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Less fake news, less engagement on platforms, less polarization. Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? The Ca

Less fake news, less engagement on platforms, less polarization. Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? The Canadian government is obviously putting forward some really dumb policy, but the unintended consequences seem like a win-win to me. Hopefully neither side backs down and we'll get a juicy experiment to watch.

barbazoo 3y ago
> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? We can, I don't see what the problem is here either. I don't think it will lead to less fake news and less engagement though. People are addicted to this horrible cesspool, especially older folks, nothing you can do about that unfortunately. That ship has sailed.
- Eumenes 3y ago
  If it results in 10% reduction in engagement or fake news, I think its worth it. I do wonder: can you share substack, medium.com, or similar links? Do blogs count as news?
  - rvnx 3y ago
    Hackernews as well
j45 3y ago
They can, and do, and used to. Social media attracted the news traffic in the beginning. Google news tried to get to know a visitors interests eagerly. Facebook wanted to find what you liked and keep you digging into that at the expense of having a broader vision. Maybe it's a good time for someone to roll out a media news aggregator that also presents it in the context of an interest like the media bias chart. https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/ https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/
LegitShady 3y ago
This only affects canadian news on those platforms. Canadian users can still see US news, disinformation, and polarizing things. All this does is block canadian news from reaching canadians. There are no positive benefits. This reduces the reach of canadian news, increases the reach of US news, and reduces income to canadian news sources from social media traffic. There's no win here at all. The legislation does the opposite of what it claims it wants to do.
evandale 3y ago
> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? I can do that and have no problem with it. Now can you explain why a Canadian shouldn't be able to open their browser and type in www.facebook.com or www.differentnews.com if they want news?
trinsic2 3y ago
LOL Exactly, the blow back is a win-win for people, and both look like idiots in the short and hopefully long term.
cmrdporcupine 3y ago
Because the majority of Canadians never learned what the WWW is/was, and think of the Internet only as something they get through Facebook. I'm being snarky and exaggerating, but it's not far off. Companies & contractors etcget squirrely & weird about e-mail, don't respond to it... but respond to Facebook Messenger in an instant, or have a Twitter feed. Schools & schoolboards don't update their own websites, but post updates on Twitter and Facebook. Want to find out about school snow day closure? You're going to hear about it on Twitter first, etc. Road closures from the city? Traffic incidents, fires, or crime notices from the police or fire department? Have fun finding it on anything other than social media. It's a bleak, privatized, walled-off state of affairs, the opposite of what we were all pushing for in the 90s.
bregma 3y ago
> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? Well, it turns out news-site.com requires a paid subscription. The clickbait headlines and slugs on Facebook were free. No paid subscription required, just sign a contract for your soul in blood. Now Old Scratch is throwing a hissy fit and withholding the good intentions along his road.
knallfrosch 3y ago
> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? Because they're really on instagram/TikTok and follow @mediaCorporation. They see their news between vacation pics and belly dances

barbazoo 3y ago

> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? We can, I don't see what the problem is here either. I don't think it will lead to less fake news and less engagement though. People are addicted to this horrible cesspool, especially older folks, nothing you can do about that unfortunately. That ship has sailed.

Eumenes 3y ago
If it results in 10% reduction in engagement or fake news, I think its worth it. I do wonder: can you share substack, medium.com, or similar links? Do blogs count as news?
- rvnx 3y ago
  Hackernews as well

j45 3y ago

They can, and do, and used to. Social media attracted the news traffic in the beginning. Google news tried to get to know a visitors interests eagerly. Facebook wanted to find what you liked and keep you digging into that at the expense of having a broader vision. Maybe it's a good time for someone to roll out a media news aggregator that also presents it in the context of an interest like the media bias chart. https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/ https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/

LegitShady 3y ago

This only affects canadian news on those platforms. Canadian users can still see US news, disinformation, and polarizing things. All this does is block canadian news from reaching canadians. There are no positive benefits. This reduces the reach of canadian news, increases the reach of US news, and reduces income to canadian news sources from social media traffic. There's no win here at all. The legislation does the opposite of what it claims it wants to do.

evandale 3y ago

> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? I can do that and have no problem with it. Now can you explain why a Canadian shouldn't be able to open their browser and type in www.facebook.com or www.differentnews.com if they want news?

trinsic2 3y ago

LOL Exactly, the blow back is a win-win for people, and both look like idiots in the short and hopefully long term.

cmrdporcupine 3y ago

Because the majority of Canadians never learned what the WWW is/was, and think of the Internet only as something they get through Facebook. I'm being snarky and exaggerating, but it's not far off. Companies & contractors etcget squirrely & weird about e-mail, don't respond to it... but respond to Facebook Messenger in an instant, or have a Twitter feed. Schools & schoolboards don't update their own websites, but post updates on Twitter and Facebook. Want to find out about school snow day closure? You're going to hear about it on Twitter first, etc. Road closures from the city? Traffic incidents, fires, or crime notices from the police or fire department? Have fun finding it on anything other than social media. It's a bleak, privatized, walled-off state of affairs, the opposite of what we were all pushing for in the 90s.

bregma 3y ago

> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? Well, it turns out news-site.com requires a paid subscription. The clickbait headlines and slugs on Facebook were free. No paid subscription required, just sign a contract for your soul in blood. Now Old Scratch is throwing a hissy fit and withholding the good intentions along his road.

knallfrosch 3y ago

> Why can't Canadians open their browsers and type in www.news-site.com if they want news? Because they're really on instagram/TikTok and follow @mediaCorporation. They see their news between vacation pics and belly dances