever keywords/mentions that Facebook dictates as political will be targeted by news organizati

This has ethical reprecussions on the news ecosystem because whichever keywords/mentions that Facebook dictates as political will be targeted by news organizations to avoid. These organizations will strip normal news of any political connotations which is frightening because the news, although mostly a pile of noise today, is supposed to have signals to keep democracies in line by design.

r29vzg2 6y ago
I would argue that stripping news of political connotations would be a plus. I wish all news was reported this way.
- AftHurrahWinch 6y ago
  One of the suggested political connotations is "Mentions of politicians". You would argue that news should be reported without "Mentions of politicians"? If you disagree with that definition of political connotation, how do you define political connotations?
- CamperBob2 6y ago
  Honestly, if you live and work and pay taxes in the US, you kind of have an obligation to keep an eye on your government. It's just basic citizenship. The events you see on the news cannot be divorced from politics. Not even the sports or weather segments. If politicians are doing things that stress you out or make you angry, would you really be better off staying uninformed? I'm not saying that Facebook is a good way to accomplish that, just that it's worth considering before you ask for technology to seal yourself off from political news altogether.
- Talanes 6y ago
  News with no political connotations is fluff.
  - catalogia 6y ago
    That's myopic. There is all sorts of news, local news in particular, that has clear utility but tenuous political implications. Traffic and weather reports come to mind as clear examples.
    - totony 6y ago
      This website has a lot of non-political news itself, e.g. freebsd 11.4 is out etc
    - Talanes 6y ago
      Pay more attention to local politics. Traffic is VERY political.
- hinkley 6y ago
  Almost as if objective reporting had some sort of value...
hatboat 6y ago
This is one potential outcome. Another is organisations will keep the same content (as this is what drives clicks and profitability), however change the language used to describe it. I would say this outcome is worse, as it leads to things like newspeak, muddying of definitions, and an increase in accusations of dogwhistling (accurate or otherwise). We may already be on this path, but it would be accelerated.
- three_seagrass 6y ago
  That's a cat an mouse game though - Facebook will react by also flagging the new definitions. The problem is the keywords themselves, but the act of Facebook banning them.

r29vzg2 6y ago

I would argue that stripping news of political connotations would be a plus. I wish all news was reported this way.

AftHurrahWinch 6y ago
One of the suggested political connotations is "Mentions of politicians". You would argue that news should be reported without "Mentions of politicians"? If you disagree with that definition of political connotation, how do you define political connotations?
CamperBob2 6y ago
Honestly, if you live and work and pay taxes in the US, you kind of have an obligation to keep an eye on your government. It's just basic citizenship. The events you see on the news cannot be divorced from politics. Not even the sports or weather segments. If politicians are doing things that stress you out or make you angry, would you really be better off staying uninformed? I'm not saying that Facebook is a good way to accomplish that, just that it's worth considering before you ask for technology to seal yourself off from political news altogether.
Talanes 6y ago
News with no political connotations is fluff.
- catalogia 6y ago
  That's myopic. There is all sorts of news, local news in particular, that has clear utility but tenuous political implications. Traffic and weather reports come to mind as clear examples.
  - totony 6y ago
    This website has a lot of non-political news itself, e.g. freebsd 11.4 is out etc
  - Talanes 6y ago
    Pay more attention to local politics. Traffic is VERY political.
hinkley 6y ago
Almost as if objective reporting had some sort of value...

hatboat 6y ago

This is one potential outcome. Another is organisations will keep the same content (as this is what drives clicks and profitability), however change the language used to describe it. I would say this outcome is worse, as it leads to things like newspeak, muddying of definitions, and an increase in accusations of dogwhistling (accurate or otherwise). We may already be on this path, but it would be accelerated.

three_seagrass 6y ago
That's a cat an mouse game though - Facebook will react by also flagging the new definitions. The problem is the keywords themselves, but the act of Facebook banning them.