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I've never used Facebook and never saw the point of it, but it is increasingly having an effect me in the physical world. As far as I can tell, it's a bifurcat

I've never used Facebook and never saw the point of it, but it is increasingly having an effect me in the physical world. As far as I can tell, it's a bifurcating, hate-fermenting, disinformation platform that impacts elections and their sex-bot CEO seems completely inept at even recognizing the impact they are having on a democracy. Instead of a well-informed citizenry, we've got an ill-informed one.

nickff 6y ago
We always had an ill-informed citizenry, but now they each have a megaphone.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
gogopuppygogo 6y ago
The ceo is well aware of the impact his firm is having on society. His focus on propagating addictive misinformation is strategic. They make money selling ads to eyeballs. If they have more eyeballs clicking around to see more misinformation they make more money. There is nothing surprising that a guy who put “I’m CEO B1tch” on his business card would care less about destabilizing democratic governments than making himself rich. He’s been spending time learning mandarin. Probably a good investment of time if people try to tar and feather him Boston tea party style should he succeed in the destruction of the American republic for profit.
- s3r3nity 6y ago
  >There is nothing surprising that a guy who put “I’m CEO B1tch”... I've commented on this before around HN, but worth repeating: people do change over ~20 years. If I were judged by the shit I did in high school or my 20's, and assumed I was the same person I would be fucked. (I'm guessing many on these threads would empathize.) It just reeks of pseudo-cancel culture BS where one mistake will follow you for your entire life.
  - pubutil 6y ago
    What you said makes perfect sense but I still refuse to use a platform whose founder called people “dumb fucks” for trusting him and using the platform.
  - throwaway2048 6y ago
    People don't change unless they are contrite, and there is zero evidence that Zuckerberg feels any contrition about much of what hes said and done.
  - Barrin92 6y ago
    people generally tend to change when they experience the negative consequences of their action, not just willy nilly. He hasn't just made one mistake, he keeps making the same mistakes. Merely a few years ago he ridiculed the notion that Facebook could have an influence on elections. Not only did that statement show that he hadn't learned, he also obviously thinks we're all idiots.
    - katzgrau 6y ago
      > people generally tend to change when they experience the negative consequences of their action, not just willy nilly. I think you're discounting the effect of lived experience and natural maturity that comes with age. People and their perspectives do change in their own - not just because they made a mistake that impacted them negatively.
  - anoncake 6y ago
    Of course they do. But is there any evidence Zuckerberg did?
deleted 6y ago
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CptFribble 6y ago
Based on Mark's actions and announcements over the years, from Internet.org to his "The next decade" speech where he said they're building a network for all local businesses to "better connect with their communities," it's clear that Mark's One True Goal is that all digital information flow through Facebook, so that it can be analyzed, collated, and advertised against. Mark wants every part of human society, from birthday wishes to buying a car to finding a local barber to political debates, to operate through Facebook's servers. The real question is why - is it just about the money for him? Does Mark dream of being a trillionaire before Bezos? Or is it about control? Does Mark want to be The Guy Who Knows Everything?
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
jacques_chester 6y ago
> Instead of a well-informed citizenry, we've got an ill-informed one. Facebook have made it easier than ever to create a disinformed citizenry.
underwater 6y ago
How is Facebook different from Twitter or Reddit? I personally think Reddit is extremely dangerous because on the surface many subreddits appear lighthearted, but are actually gateways to extreme views. /r/ActualPublicFreakouts promises some snarky laughs but is pushing the viewpoint that black people are inherently violent. And that is being heavily pushed by Reddit via the popular posts view.
- dannyr 6y ago
  This is like asking how an ocean is different from a swimming pool. It's the scale!
  - underwater 6y ago
    Reddit has 330 million users, which is nothing to sneeze at.

nickff 6y ago

We always had an ill-informed citizenry, but now they each have a megaphone.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

gogopuppygogo 6y ago

The ceo is well aware of the impact his firm is having on society. His focus on propagating addictive misinformation is strategic. They make money selling ads to eyeballs. If they have more eyeballs clicking around to see more misinformation they make more money. There is nothing surprising that a guy who put “I’m CEO B1tch” on his business card would care less about destabilizing democratic governments than making himself rich. He’s been spending time learning mandarin. Probably a good investment of time if people try to tar and feather him Boston tea party style should he succeed in the destruction of the American republic for profit.

s3r3nity 6y ago
>There is nothing surprising that a guy who put “I’m CEO B1tch”... I've commented on this before around HN, but worth repeating: people do change over ~20 years. If I were judged by the shit I did in high school or my 20's, and assumed I was the same person I would be fucked. (I'm guessing many on these threads would empathize.) It just reeks of pseudo-cancel culture BS where one mistake will follow you for your entire life.
- pubutil 6y ago
  What you said makes perfect sense but I still refuse to use a platform whose founder called people “dumb fucks” for trusting him and using the platform.
- throwaway2048 6y ago
  People don't change unless they are contrite, and there is zero evidence that Zuckerberg feels any contrition about much of what hes said and done.
- Barrin92 6y ago
  people generally tend to change when they experience the negative consequences of their action, not just willy nilly. He hasn't just made one mistake, he keeps making the same mistakes. Merely a few years ago he ridiculed the notion that Facebook could have an influence on elections. Not only did that statement show that he hadn't learned, he also obviously thinks we're all idiots.
  - katzgrau 6y ago
    > people generally tend to change when they experience the negative consequences of their action, not just willy nilly. I think you're discounting the effect of lived experience and natural maturity that comes with age. People and their perspectives do change in their own - not just because they made a mistake that impacted them negatively.
- anoncake 6y ago
  Of course they do. But is there any evidence Zuckerberg did?

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

CptFribble 6y ago

Based on Mark's actions and announcements over the years, from Internet.org to his "The next decade" speech where he said they're building a network for all local businesses to "better connect with their communities," it's clear that Mark's One True Goal is that all digital information flow through Facebook, so that it can be analyzed, collated, and advertised against. Mark wants every part of human society, from birthday wishes to buying a car to finding a local barber to political debates, to operate through Facebook's servers. The real question is why - is it just about the money for him? Does Mark dream of being a trillionaire before Bezos? Or is it about control? Does Mark want to be The Guy Who Knows Everything?

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

jacques_chester 6y ago

> Instead of a well-informed citizenry, we've got an ill-informed one. Facebook have made it easier than ever to create a disinformed citizenry.

underwater 6y ago

How is Facebook different from Twitter or Reddit? I personally think Reddit is extremely dangerous because on the surface many subreddits appear lighthearted, but are actually gateways to extreme views. /r/ActualPublicFreakouts promises some snarky laughs but is pushing the viewpoint that black people are inherently violent. And that is being heavily pushed by Reddit via the popular posts view.

dannyr 6y ago
This is like asking how an ocean is different from a swimming pool. It's the scale!
- underwater 6y ago
  Reddit has 330 million users, which is nothing to sneeze at.